Ohio National Guard

Ohio National Guard
Logo of the Ohio National Guard
Active1803–present
Country United States
Allegiance Ohio
Branch United States Army
 United States Air Force
TypeNational Guard
RoleMilitia
Size17,000
Part ofNational Guard Bureau
Ohio Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
Commanders
Governor and Commander in ChiefMike DeWine
Adjutant GeneralMG John C. Harris, Jr.
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the governor of the U.S. state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army National Guard is called to federal service, then the President of the United States becomes the commander-in-chief.[1] The military commander of all forces in the State of Ohio is the Adjutant General, Major General John C. Harris, Jr. is responsible for the command of 17,000 members, preparedness and readiness, installation management, and budget of the Ohio National Guard. The current Assistant Adjutant General for Army, with responsibility for overseeing the Ohio Army National Guard training and operations, is Brigadier General Matthew S. Woodruff. [2] The current Assistant Adjutant General for Air is Brigadier General David B. Johnson with responsibility for overseeing the Ohio Air National Guard.[3]

Ohio Army and Air National Guard units can be mobilized at any time by the governor of the State of Ohio upon declaration of a state of emergency or by the presidential order to supplement regular federal armed forces. Unlike Army Reserve members, National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually (except through voluntary transfers and temporary duty assignment (TDY), but only as part of their respective units). However, there has been a significant number of individual activations to support military operations since 2001. The legality of this policy has been a source of contention in some quarters. The Ohio Military Reserve and the Ohio Naval Militia constitute Ohio's state defense force, and augment the Ohio National Guard during stateside missions, especially when units of the National Guard are federalized.

The Ohio National Guard is made up of Citizen-Soldiers, meaning that the members of the National Guard lead civilian lives in addition to their duties as a soldier. As Citizen-Soldier members-only train with their National Guard Units for roughly two days a month (one weekend), and two weeks of training in the summer, called Annual Training (AT).

  1. ^ "Lawriter - ORC". codes.ohio.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  2. ^ "Ohio Army National Guard". The Ohio Adjutant General’s Department. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  3. ^ "Ohio Air National Guard". The Ohio Adjutant General’s Department. Retrieved 2021-01-14.