Overview
- Marking the Guard’s 1636 founding date, New York’s headquarters hosted a Dec. 12 cake cutting by Chief Warrant Officer 5 William Solmo and Airman 1st Class Emma Grace Charboneau, following the oldest-and-youngest tradition with a saber under Brig. Gen. Gary Charlton.
- Massachusetts held an oath ceremony at the State House in Boston, and a Washington, D.C., gala featured remarks by National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Steven Nordhaus.
- The celebrations follow months of high-profile deployments to U.S. cities, with senators pressing military leaders on the legality of those missions at a hearing three days before the anniversary.
- Guard leadership says recruiting exceeded fiscal-year targets for a second year, attributing part of the gain to greater public visibility from new missions.
- California officials cited recent court actions limiting federalized use of its Guard after a judge in August ruled the President’s Los Angeles deployment violated the Posse Comitatus Act.