What is "national guard"

National \Na"tion*al\ (?; 277), a. [Cf. F. national.]

1. Of or pertaining to a nation; common to a whole people or race; public; general; as, a national government, language, dress, custom, calamity, etc.

2. Attached to one's own country or nation.

   National anthem, a popular song or hymn which has become by general acceptance the recognized musical expression of the patriotic sentiment of a nation; as, ``God save the King'' is called the national anthem of England.

   National bank, the official common name of a class of banking corporations established under the laws of the United States.

   National flag. See under Flag.

   National guard, a body of militia, or a local military organization, as in Paris during the French Revolution, or as certain bodies of militia in other European countries and in the United States.

   National salute, a salute consisting of as many guns as there are States in the Union. [U.S.]

National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.

National Guard may refer to:

The National Guard was a French militia which existed from 1789 until 1872, including a period of official disbandment from 1827 to 1830. It was separate from the French Army and existed both for policing and as a military reserve. For most of its history the National Guard, particularly its officers, were widely viewed as loyal to middle-class interests. However, from 1792-5, the National Guard was perceived as revolutionary and the lower ranks were identified with sans-culottes, and soon after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1, the National Guard in Paris became viewed as dangerously revolutionary, contributing to its dissolution.

The first National Guard units were formed in Paris in 1789 from soldiers formerly in the French Guards, the majority of whom had defected to the revolutionary cause, and former members of the Royal Watch (officially the "Paris Guard"). Around this cadre, a part-time Paris militia was raised for military and policing tasks. The raising of the National Guard was declared by the National Assembly on 13 July 1789, in response to fears of a royalist coup. The search for weapons led to the storming of the Bastille for its powder stocks the next day.

The National Guard soon expanded into cities throughout France. Initially each city, town and village independently operated its own National Guard, until they were united under the command of Lafayette in 1790. It was identified until 1792 with constitutional monarchy. From 1792–5 the National Guard was an increasingly radical and violent republican force, especially in the national capital. The Guard's shift in loyalties resulted in the switch of power from the Girondist party to the extreme party known as the Mountain. From 1795, as Napoleon became more prominent, he succeeded in curbing the National Guard's power.

The National Guard continued as a reserve force under Napoleon and into the Bourbon Restoration, until disbanded as politically unreliable in 1827. However the disbanded National Guardsmen kept their weapons and covertly retained enough cohesion to resurface as a part of the 1830 July Revolution which overthrew the Bourbon monarchy. The National Guard was officially re-established in 1830 under its original 1789 commander, the Marquis de Lafayette, and initially protected the constitutional monarchy of the new King Louis-Phillipe. Louis-Phillipe had lost most middle-class support by 1848 and the National Guard therefore fought for the republican cause in the Revolution of 1848.

From 1868, the volunteer National Guard co-existed with a new "Mobile National Guard" (Garde nationale mobile) formed from men conscripted to part-time service as reservists. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1, the National Guard played a central role in the defence of Paris, and was reinforced with large numbers of Parisian conscripts. Having been converted from a volunteer reserve into a much larger force composed mainly of conscripts, the National Guard lost its identity and raison d'être. It also faced opposition from the army, which was opposed to such a large force outside its own organisation. In 1871, elements of the Paris National Guard rebelled to briefly form the Paris Commune, leading it to be viewed as a threat to national security. This rebellion was put down by France's regular army. In 1872, the National Guard was disbanded, and the reserve military role was taken over by territorial formations of the French Army.

In 2016 France announced the reforming of the National Guard in a response to terroristic attacks.

In Nicaragua, the National Guard (, otherwise known as ) was a militia and a gendarmerie created during the occupation of that country by the United States from 1909 to 1933. It became notorious for human rights abuses and corruption under the regime of the Somoza family.

The Guardia Nacional (National Guard) of El Salvador was the Salvadoran gendarmerie. It was founded in 1912 by President Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo. As agreed in the Chapultepec Peace Accords, it was disbanded on 16 January 1992. Its motto was "El honor es nuestra divisa" (Honor is Our Emblem).

'''National Guard ''' is the National Guard of Mauritania. It has its headquarters in Nouakchott, located opposite (west) to the College des Garçons. The National Guard of Mauritania cooperates closely with the National Locust Control Centre. The main job of the guard is patrolling remote desert areas, usually by camel. Based on the French model, the National Guard is "responsible for working with other police forces and security agencies, and maintaining and restoring public order."

The Iraqi National Guard (NG; ) was part of the new Military of Iraq but has since been absorbed by the Iraqi Army controlled by the interim government. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, United States Coalition Provisional Authority Chief Paul Bremer disbanded the military apparatus of Iraq as existed under Saddam Hussein. As the security situation in occupied Iraq deteriorated and the Iraqi insurgency became increasingly active, the U.S. set up, recruited and trained the new security force in order to combat the insurgency. Despite attacks by insurgent and terrorist groups, the Iraqi National Guard was able to recruit many Iraqis from the vast ranks of the unemployed. The force has been used to assist Coalition troops in combatting the insurgency. However, there have been several instances where they have refused to take military action against fellow Iraqis, such as in Fallujah, deserted, or allegedly aided the resistance.

In September 2004, a senior member, General Talib al-Lahibi was arrested on suspicion of having links with insurgent groups. In December 2004, it was announced that the Iraqi National Guard would be dissolved. At this time its strength was officially over 40,000 men.

The National Guard of Bahrain is a separate military force in Bahrain that serves both as defence force against external threats and as a security force against internal threats. It was established in 1997, through a royal decree by then Emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

The National Guard is currently commanded by Lieutenant-General Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa, brother of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. It consists of about 2,000 personnel.

The National Guard has been involved in the Bahrain government's violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters during the Bahraini uprising.

The National Guard consists of many non-Bahraini personnel, and during the Bahraini uprising recruited heavily from Pakistan through the Fauji Foundation.