Missouri National Guard
| Missouri National Guard | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1808–present |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Allegiance |
 Missouri
|
| Part of |
Missouri Department of Public Safety National Guard of the United States |
| Headquarters | Jefferson City, Missouri |
| Motto(s) | Protectors of Peace |
| Commanders | |
| Governor and Commander in Chief | Eric Greitens |
| Adjutant General | Stephen Danner |
The Missouri National Guard (1808-present) is a component of the Missouri Department of Public Safety and the National Guard of the United States. It is composed of Army and Air National Guard units. Eric Greitens, Governor of Missouri, is Commander in Chief. The headquarters is in Jefferson City, Missouri.
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 United States 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).
In December 1989, a contingent of 22 Military Policemen from the 1138th Military Police Company was in Panama on a two-week annual training when "Operation Just Cause" commenced. The MPs, who specialized in enemy prisoner of war operations, augmented the active duty force at Fort Clayton, taking enemy mortar and artillery fire when the invasion began. While serving in combat, the unit set up and operated the Empire Range EPW camp. They made history by being the first National Guard unit called into active service since the Vietnam War.
The 1138th was called upon once again to serve after the Invasion of Kuwait the following year. It was one of the first Guard units placed on alert status in August, 1990 but did not deploy until December, 1990. The Missouri Guard was the first Enemy Prisoner of War (EPW) unit to deploy as part of the 400th MP Battalion. Eventually it set up and operated the 301st EPW Camp, near the Saudi Arabian city of Hafar Al-Batin (Hotel 301). It returned to a hero's welcome back to West Plains, Missouri in May 1991.
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