Puerto Rico Army National Guard

Puerto Rico Army National Guard
Insignia of the United States Army National Guard
Founded	June 23, 1969; 47 years ago (1969-06-23)
Country	United States
Allegiance	Constitution of the United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Army National Guard
Role	provide soldiers to the U.S. Army in national emergencies or when requested by the President of the United States; ground-based operations at the state level or any other lawful service as requested by the governor of Puerto Rico
Size	7,200
Part of	Puerto Rico National Guard
Garrison/HQ	San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico Army National Guard (PRARNG) — better known in Spanish as Ejército de la Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico but officially designated as Guardia Nacional Terrestre de Puerto Rico — is the Army National Guard of Puerto Rico which, together with the Puerto Rico Air National Guard, comprises the Puerto Rico National Guard. PRARNG is the ground-component of the Puerto Rico National Guard under control of the governor of Puerto Rico, currently Alejandro García Padilla, that performs missions equivalent to those of the Army National Guards of the different states of the United States, including ground defense, disaster relief, and control of civil unrest.

The Puerto Rico National Guard, like the national guards in all 50 states, is a hybrid organization. national guards are ordinarily under the control of state (or, in the case of Puerto Rico, commonwealth) officials, but are organized pursuant to federal statute, and in war time or other emergencies, Guard units may be brought under federal control. The Puerto Rico Army National Guard and Reserve units support USARSO's many multilateral exercises and programs. It is through this integration of the Active Army, National Guard, and Reserves that US Army South [USARSO] can maximize resources to carry its missions.

In 1989, Congress authorized federal funding to permit the local National Guards to support drug interdiction and other counter-drug activities. 32 U.S.C. § 112. Section 112 provided that each state desiring to participate would draw up its own plan subject to approval by the Secretary of Defense. Despite this and other authority Puerto Rico National Guard Shoulder Insignia over the program granted to the Secretary of Defense, the statute required that the National Guard personnel involved in these operations be under local control and "not in Federal service," id. § 112(c)(1), a requirement apparently designed to mesh with the Posse Comitatus Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1385, limiting the use of federal troops for domestic law enforcement purposes.

Most National Guard members ordinarily serve only part-time, but there are exceptions. Section 112 itself provided that subject to Secretary of Defense regulations, local National Guard members could, pursuant to a state plan, "be ordered to perform full-time National Guard duty under section 502(f) of this title for the purpose of carrying out drug interdiction and counter-drug activities." 32 U.S.C. § 502(f) allows National Guard personnel to be assigned additional duties, apart from ordinary drills and field exercises, with the provision appropriate for "pay and allowances."