McGrath, the National Guard is the direct descendant of the State Militia. It actually has a dual mission, first to support State missions (such as riot control [when asked for] or flood relief); its secondary mission is to act with the the Regular Army during time of war. The current administration, much to the disgust and dismay of Guardsman, seems to think that the Guard only has the second mission. A year or so ago the Governor of Montana asked for the various activated units of the Montana Guard be returned to State Control because of the fire season was expected to be very bad -- naturally, he was ignored.

More -- some States have backup formations for the Guard. For example, both Indiana and Ohio both have unpaid volunteer units which meet and drill which would step into the Guard's State role if the Guard were activated. Yes, these units would be armed (they are usually made up of veterans). No, I don't know if any of them have been called up because of the Iraq unpleasantness.