Louisiana Army National Guard

Headquarters, State Area Command Louisiana Army National Guard
Louisiana National Guard Vehicles Preparing for Gustav
Country	United States
Allegiance	Louisiana
Branch	United States Army
Type	ARNG Headquarters Command
Part of	Louisiana National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Jackson Barracks, New Orleans
Commanders
Current commander	Major General Glenn H. Curtis
Notable commanders	Raymond H. Fleming

The Louisiana Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. When not Federalized the National Guard is the only United States military force empowered to function in a state status. Those functions range from limited actions during non-emergency situations to full scale law enforcement of Martial law when local law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control. The National Guard may be called into federal service in response to a call by the President or Congress.

Currently, there are approximately 11,500 soldiers serving in the Louisiana Army National Guard. The Louisiana National Guard maintains 74 units in 44 parishes (56 armory locations) across the state.

The Louisiana Army National Guard was originally formed in the "18th Century when a militia was formed from among the civilian inhabitants of Colonial Louisiana to assist Royal French and Spanish troops in protecting the colony and preserving the peace" The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system.

Several units of the Louisiana Army National Guard were activated in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990-1991. These included the 159th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, which operated the only active hospital in southern Iraq in support of the 3rd Armor Division during the ground war; the 812th Medical Detachment (Air Ambulance), which flew multiple Medevac missions during the ground war; the 3673rd Maintenance Company, which included members awarded the Bronze Star for their rescue actions during the Scud attacks in Dharan; and the 39th Military Police company, which assisted in managing the large amount of POWs captured.