The Oklahoma State Guard is the inactive

state defense force In the United States, state defense forces are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state. ...

of Oklahoma. If activated, the mission of the Oklahoma State Guard is to augment, assist and support the

Oklahoma National Guard The Oklahoma National Guard, a division of the Oklahoma Military Department, is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It comprises both Army (OKARNG) and Air (OKANG) National Guard components. The Governo ...

and the civil authorities in Oklahoma. The State Guard is under the command of the

governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the '' ex of ...

, as the Commander-in-Chief, and the Adjutant General of Oklahoma as the commanding officer. Created by Oklahoma State Guard Act of 1941, the Oklahoma State Guard cannot be federalized and cannot be deployed outside Oklahoma. It is under the administrative command of the Oklahoma Department of the Military. The Oklahoma State Guard is authorized by Title 44 Oklahoma Statutes, Sections 241-248.

History

1990's

The Oklahoma State Guard was briefly activated in the early 1990's by Governor

David Walters David Lee Walters (born November 20, 1951) is an American politician who was the 24th governor of Oklahoma from 1991 to 1995. Born in Canute, Oklahoma, Walters was a project manager for Governor David Boren and the youngest executive officer ...

. Walters appointed Jode Wilson, a retired Army colonel in his late 60's, to head the State Guard in 1991. Wilson resigned after a grand jury investigation into Walters during his first term and the guard was disbanded.

21st century

In January 2022,

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

State Senator

Nathan Dahm Nathan Ryan Dahm (born January 27, 1983) is an American politician who has served as the Oklahoma State Senator for the 33rd district since 2012. Prior to holding office, Dahm worked as a missionary in Romania and was a Tea Party activist in T ...

introduced legislation to reactivate the Oklahoma State Guard. The bill failed in the Republican led Oklahoma Senate Veterans Committee in February.

References

State defense forces of the United States State Guard {{Oklahoma-gov-stub