Maine Army National Guard

Maine Army National Guard
Seal of the Army National Guard
Active	1820 as State Militia
Country	United States
Allegiance	Maine
Branch	Army National Guard Maine Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management
Part of	Maine National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Camp Keyes, Augusta, ME

The Maine 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. The Guard is administered by the adjutant general, an appointee of the governor of Maine. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. 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.

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

The current adjutant general for the Maine National Guard is Brigadier General James D. Campbell. He is the 39th Adjutant General for the State of Maine.

The Maine Army National Guard is composed of 48 units spread across approximately 29 armories and is present in 26 communities in Maine. The headquarters is located in Camp Keyes, Augusta, ME.

The larger units in the state specialize in:

• Engineering and construction - 133rd Engineer Battalion
• Aviation - 142nd & 126th Aviation Companies

Smaller units specialties include:

• Military police
• Transportation and maintenance
• Infantry
• Headquarters related support units
• Full List of Units

In addition, it includes the 11th WMD Civil Support Team. The 11th WMD CST was of the first of the now 57 teams that are spread across the United States of America that is tasked with immediate, less than 4 hour response to any unknown chemical, biological, and/or radiological incident. The joint Army/Air Guard team can self-sustain for 72 hours of continuous operation and is constantly training to stay on top of the technology and techniques for sampling, evidence collection, identification, and education of the possibilities that the team may be alerted for.

History

The Maine National Guard was officially established in 1820 as a State Militia, when Maine entered the Union (as a result of the Missouri Compromise). Forty years later, more than 72,000 Soldiers from Maine fought to preserve the Union during the Civil War (1861–65).

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. The current forces formation plans of the US Army call for the typical National Guard unit (or National Guardsman) to serve one year of active duty for every three years of service. More specifically, current Department of Defense policy is that no Guardsman will be involuntarily activated for a total of more than 24 months (cumulative) in one six year enlistment period (this policy is due to change 1 August 2007, the new policy states that Soldiers will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months, individual states have differing policies).

Since its establishment, soldiers from the Maine Army National Guard have served in every military conflict, either in a support role, or active theater operations.

According to a March 2nd, 2013 article in the Economist, "No state has lost more soldiers in Afghanistan, per person, than Maine—a fertile recruiting ground in every conflict since the civil war and still today home to an unusual number of veterans."

Historic units

• 103rd Infantry Regiment (United States)

Maine Units in the Civil War

20th Maine Infantry Regiment

Current Units

• Augusta
  • Joint Forces Headquarters
  • Training Site Detachment
  • 121st Public Affairs Detachment
  • 240th Regimental Training Institute
  • Drug Demand Reduction Counter | Drug Task Force
  • Recruiting and Retention
  • Medical Detachment
  • 1968th Contract Contingency Team
  • 52nd Troop Command
  • 152nd Maintenance Company (-) (CRC)

• Bangor
  • Detachment 14 - OSACOM
  • 120th Regional Support Group
  • 521st Troop Command
  • 195th Army Band
  • 1-224th Aviation, Company C (Detachment 2)
  • 1-126th Aviation, Higher Headquarters Company (Detachment 2)
  • 1-126th Aviation, Company C
  • 1-126th Aviation, Company D (Detachment 2)
  • 1-126th Aviation, Company E (Detachment 2)
  • 3-142nd Aviation, Higher Headquarters Company (Detachment 2)
  • 3-142nd Aviation, Company C (Assault, Detachment 1)
  • 3-142nd Aviation, Company D (Assault, Detachment 2)
  • 3-142nd Aviation, Company E (Assault, Detachment 2)
  • 1136th Transportation Company (-)
  • 152nd Maintenance Company (Detachment 1)
  • HHC 286th Combat Service Support Battalion

• Belfast
  • 262nd Engineer Company, Detachment 1 (Horizontal)

• Brewer
  • 3/172nd Infantry (Mountain), Bravo Company
  • 3/172nd Infantry (Mountain), Higher Headquarters Company (Detachment 1)
  • 186th Brigade Support Battalion, Company E (Detachment 1)

• Calais
  • 1136th Transportation Company (Detachment 2)

• Caribou
  • 185th Engineer Company, Headquarters (Support)

• Fort Kent
  • 185th Engineer Company, Detachment 1 (Support)

• Gardiner
  • 133rd Engineer Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company
  • 1035th Survey and Design Team

• Houlton
  • 488th Military Police Company, Detachment 1

• Lewiston
  • 136th Engineer Company, Detachment 1 (Vertical)

• Norway
  • 251st Engineer Company (Sapper)

• Portland
  • Forward Support Company, 133rd Engineer Battalion

• Sanford
  • 1136th Transportation Company (Detachment 1)

• Skowhegan
  • 136th Engineer Company, Headquarters (Vertical)

• Waterville
  • 11th Civil Support Team (Weapons of Mass Destruction)
  • 488th Military Police Company, Headquarters

• Westbrook
  • 262nd Engineer Company, Headquarters (Horizontal)

See also

• United States Army branch insignia
• commons:Field Army insignia of the United States Army
• Division insignia of the United States Army
• Brigade insignia of the United States Army
• Coats of arms of U.S. Army units
• Coats of arms of U.S. Air Defense Artillery Regiments
• Coats of arms of U.S. Artillery Regiments
• Coats of arms of U.S. Armor Regiments
• Coats of arms of U.S. Army Aviation Regiments
• Coats of arms of U.S. Cavalry Regiments
• Coats of arms of U.S. Engineer Battalions
• Coats of arms of U.S. Infantry Regiments
• Distinctive unit insignia (U.S. Army)

External links

• GlobalSecurity.org Maine Army National Guard
• Official Maine Army National Guard page