The United States National Guard is part of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. All members of the National Guard are also members of the militia of the United States as defined by Title 10 of the United States Code. National Guard units are under the dual control of the state and the federal government.
The majority of National Guard soldiers and airmen hold a civilian job full-time while serving part-time as a National Guard member. These part-time guardsmen are augmented by a full-time cadre of Active Guard & Reserve (AGR) personnel in both the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, plus Army Reserve Technicians in the Army National Guard and Air Reserves Technicians (ART) in the Air National Guard.
Local militias were formed from the earliest English colonization of the Americas in 1607. The first colony-wide militia was formed by Massachusetts in 1636 by merging small older local units, and several National Guard units can be traced back to this militia. The various colonial militias became state militias when the United States became independent. The title "National Guard" was used in 1824 by some New York State militia units, named after the French National Guard in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette. "National Guard" became a standard nationwide militia title in 1903 and specifically indicated reserve forces under mixed state and federal control since 1933.
The North Carolina Army National Gurad is organized into six major comands. The units come under supervision of the Adjutant General in time of peace and automatically become part of his command when they are first ordered into active military service of the United States in case of emergency. This road leads to the home of C Company, 131st Aviation Regiment, North Carolina Army National Guard. They currently operate the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. If you are here at the right time you might get to see them in action.