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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

If the National Guard is deployed for a national emergency, is it under the command of the President?

By Lisa Freedland
YES

In the case of a national emergency, the National Guard is federalized and responds directly to the president. During peacetime, the authorities of the 50 states and three territories control their own guard units. Even then, guards have dual missions to their home states and to the federal government, if called on in the case of war or national emergencies.

The District of Columbia National Guard is the only unit that reports to the president at all times. The president has delegated the authority to activate the unit to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Army.

The guard can be deployed either for domestic or overseas operations. Unlike active-duty branches of the U.S. military, guard members serve part-time, similar to the reserves of the active branches. Many guardsmen also have civilian jobs.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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