Virginia National Guard

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Virginia National Guard
Seal of the Virginia National Guard
Founded	1607
Country	United States
Allegiance	Virginia
Branch	United States Army  U.S. Air Force
Type	National guard
Role	Organized militia
Part of	National Guard Bureau Virginia Department of Military Affairs
Headquarters	Defense Supply Center Richmond
Motto(s)	The Commonwealth's Guardians
Engagements	American Revolution Pancho Villa Expedition World War I World War II January 6 United States Capitol attack
Website	Virginia National Guard
Commanders
Governor and Commander in Chief	Glenn Youngkin
Adjutant General	MG James W. Ring

The Virginia National Guard consists of the Virginia Army National Guard and the Virginia Air National Guard under the command of the United States Army National Guard. It is part of the state government of Virginia, despite the fact that the National Guard is mostly funded by the federal government. 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, in accordance with Title 10 of the United States Code.^[1]

Many states also maintain their own military forces. These forces are federally recognized, but are separate from the United States National Guard Bureau and are not meant to be federalized, but rather service the state exclusively, especially when the National Guard is deployed and unavailable. The Virginia Defense Force is the commonwealth's own all-volunteer, formal military organization that is the reserve to the Virginia National Guard.^[2]