Louisiana National Guard

The Louisiana National Guard consists of the Louisiana Army National Guard, a reserve component of the United States Army, and the Louisiana Air National Guard, a reserve component of the United States Air Force, under the United States Department of Defense. The guard is directed by an adjutant general appointed by the Governor of Louisiana. Unless federalized by order of the President of the United States, which places members on active US military duty status, the Louisiana National Guard is under the jurisdiction of the Louisiana Military Department. The National Guard has both active and inactive (reserve) members as well as full and part-time members. Part-time Guard members are referred to as 'weekend Warriors' both by the military and civilians. HISTORY The National Guard traces its beginning to 1636 and the militia of the colonies. In 2011 the National Guard celebrated 375 years of service.The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system. From 1968 to 1972 in the second term of Governor John J. McKeithen, the adjutant general was David Wade, then a retired Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force, who had commanded Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City from 1963 to 1966. In 1980, Governor Dave Treen elevated Ansel M. Stroud, Jr., from assistant adjutant general to adjutant general, a position which Stroud filled until 1997. Eugene McGehee, a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and a state district court judge from East Baton Rouge Parish, advanced in the Louisiana National Guard from private beginning in 1948 to colonel over a period of more than three decades of service.[6]Bert A. Adams, a member of the Louisiana House from 1956 to 1968, won a Bronze Star Medal in World War II and subsequently advanced to captain in the National Guard. Randal Gaines, a lieutenant colonel in the Louisiana National Guard, is a member of the Louisiana House for St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes. Ronald A. Waller was the first African American named a lieutenant colonel of the Louisiana National Guard.