| Florida National Guard | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the Florida National Guard | |
| Active | 1861–present |
| Country | United States |
| Allegiance |  United States Florida |
| Branch |  United States Army United States Air Force.svg){kind=small} National Guard of the United States |
| Type | Joint |
| Role | Federal Reserve Force State Militia (Militia Act of 1903) |
| Size | Approximately 12,000 Soldiers and Airmen. |
| Garrison/HQ | St. Augustine, Florida |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-in-Chief (Title 10 USC) | President of the United States (federalized) |
| Commander-in-Chief (Title 32 USC) | Governor of Florida |
| Adjutant General | Major General John D. Haas |
| Assistant Adjutant General – Army | Vacant |
| Assistant Adjutant General – Air Force | Brigadier General Michael A. Valle |
| Command Senior Enlisted Leader | Command Sergeant Major David Lanham |
The Florida National Guard is the National Guard force of the state of Florida. It comprises the Florida Army National Guard and the Florida Air National Guard.
The United States Constitution charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. Ordinarily under the control of the state government (in which the governor is the commander-in-chief) pursuant to Title 32 of the United States Code, National Guard troops may also be called into active federal service with the United States Army or the United States Air Force (in which the president serves as commander-in-chief) and deployed worldwide with their active duty Army and Air Force counterparts.
The Florida National Guard, like those of other states, provides trained and equipped units for prompt mobilization in case of war or national emergency. Guardsmen may take part in functions ranging from limited actions in non-emergency situations to full-scale law enforcement (martial law) in cases when the governor determines that ordinary law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control. The state mission assigned to the National Guard is "to provide trained and disciplined forces for domestic emergencies or as otherwise provided by state law." The Florida National Guard serves as the state's "defense force".
Florida currently has a State Defense Force (SDF), reactivated as of 2022. During World War II, the Florida State Guard served as the official state defense force of Florida, and was organized as a stateside replacement for the Florida National Guard and executed the stateside duties of the National Guard for the duration of the war.[1] National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau.
![Douglas Burnett, USAF, 3 November 2001 to 26 June 2010[2]](/en/File:Douglas_Burnett.jpg)
![Emmett R. Titshaw Jr., USAF, 26 June 2010[3] to 29 March 2015](/en/File:Emmett_R._Titshaw,_Jr.jpg)
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![John D. Haas, 22 April 2023[4] to present](/en/File:John_D._Haas_(3).jpg)
National Guard units can be mobilized at any time by presidential order to supplement regular armed forces, and upon declaration of a state of emergency by the governor of the state in which they serve. Unlike Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve members, National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually (except through voluntary transfers and Temporary Duty Assignments TDA), but only as part of their respective units. However, since 11 September 2001 there have been a significant number of individual activations under Title 10 USC to support military operations (2001–Present); the legality of this policy has been a major issue within the National Guard.
For much of the final decades of the twentieth century, National Guard personnel typically served "One weekend a month, two weeks a year", with a portion working for the Guard in a full-time capacity as either Active Guard and Reserve (AGR), Army Reserve Technicians or Air Reserve Technicians (ART). This changed dramatically during the 1990-91 Gulf War, and continued on to present day, with both the Federal Reserve Components and the National Guard increasingly utilized as an "operational" force for worldwide deployment.
The current forces formation plans of the US Army call for the typical Army National Guard unit (or Army National Guardsman) to serve one year of active duty for every three years of service. The US Air Force applies a similar utilization model for Air National Guard units (and Air National Guardsmen).
More specifically, previous Department of Defense policy was that no National Guardsman would be involuntarily activated for a total of more than 24 months (cumulative) in one six-year period. This policy has changed 1 August 2007, with the new policy stating that National Guard soldiers and airmen will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months; individual states have differing policies but remain subordinate to DoD policy).
As of 2020, the Florida National Guard was composed of approximately 10,000 soldiers and 1,900 airmen.[5][6]
