What is "home guard"

n. a volunteer unit formed to defend the homeland while the regular army is fighting elsewhere

The Norwegian Home Guard , is a rapid mobilisation force in the Norwegian military. Founded 6 December 1946, it is the second youngest branch in the Norwegian forces after the Norwegian Cyber Force . It has land, sea and air defense units, and has volunteers and conscript personnel with backgrounds from all branches. Its main focus is local defense and civil support, but it can also detach volunteers for international operations.

The Home Guard (initially "Local Defence Volunteers" or LDV) was a defence organisation of the British Army during the Second World War. Operational from 1940 until 1944, the Home Guard was composed of 1.5 million local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, such as those too young or too old to join the services, or those in reserved occupations–hence the nickname " Dad's Army". Their role was to act as a secondary defence force, in case of invasion by the forces of Nazi Germany and their allies. They were to try to slow down the advance of the enemy, even by a few hours in order to give the regular troops time to regroup. The Home Guard continued to guard the coastal areas of the United Kingdom and other important places such as airfields, factories and explosives stores until late 1944 when they were stood down, and finally disbanded in December 1945.

The Home Guard – National Security Forces is a military reserve force of the Swedish Armed Forces. It was formally established on May 29, 1940, during World War II upon popular demand. While originally composed of former militia groups, today it comprises half of the Swedish Army, thus constituting the basis of the territorial defence of Sweden.

The Swedish National Home Guard consists mainly of local rapid countermeasure units, numbering 17,000 of the 22,000 total Home Guard strength, organised in 300 companies in 70 battalions, with 23 associated auxiliary defence organisations. The majority of the soldiers maintain a civilian job while serving the army part-time. Contemporary rapid countermeasure units were formed in the early 2000s as a consequence of the Swedish government's abolishment of the conscription to the Swedish Armed Forces.

The Commander, Rikshemvärnschefen, is the head of the Home Guard, representing 40 000 present and veteran soldiers, reporting directly to the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces.

The Danish Home Guard (HJV) is the fourth service of the Danish military, it was formerly concerned only with the defence of Danish territory, but since 2008, it has also supported the Danish military efforts in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Service is voluntary and unpaid, though members' loss of income from time taken off work, transport expenses and other basic expenses are compensated. Workshop and depot staff plus clerks and senior officers are all paid. The unarmed Women's Army Corps (Lottekorpset) was merged in 1989 with the then all-male Home Guard to form the present, armed Home Guard.

Its top authority is the Home Guard Command (HJK), which, unlike Army Operational Command (HOK), Admiral Danish Fleet (SOK) and Tactical Air Command (FTK), is managed directly by the Danish Ministry of Defence (FMN). Only in times of tension and war will the Danish Defence Command (FKO) assume command over the Home Guard.

The Danish Home Guard is jointly headed by Major General Finn Winkler (since May 2010) and a political leader who is usually a member of the Danish Parliament. On November 1, 2013 MP Bjarne Laustsen (Social Democrats) became the political leader.

Home Guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense.

The term "Home Guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting with units formed by German immigrants in Missouri, and may derive from possible historic use of the term Heimwehr ("home guard") to describe units officially known as Landwehr ("country guard"), or from an attempted translation of landwehr.

The Indian Home Guard is an Indian paramilitary police force. It is a voluntary force, tasked as an auxiliary to the Indian Police. The Home Guards Organisation was reorganised in India in 1962 after the Sino-Indian War with the People's Republic of China, though it existed in smaller units individually in some places. Home Guards are recruited from various cross sections of the civil society such as professionals, college students, agricultural and industrial workers etc. who give their spare time for betterment of the community. All citizens of India, in the age group of 18-50, are eligible. Normal tenure of membership in Home Guards is 3 to 5 years.

In the American Civil War the Home Guard or Home Guards were local militia raised from Union loyalists.

The Home Guard was a wartime armed service during World War II that was established with the primary objective of defending New Zealand from the threat posed by the Empire of Japan.

The Home Guard, modelled on its British equivalent, was formed in 1940. Membership was initially voluntary, with a minimum age of 15 but no upper limit. From 1942, membership was compulsory for those in the 35 to 50 age bracket.

One of the key responsibilities of the Home Guard was the mission of destroying any infrastructure, particularly bridges, that could be used by invading Japanese forces. In East Auckland, the Home Guard was predominantly made up of horse-mounted farmers who had been were excused from war service. They carried out exercises in 1942 including one in which they tested the time taken to travel from Manukau Harbour to the Waitemata Harbour at Eastern Beach. Farmers with experience from World War I were used to construct beach obstacles such as barbed wire entanglements and to build concrete pillboxes. Eastern Beach had such pillboxes at each end. The long wave radio station at Musick Point was provided with bomb shelters from which emergency radios could be operated. A blackout was imposed and enforced by the Home Guard. The wooden wharf at Bucklands Beach, which was believed capable of aiding a Japanese landing, was demolished in 1942.

Members of the Home Guard who served for 28 days full-time or 6 months part-time were eligible for the New Zealand War Service Medal. At the peak of its membership, the Home Guard had approximately 119,000-123,000 men.