United States National Guard records can be valuable resources for family historians. These records offer important information about your ancestors' military service as well as provide personal details not elsewhere readily accessible or be used to validate such details obtained from other sources.
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The National Guard history and organisation
The National Guard is a specialised military entity, with both U.S. state and federal roles. Each state, along with the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, has its own National Guard unit, that is 54 organizations in total[1].
The Guard's origin can be traced back to American colonial militias formed in the 17th century. The term National Guard was first used in 1824 in New York, drawing inspiration from the French National Guard. Its modern structure flows from the Militia Act of 1903 which also led to enhanced federal control over the state-based National Guard units[2].
Today the National Guard consists of two main components: the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard. When activated for federal missions National Guard units become part of the U.S. military's reserve under the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force respectively.
The Guard has a key role in responding to natural disasters or in cases of serious domestic civil unrest at both state and national level. At the state level National Guard units can be called into action by their respective State Governor through the state's Adjutant General. National Guard units can also be mobilised for federal active duty during times of war or other national emergencies declared by Congress or the President. Elements of the National Guard have also been deployed to support U.S. military operations overseas. The Guard is overseen at the federal level by the National Guard Bureau. The Bureau sets policies, training requirements and funding levels[3].
Most National Guard personnel serve part-time while holding civilian jobs or attending school. These Guard members commit to regular monthly training plus a minimum of a few weeks of service per year. Most members serve in the states in which they live[4].
Information contained in National Guard records
National Guard records contain a wide variety of personal information which can assist with family history research[5]:
Personal information
- Full name (including any aliases)
- Date and place of birth
- Physical description
- Next of kin or family members
- Occupation before enlistment
Service information
- Dates of enlistment and discharge
- Rank and promotions
- Unit assignment
- Service locations
Pension records (if the member applied for or received a military pension)
- Marriage certificates
- Birth & death records
- Correspondence from family members
- Affidavits from witnesses
- Medical details
Unit Records
- Reports and documentation related to military operations and missions of individual National Guard units
- Archives of significant events, correspondence, and other historical documents related to the National Guard
Finding and making best use of National Guard records
As with all family research efforts, the place to start is gather as much basic information about your ancestor as possible. You will want their full name, date of birth, the state National Guard in which you believe they served and the approximate years of that service.
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There are also different types of National Guard records, such as service records, medical records, and Inspector General records. The type of record you need will determine where you should initially focus your search.
- The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the official repository for records of personnel who have been discharged from all branches of the U.S. military. This includes National Guard personnel who were activated for duty. National Archives online catalogue offers details of NARA's holdings of National Guard personnel and provides access to electronic records and digitised copies where these are available.
- The NARA website also provides information about how to request military records. You may need to submit a formal request for records[6]. This can typically be done using Standard Form (SF) 180, which you can download the form here.
- For pre-1917 National Guard records NARA also holds military service records for soldiers from the Revolutionary War up to 1916, including state volunteers and regimental records. You can access digitised records at the National Archives Building in Washington DC, or through NARA's online catalogue.
- In cases where National Guard member was never on active service the member's records will be held at the state level. If you are unsure about the member's active status the Adjutant General of the appropriate state can provide confirmation. The website of the National Guard Association provides contact details for the Adjunct General of each state.
- Finding National Guard records held by individual states or territories can be a challenge. Each U.S. state and territory maintains its own records for their National Guard. Many states have online portals where you can request records. In addition the National Guard Bureau Publications & Forms Library provides contact details for the various state/territory repositories from whom you can request National Guard service records.
- For Air National Guard personnel records for Airmen and Officers separated after 2004, you can try contacting the Air Reserve Personnel Center (ARPC) located at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado.
Access limitations on National Guard records
States are required by law, to maintain their National Guard records for at least 99 years. However, there are access restrictions due to privacy concerns. Access to more recent records (less than 62 years old) is typically restricted to the veteran or their next-of-kin. Only limited information may be available without this consent.
Additionally, specific records may have been lost in a 1973 fire at NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). This affected many Army and Air Force records which were either totally destroyed or damaged. Efforts to reconstruct damaged records are ongoing and new technologies, such as infrared cameras, are helping to recover information from them[7]. With record to medical records that may have been held by the NPRC researchers can submit a Request for Information Needed to Reconstruct Medical Data to assist the NPRC search for alternative documents to reconstruct affected records.
Explore more about National Guard records
MyHeritage includes searchable databases of millions of military records can provide birth and death dates, names and addresses of family members and details of an individual's service. For example one MyHeritage collection contains records of individuals who served in the National Guard of Indiana covering 1885-1949. These records typically include the name of the individual, residence and enlistment date.
Through MyHeritage you can also search through a wide range of military histories with access to over 600,000 military documents relating to the armed forces of the United States.
The MyHeritage blog includes helpful article son military records searches:
- How to Find Military Records for Various Family Members provides a guide to finding family members using military records, complete with resources to help you in the search. This covers both the types of records available to how to use online databases of various government agencies.
- How to Conduct a Military Records Search outlines specific search strategies.
- Military Records: Search by Name on MyHeritage on the MyHeritage Knowledge Base
The Legacy Family Tree Webinar Library includes over 70 individual webinars covering all aspects of searching historic military records, for example Accessing National Archives Military Records from Start to Finish
See also
References
- ↑ Wikimedia Foundation. (2025, February 20). National Guard (United States). Wikipedia.
- ↑ Wikimedia Foundation. (2025a, February 5). History of the United States Army National Guard. Wikipedia.
- ↑ Council on Foreign Relations. (n.d.). What does the U.S. National Guard Do?. Council on Foreign Relations.
- ↑ Wikimedia Foundation. (2025b, February 19). Army National Guard. Wikipedia.
- ↑ National Archives and Records Administration. (n.d.). Genealogy research in military records. National Archives and Records Administration.
- ↑ National Archives and Records Administration. (n.d.-b). Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), archival records requests. National Archives and Records Administration.
- ↑ Experts Restore Military Personnel Records 40 years after Blaze. National Guard. (2013b, July 12).