Maine Army National Guard

The citizens of Maine have been defending their homes and families since the first colonists came ashore in the 1630s. When Maine became part of Massachusetts in the 1670s they fought in the Massachusetts Militia during King Philip's War, Queen Anne's War, King George's War, and the War of the Spanish Succession, known in North America as the French and Indian War. In 1775, Maine Soldiers rushed to the Battle of Bunker Hill and the siege of Boston. Mainers would continue to serve through the end of the war.

Maine saw incursions from the British yet again during the War of 1812. British forces threatened the city of Portland in 1814, having seized Bangor and Castine earlier that year. The citizens of Southern Maine appealed to the government of Massachusetts for aid, as Maine was still part of Massachusetts. The federal government also ordered Massachusetts Governor Caleb Strong to send troops to defend Maine. Governor Strong declined, as his politics differed from those of President Madison. He would leave Maine to the British.

This understandably outraged the citizens of Maine, who rallied their own militia for their defense. The commander of the militia, General Alfond Richardson, began preparations for the defense of the town of Portland in defiance of Governor Strong's orders, stating that even though he was only an officer of the militia, he was still a soldier of the United States and was bound under the Constitution to protect those under him. Forts Scammel and Preble were both manned with 200 troops and the batteries on those islands were reinforced. In addition, batteries and redoubts were built on the landward side of town to protect from an invasion overland. The Portland Light Infantry Company manned the forts in the harbor from September through October, but following the failed British assaults on New York, Maryland and Louisiana launched from Canada, major offensives effectively ended altogether and no defense of southern Maine was necessary. Formed in 1803 in Portland, the company is the longest serving unit in the Maine Army National Guard.

Due to the actions of Major General Richardson and the men of the Maine Division of Militia, the British decided that the fortifications around Portland were too strong and cancelled the attack. However, the implications of this event carried over into the political realm in a major way. The District of Maine, which had been dissatisfied with the government of Massachusetts since its annexation in the 1600s, now had enough with being a part of a state that would abandon it to the British. The actions of Major General Richardson propelled the push for Maine's statehood, which would occur six years later in 1820.

The Maine National Guard was officially established in 1820 as a State Militia, when Maine entered the Union (as a result of the Missouri Compromise). Forty years later, more than 72,000 Soldiers from Maine fought to preserve the Union during the Civil War (1861–65).

For much of the final decades of the twentieth century, National Guard personnel typically served "One weekend a month, two weeks a year", with a portion working for the Guard in a full-time capacity. The current forces formation plans of the US Army call for the typical National Guard unit (or National Guardsman) to serve one year of active duty for every three years of service. More specifically, current Department of Defense policy is that no Guardsman will be involuntarily activated for a total of more than 24 months (cumulative) in one six-year enlistment period (this policy is due to change 1 August 2007, the new policy states that Soldiers will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months, individual states have differing policies).

Since its establishment, soldiers from the Maine Army National Guard have served in every military conflict, either in a support role, or active theater operations.[2]

According to a 2 March 2013 article in the Economist, "No state has lost more soldiers in Afghanistan, per person, than Maine—a fertile recruiting ground in every conflict since the civil war and still today home to an unusual number of veterans."[3]

• 103rd Infantry Regiment
• 20th Maine Infantry Regiment
• Maine National Guard units in the Civil War

Spc. Glen Mallett of the Maine Army National Guard kicks off the wall while rappelling down the rock face at Eagles Bluff

Maine Army National Guardsmen using a simulator to practice safely exiting a rolled over vehicle as part of their mobilization training

Spc. Adam Hatch of the Maine Army National Guard checks the underside of a truck for bombs, drugs or any other harmful substance at Camp Eggers in Kabul

Maine Army National Guardsmen building a school during Beyond the Horizon (BTH) 2013 in El Castano, El Salvador

U.S. Army Sgt. Anthony Sturgis, with the Maine Army National Guard's 11th Civil Support Team, rushes out from the rear of an M113 armored personnel carrier

Structure:[4]

• Augusta
  • Joint Forces Headquarters
  • Training Site Detachment
  • 121st Public Affairs Detachment
  • 240th Regiment (Regional Training Institute)
  • Drug Demand Reduction Counter | Drug Task Force
  • Recruiting and Retention
  • Medical Detachment
  • 1968th Contract Contingency Team
  • 52nd Troop Command
  • 152nd Maintenance Company (-) (CRC)
• Bangor
  • Detachment 14 - OSACOM
  • 120th Regional Support Group
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment
  • 521st Troop Command
  • 195th Army Band
  • 1st Battalion (Security & Support), 224th Aviation Regiment
  • 1st Battalion (General Support), 126th Aviation Regiment
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Company
      • Detachment 2
    • Company C
    • Company D
      • Detachment 2
    • Company E
      • Detachment 2
  • 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation Regiment
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Company
      • Detachment 2
    • Company C
      • Detachment 1
    • Company D
      • Detachment 2
    • Company E
      • Detachment 2
  • 1136th Transportation Company (-)
  • 152nd Maintenance Company (Detachment 1)
  • 286th Combat Service Support Battalion
    • Headquarters and Headquarter Company
• Belfast
  • Pending Unit Assignment
• Brewer
  • Company B, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain)
  • Headquarters & Headquarters Company (Detachment 1), 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain)
  • Company E (Detachment 1), 186th Brigade Support Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain) (supports 3-172nd Infantry Regiment)
• Calais
  • 1136th Transportation Company (Detachment 2)
• Caribou
  • HQ 185th Engineer Company (Support)
• Brunswick
  • 133rd Engineer Battalion
    • Headquarters and Headquarters Company
    • Forward Support Company
• Houlton
  • 185th Engineer Company, Detachment 1 (Support)
• Lewiston
  • 136th Engineer Company, Detachment 1 (Vertical)
• Norway
  • 251st Engineer Company (Sapper)
• Sanford
  • 262nd Engineer Company, Detachment 1 (Horizontal)
• Skowhegan
  • 136th Engineer Company, Headquarters (Vertical)
• Waterville
  • 11th Civil Support Team (Weapons of Mass Destruction)
  • 488th Military Police Company
• Westbrook
  • HQ 262nd Engineer Company (Horizontal)

• Maine State Guard

• GlobalSecurity.org Maine Army National Guard
• Official Maine Army National Guard page