After protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, President Donald Trump took the contentious step of mobilizing thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of US Marines in response.
While the use of the National Guard against the California governor’s wishes is significant, in general these military personnel are trained for rapid response to emergencies within the United States.
Military reserve force
The National Guard is a military reserve force within the United States Armed Forces, meaning that most of its members serve part-time while holding civilian jobs or conducting other activities.
As a response force, the National Guard can be mobilized rapidly to address emergency situations on US soil, typically natural disasters.
When needed, National Guard units can also be activated for deployments into combat zones, especially if the United States is at war.
Unlike branches of the US military, the National Guard performs both state- and federal-level functions, and is organized into groupings based in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the US territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands.
As a state-based force, generally it is the governor of a state or territory who activates and commands the National Guard when needed.
However, in some situations the National Guard can be “federalized” by the president, bringing it under the president’s control until the specific federal mission has ended — as is the case in Los Angeles currently.
The latest budget from the Department of Defense authorizes 433,000 National Guard personnel in total, split across the Air National Guard and Army National Guard.
This means that compared to other components of the US military, the National Guard is second only to the US Army in terms of size.
Emergency response
National Guard members are typically deployed during emergencies such as natural disasters at the request of governors and based on specific provisions in each state’s laws.
In the aftermath of events like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods, state National Guards are often called on to help evacuate dangerous areas, deliver supplies to places that would otherwise be cut off, or provide specialist equipment needed to clear hazardous debris.
The largest National Guard deployment in recent years was during the COVID-19 pandemic, where troops helped construct and staff emergency care facilities, transport health supplies around the country, and coordinate other logistics.
Outside of a natural disaster, deployment of the guard can be ordered in emergencies created by the breakdown of public order — the provision that Trump controversially invoked when sending troops to California.
History with protest
The use of the National Guard to manage public unrest is not unique to Trump, even if the current deployment is unusual.
During the widespread Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, more than half of US states activated National Guard troops to maintain order and help enforce curfews.
Before that, they were also deployed to LA in 1992 to respond to riots that occurred after police officers who had beaten motorist Rodney King were acquitted at trial.
At that time, riots, looting and arson attacks had spread across the city, with dozens of people killed and thousands injured.
The National Guard was deployed during the 1950s and 60s Civil Rights era to help enforce school desegregation, following the Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling.
In one of the force’s darkest moments, in May 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard clashed with anti-war protesters at Kent State University. As unrest swelled, the troops opened fire, killing four unarmed students.
The shootings sparked outrage, but also led to reform of the guard’s use-of-force guidelines.
