Delaware Army National Guard

Headquarters, State Area Command Delaware Army National Guard
Active
Country	United States
Allegiance	Delaware
Branch	Army National Guard
Type	ARNG Headquarters Command
Part of	Delaware National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Wilmington, Delaware
Commanders
Current commander	Major General Francis Vavala
State Command Sergeant Major	CSM Rosemarie Williams

Seal of the Army National Guard

The Delaware National Guard comprises both Army and Air National Guard components. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. In fact, the National Guard is the only United States military force empowered to function in a state status. Those functions range from limited actions during non-emergency situations to full scale law enforcement of martial law when local law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control. The National Guard may be called into federal service in response to a call by the President or Congress.

The Delaware Army National Guard is composed of approximately ____ soldiers, and maintains 15 armories in 12 communities.

When National Guard troops are called to federal service, the President serves as Commander-In-Chief. The federal mission assigned to the National Guard is: "To provide properly trained and equipped units for prompt mobilization for war, National emergency or as otherwise needed."

The Governor may call individuals or units of the Delaware National Guard into state service during emergencies or to assist in special situations which lend themselves to use of the National Guard. 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 State Defense force is a military entity authorized by both the State Code of Delaware and Executive Order. The State Defense Force (SDF) is the state’s authorized militia and assumes the state mission of the Delaware National Guard in the event the Guard is mobilized. The SDF comprises retired active and reserve military personnel and selected professional persons who volunteer their time and talents in further service to their state.

The Delaware Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization. National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau.

Delaware Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army. The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards. The Delaware Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in or to the state of Delaware.

Units

• Joint Forces Headquarters - a Detachment-sized unit which comprises the Headquarters elements of both Army and Air National Guards for the state.
• 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC)- Deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom at Camp Victory, Iraq from October 2008 through September 2009.
  • 198th Signal Battalion - deployed to Iraq in October 2006; scheduled 12-month deployment. Returned successfully and safely with numerous awards.
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC)
    • A Company
    • B Company
    • C company
  • 280th Signal Battalion (deactivated)
• 72nd Troop Command (Brigade)
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD)
  • 721st Troop Command (Battalion)
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD)
    • 262nd Component Repair Company - Deployed to Iraq Summer of 2009 with a Convoy Security mission. Returned to Delaware and released from active duty April 18, 2010.
    • 160th Engineer Company - a platoon-sized element returned from a 14-month deployment in Iraq in November 2006.
    • 150th Engineer Detachment (formerly 249th Engineer Detachment) 249th deployed to Iraq at the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom, providing some of the first reconstruction efforts following the fall of the Hussein regime.
    • 1049th Transportation Company (formerly 945th Quartermaster Company) 945th deployed in the early years of Operation Iraqi freedom (need dates). The unit is currently training in anticipation of deployment late in 2010.
  • 722nd Troop Command (Battalion)
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD)
    • 153rd Military Police Company - Deployed to Saudia Arabia in 2002-2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Deployed to Iraq in support of OIF from June 2007 through May 2008.
    • 287th Army Band (http://www.287armyband.com)
    • A Company, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment (formerly 1-150th GSAB) - Mobilized November 2009 for training pending deployment to Afghanistan in the spring of 2010.
    • 121st Medical Company (Air Ambulance) - Mobilized for two years at Fort Lewis, WA (need dates). 121st is one of the last Army Aviation units to still fly the UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" helicopter.
    • 101st Public Affairs Detachment (Formerly Detachment 1, 444th Mobile Public Affairs)- Deployed to Germany for 6 months 1996; mobilized at Fort Dix, NJ February 2002 through September 2004.
  • 31st Civil Support Team (WMD)
  • 193rd Regiment (Regional Training Institute) located at Bethany Beach Training Site, 193rd RTI is the host of the state Officer Candidate School and Recruit Sustainment Program and has facilities to support a variety of training for both Army and Air National Guard units.
  • Embedded Training Team (ETT) - In addition to the above permanent units, an Embedded Training Team (ETT) consisting of eleven Delaware Army National Guard Soldiers from units all over the state mobilized for pre-deployment training in January 2010. The Delaware troops were joined by nine Soldiers from the Vermont, Alabama, New Jersey and Puerto Rico National Guards and deployed to Afghanistan in the spring of 2010. The ETT's mission is to assist in training and mentoring Afghan National Army units and soldiers.

Duties

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.

History

The Delaware Army National Guard traces its origins back to August 31, 1655, when Swedish settlers were asked to take up arms to defend the colony against a Dutch attack on Fort Christina.

During the American Revolution, Delaware's First Regiment fought with General George Washington at the Battle of Long Island.

In the War of 1812 all Delaware volunteer units saw service at Lewes, where they comprised the bulk of force that drove off a British naval squadron seeking control of the Delaware River. The 198th Signal Battalion (ARNG DE), which traces its lineage to three militia units that were federalized during the War of 1812, is one of only nineteen Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812.

In the Mexican War (1846–1847), the Federal Government would not accept volunteer companies but the Delaware volunteers were not content to stay home. After much red tape, a statewide composite unit was formed. They fought with distinction in the battles of Contreras, Cherubusco, Molino del Ray and Chapultepec where there were almost twice as many Delaware volunteers present as marines. The unit lost so many men in these actions it became known as "The Bloody 11th."

The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system.

Governor Charles L. Terry, Jr. deployed the National Guard to the city of Wilmington following the assassination of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on 9 April 1968, at the request of Mayor John Babiarz.^{[citation needed]} One week later, Mayor Babiarz requested the National Guard troops be withdrawn, but Governor Terry refused, and kept them in the city until his term ended in January, 1969. This is reportedly the longest occupation of an American city by state forces in the nation's history. in the aftermath of the occupation, recruiting offices of all military branches were removed from locations within the city limits until the early 2000s.

Following the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, numerous units of the Delaware Army National Guard have deployed to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedome and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Troops from both the Delaware Army and Air National Guard volunteered to support disaster relief operations in Louisiana and Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"Operation Arctic Vengeance I and II" saw over 300 DEARNG Soldiers volunteer to support the State of Emergency declared by Gov. Jack Markell following a pair of debilitating snowstorms from Feb. 7 through Feb. 12, 2010. DEARNG troops completed over 250 missions assisting local and state agencies with including Emergency Medical Services , fire calls, law enforcement, dialysis patient transport and civilian transport to warming stations.

See History of the United States National Guard for a more complete history of the guard at a national level.

Historic units

• 198th Coast Artillery (AA)
• 150th Avation

See also

• State Defense Forces
• Militia
• Home Guard (disambiguation)
• Delaware Air National Guard
• Division insignia of the United States Army
• United States Army branch insignia
• United States Army Aviation Branch
• Coats of arms of U.S. Army Aviation Regiments
• Coats of arms of U.S. Armor and Cavalry Regiments
• Field Artillery Branch (United States)
• U.S. Army Regimental System
• Coats of arms of U.S. Artillery Regiments
• Coats of arms of U.S. Infantry Regiments
• Coats of arms of U.S. Air Defense Artillery Regiments

References

• United States National Guard, accessed 4 Nov 2006
• Delaware National Guard, accessed 20 Nov 2006
• GlobalSecurity.org Delaware Army National Guard, accessed 20 Nov 2006

External links

• Bibliography of Delaware Army National Guard History compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History