Citizen Soldiers: A Deeper Look into the Army National Guard

Recently, Veterans all over the nation celebrated Veterans Day. November is usually filled with celebrations for Veterans of all branches, and then slowly the festivities die down as the nation shifts to Thanksgiving and the holiday season. However, on December 13th another meaningful military milestone often goes unnoticed and now more than ever, it should be recognized and celebrated. On December 13, 2025, the Army National Guard celebrated 389 years of faithful service.

Mission of the Army National Guard

The National Guard is the largest military component of the U.S. military. It has a distinctive mission, to protect and serve at both the state and federal levels. At the state levels, Governors can call upon the National Guard in times of domestic emergencies, mostly classified as civil unrest and to aid communities in recovery from natural disasters, such as floods. At the Federal level, the President can mobilize the National Guard for national issues and internationally to support missions that can involve combat, or peacekeeping efforts.

Recent News

In the news, the National Guard can be used by a president frequently. In this manner, members of the National Guard can face many dangers that are not uncommon for other branches of the U.S. Military. We all heard stories of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, a member of the West Virginia Army National Guard, who lost her life during an incident that occurred in Washington DC. Sadly, Specialist Beckstrom died while on duty on November 26, 2025.

How the Guard Operates

The National Guard is composed of mostly part-time Citizen-Soldiers. The Guard operates like a reserve unit, with drill weekends and then annual training, which is a two-week period of training each year.

Personal Experiences

After my four years of active duty in the U.S. Marines, I served as a Citizen-Soldier in the Army National Guard for nine years while pursuing my undergraduate degree at Wayne State University. I, like many other members of the National Guard, worked, attended school and served in the National Guard. In addition, over 70% of the members in service with the National Guard are prior service members, like me.

The National Guard offers benefits for members to pursue higher levels of education and help in numerous ways to advance in service and aide with career development. Personally, I was able to obtain my MBA and many director-level positions with both state and Federal jobs because of the training I received while serving in the National Guard.

Support and Recognition for National Guard Service

Today, we see the National Guard in media outlets and various stories of how it has been mobilized in support of directives given by the President. While we may not all agree with the directives, we can agree that support and recognition of these individuals who answered the call to serve is needed now more than ever.

Call to Action

Furthermore, we can all take a clear call to action by writing our political leaders and urging them to ensure that members of the National Guard are eligible for VA benefits. Many Citizen-Soldiers currently do not qualify because they lack sufficient time in service under existing federal orders. Remember this the next time your community faces a crisis, and a Guard member comes to your aid, those individuals put their lives in danger to protect you, and like any other Veteran, they deserve support when their service to our country comes to an end.