Maine Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management

The Maine Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management (DVEM) is a government agency of Maine. It comprises the two components of the Maine National Guard, the Maine Army National Guard and the Maine Air National Guard, the Bureau of Veterans' Affairs, and the Maine Emergency Management Agency. The Adjutant General of Maine, Brigadier General Doug A. Farnham, commands the Maine National Guard and serves as the State's Commissioner of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management (DVEM). The Maine Army and Air National Guard has responded to every call of the State and Nation since before the Revolutionary War. Their soldiers and airmen are trained to high standards and are ready to respond to combat missions, domestic emergencies, counterdrug efforts, reconstruction missions and more.

Maine Veterans' Services was established in 1947. The Bureau's main office is located at Camp Keyes in Augusta. The Bureau comes under the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management. In addition to the main office, the Bureau has six field service offices strategically located throughout the state and a claims office located at the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Togus, Maine. The Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery system is also a part of the Bureau and consists of two cemeteries located in Augusta and Caribou. The Bureau is currently in theplanning stages for development of another cemetery in Springvale.

The Maine National Guard consists of the Maine Army National Guard and the Maine Air National Guard. The Guard is administered by the adjutant general, an appointee of the governor of Maine. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. 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. When National Guard troops are called to federal service, the President serves as Commander-in-Chief. The federal mission assigned to the National Guard is: "To provide properly trained and equipped units for prompt mobilization for war, National emergency or as otherwise needed." The Governor may call individuals or units of the Maine National Guard into state service during emergencies or to assist in special situations which lend themselves to use of the National Guard. The state mission assigned to the National Guard is: "To provide trained and disciplined forces for domestic emergencies or as otherwise provided by state law." The current adjutant general for the Maine National Guard is Brigadier General Douglas A. Farnham.

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