Northern Mariana Islands National Guard
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The Northern Mariana Islands National Guard is a proposed National Guard unit to be formed in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Currently, residents of the Northern Mariana Islands may serve in the
Guam National Guard The Guam National Guard is the National Guard in the United States territory of Guam, made up of the Guam Army National Guard and the Guam Air National Guard. History The National Guard of the Island of Guam can be traced back to the first m ...
.


History

Currently, there are National Guard units in all 50 U.S. states, the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
,
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
,
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
and the
United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
. The Northern Mariana Islands and
American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...
are the only U.S. territories that do not have a National Guard unit. The first legislative attempt at forming a National Guard unit in the Northern Mariana Islands occurred on October 12, 2001. Democratic U.S.
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
Delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (United ...
Robert A. Underwood Robert Anacletus Underwood (born July 13, 1948) is an American politician and educator who served as the delegate from Guam to the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003 as a member of the Democratic Party. He subsequently serv ...
of
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
introduced H.R. 3128 to the
107th United States Congress The 107th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3 ...
that proposed the establishment of a National Guard of the Northern Mariana Islands. The bill, which would have amended titles 32 and 37 of the
United States Code In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...
, was sent to the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel where it eventually died in committee. In 2002,
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Bill 13-11, also known as the Northern Mariana Islands National Guard Act, was proposed to the
Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature The Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature is the territorial legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The legislative branch of the territory is bicameral, consisting of a 20-member lower House of Represe ...
that established a militia for the Northern Mariana Islands. The bill was signed to law by Northern Mariana Islands governor Juan Babauta as Public Law 13-32 on November 25, 2002. In 2003, the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
declined to authorize $275 million in funding for the creation of the proposed National Guard unit due to budget constraints and concerns over whether the Northern Mariana Islands could form such a unit given the commonwealth's population of roughly 50,000 (about one-third the population of Guam). In 2004, Gov. Babauta met with the adjutant general of the
Guam National Guard The Guam National Guard is the National Guard in the United States territory of Guam, made up of the Guam Army National Guard and the Guam Air National Guard. History The National Guard of the Island of Guam can be traced back to the first m ...
to discuss the militia’s composition, organization, and other pertinent matters, including funding. On August 1, 2011, U.S. House Delegate
Gregorio Sablan Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (born January 19, 1955) is a Northern Mariana Islander politician and former election commissioner. Elected in 2008, Sablan became the first delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the Commonwe ...
of the
Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
introduced H.R. 2773 to the
112th United States Congress The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and ended on January 3, 2013, 17 ...
again seeking to establish a National Guard unit in the Northern Mariana Islands. The bill was originally co-sponsored by Republican representative
Walter B. Jones, Jr. Walter Beaman Jones Jr. (February 10, 1943 – February 10, 2019) was an American politician who served twelve terms in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party for from 1995 until his death in 2019. The d ...
(
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
) and Democratic delegates
Donna Christian-Christensen Donna Marie Christian-Christensen, formerly Donna Christian-Green (born September 19, 1945), is an American physician and politician. She served as the 4th elected non-voting Delegate from the United States Virgin Islands's at-large district to t ...
(
U.S. Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
). Later co-sponsors were Democratic representative Mike Honda (
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
) and Democratic delegate
Eni Faleomavaega Eni Fa'aua'a Hunkin Faleomavaega Jr. (; August 15, 1943 – February 22, 2017) was an American Samoan politician and attorney who served as the territory's lieutenant governor (1985-1989) and non-voting delegate to the United States House of Repr ...
(
American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...
). The bill sought to amend titles 10, 32 and 37 of the United States Code. The bill was introduced again to the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel but did not make it out of committee.


Typhoon Soudelor

On August 2, 2015,
Typhoon Soudelor Typhoon Soudelor, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Hanna, was the third most intense tropical cyclone worldwide in 2015 after Hurricane Patricia and Cyclone Pam as well as the strongest tropical cyclone of the 2015 Pacific typhoon season. Sou ...
struck the Northern Mariana Islands as the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane, causing over $20 million in damage to the island of
Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
. On August 4, units of the Guam National Guard and the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
were deployed to assist in relief efforts. Del. Sablan renewed the call for a separate National Guard unit in the Northern Mariana Islands, later commenting, “We pray we never have to experience another disaster like Typhoon Soudelor. But if we do, we will be better prepared to respond if we have our own National Guard to call to service.”


Feasibility study

The
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (; NDAA 2014Pub.L 113-66 is a United States federal law which specifies the budget and expenditures of the United States Department of Defense (DOD) for Fiscal Year 2014. The law author ...
mandated that the
National Guard Bureau The National Guard Bureau is the federal instrument responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was cre ...
conduct a study regarding the feasibility of establishing a National Guard unit in the Northern Mariana Islands. Released in August 2015, the study concluded that a National Guard for the Northern Mariana Islands composed of two company-sized units (in addition to U.S. Army Reserve personnel already residing in Saipan) was feasible but required several major actions, including changes to the federal law that governs the National Guard. On September 29, 2015, Del. Sablan introduced H.R. 3649, which was a reintroduction of H.R. 2773, to the
114th United States Congress The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from Jan ...
. The bill was referred to the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, but again failed to make it out of committee.


References

{{NGbystate Military in the Northern Mariana Islands