National Guard Celebrates 374 Years

By Army Sgt. Darron Salzer

National Guard Bureau

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2010 – Air Force Lt. Gen. Harry “Bud” Wyatt, director of the Air National Guard, helped the Guard mark its 374th birthday yesterday at a Capitol Hill celebration.

“Historians have traced the origins of the National Guard to the first muster on Dec. 13, 1636, in the colony of Massachusetts, when the Massachusetts Bay Colony summoned their militia, and organized them into three regiments in the North, South and East,” Wyatt said.

“I’m sure those Guardsmen and soldiers in Massachusetts back in 1636 could not have imagined the missions that the Guard does today,” the general continued. “They would probably also be amazed to find that we now number close to half a million soldiers and airmen in service to their country.”

Other honored guests in attendance to wish the Guard a happy birthday included Congressmen Steve Buyer of Indiana, Duncan Hunter from California, Gene Taylor from Mississippi, and Christopher Bond of Missouri.

The National Guard Association of the United States hosted the event in the Rayburn House Office Building.