Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!pacbell!att!cbnews!paulf@ece-csc.UUCP From: paulf@ece-csc.UUCP (Paul D. Franzon) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: National Guard and Reserves Message-ID: <5107@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 24 Mar 89 04:24:06 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM Organization: North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC Lines: 34 Approved: military@att.att.com From: paulf@ece-csc.UUCP (Paul D. Franzon) I have just established contact with the local Guard commander for the intention to train with them and asked him about some of the issues raised in this group. 1. The state militia was created because the states were scared of each other. In fact they apparently joke around here about the possibility of calling out the National Guard to go to war with LA about water rights! 2. Until 1983 most drills were paid through state funds (via federal appropriations) and no federal troops could assist during those drills. My interpretation of this was incorrect, and today the NG are federal troops most of the time. In fact if the Governor called out the Guard the president can federalize them thus removing the Governors power. This happened in AL during the civil rights days. (Wallace called out the Guard to stop blacks on Campus. The president federalized them.) 3. One of the most successful units in '44 in France was the 30th Inf Div -- A National Guard Division. It landed on D+2 or 3, lead the 3rd Army out of the Braccoge and had the most kills and POWs for any American formation on that front. Admitidly, the preparation for D-Day was very thorough, but still it was entirely a Guard unit. My commander claimed that his unit is better than some regular units - because those units have to do so much else as well as train for war that they sometimes dont get much more time for that than a Guard unit. It was always my Australian experience that Reserve training was more intense than regular training activities. Paul Franzon Captain Royal Australian Infantry Corps