National Guard

noun

1. state military forces, in part equipped, trained, and quartered by the U.S. government, and paid by the U.S. government, that become an active component of the army when called into federal service by the president in civil emergencies.

National Guard

noun

1. (sometimes not capitals) the armed force, first commanded by Lafayette, that was established in France in 1789 and existed intermittently until 1871

2. (in the US) a state military force that can be called into federal service by the president

National Guard

1. The volunteer military forces of each state, which the governor of a state can summon in times of civil disorder or natural disaster. Through congressional and presidential order, the National Guard can be called into service in the regular United States army.

Example Sentences

He noted how he had been told to expect a call from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth the weekend before Illinois National Guard troops were federalized, but that call never was made.

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But members of his Cabinet and military advisors blocked the move, as they did efforts to use the National Guard for immigration enforcement and the military to patrol the border.

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National Guard troops to the city and said he would consider calling in active-duty military troops if needed.

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On Saturday, an appeals court paused a lower court’s ruling that halted any deployment of the National Guard within Illinois for two weeks.

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The deployment in Chicago involves 200 National Guard troops from Texas and 300 from Illinois, according to US Army Northern Command, with an initial mobilization period of 60 days.

Read more on Barron's