| Colorado Army National Guard | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the Colorado Army National Guard | |
| Founded | 1903 |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  State of Colorado |
| Type | ARNG Headquarters Command |
| Part of | Colorado National Guard |
| Garrison/HQ | Centennial, Colorado |
| Website | https://co.ng.mil/Army/ |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Brigadier General Laura Clellan |
| Notable commanders | BGFelix L. Sparks |
| Insignia | |
| Colorad ARNG STARC SSI |  |
| Colorado ARNG Headquarters DUI | .jpg) |
| Colorado ARNG Headquarters Flag |  |
| Colorado ARNG 89th Troop Command Flag |  |
| Colorado National Guard Crest |  |
TheColorado Army National Guard is a component of theUnited States Army,United States National Guard, andColorado National Guard. Nationwide, theArmy National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization. National coordination of various state National Guard units is maintained through theNational Guard Bureau.
Colorado Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army. The sameranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive allUnited States military awards. The Colorado Guard also bestows a number ofstate awards for local services rendered in or to the state ofColorado.
The Colorado Army National Guard is composed of over 3500 soldiers, maintaining 30 armories in 24 communities (as of 1999).
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The following units are part of the Colorado Army National Guard:
169th Field Artillery Brigade – Buckley SFB, Aurora[1]
3rd Battalion,157th Field Artillery Regiment – Colorado Springs89th Troop Command[2].png)
5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) – Watkins
193d Military Police Battalion (I/R) – Denver
2d Battalion (General Support),135th Aviation Regiment – Buckley SFB, Aurora[4]
117th Space Support Battalion – Colorado Springs
1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment – Colorado Springs
168th Regiment, Regional Training Institute (RTI)
100th Missile Defense Brigade (Ground-Based Midcourse Defense)[6] Colorado Springs, CONational Guard units can be mobilized at any time bypresidential order to supplement regular armed forces, and upon declaration of astate of emergency by thegovernor of the state in which they serve. UnlikeArmy Reserve members, National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually (except through voluntary transfers and Temporary Duty AssignmentsTDY), but only as part of their respectiveunits. However, there has been a significant number of individual activations to support military operations (2001–?); the legality of this policy is a major issue within the National Guard.[citation needed]
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, currentDepartment 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).[citation needed]
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The Colorado VolunteerMilitia, predecessor of the Colorado Army National Guard, was originally formed in 1860. TheMilitia Act of 1903 organized the variousstatemilitias into the present National Guard system.[citation needed]
The Colorado National Guard was involved in the suppression of multiplestrikes, including the1903–1904 Cripple Creek Strike while under the command of GeneralJohn Chase. During the 1913–1914United Mine Workers of America strike against theRockefeller-ownedColorado Fuel and Iron company–an event known as theColorado Coalfield War–the Guard was deployed in October 1913, again under the command of Chase.[8] The Guard was involved in several violent encounters prior to the April 20, 1914Ludlow Massacre, in which over a dozen women and children were killed when Guardsmen fired into a tent camp atLudlow. Following the massacre, the Guard battled strikers throughout Southern Colorado during a10-Day War.[9]
Originally, the Colorado ARNG was a part of theSouthern Department. This was later redesignated, in 1920, asEighth Corps Area, with headquarters atFort Sam Houston, Texas. In 1941, the Colorado ARNG came under the newCentral Defense Command.
Approximately 300 Colorado ARNG soldiers deployed to Iraq with the36th Combat Aviation Brigade in September 2006. On October 20, 2007 the Guard's provisional 193rd Space Battalion became a permanent-status unit, the117th Space Battalion.[10] On September 25, 2010, the 1st Battalion,157th Infantry Regiment was reestablished.[11] By 2018–19, it had become part of theVermont-based86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, consisting of three National Guard mountain battalions.
The Colorado Army National Guard was deployed to Washington, D.C.[when?] to avoid another violent riot such as BLM Rioting and looting or similar to theone on January 6, when supporters of outgoing PresidentDonald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol where a Capitol police officer shot and killed a female protester. Three other individuals died due to "health complications" during the protest.[12] In November 2023, two Colorado congressmen accused theNational Guard Bureau of lack of proper payment to 13,000 members in their service.[13]
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