The Adjutant General of Ohio (Senior National Guard General), Major General John C. Harris, recently submitted his budget proposal for The 2023-24 Fiscal Year for The Ohio State Military. The Ohio State Military is composed of The Ohio Army National Guard, Air National Guard, and Ohio State Defense Force. WIthin the budget proposal is a section devoted to the budget allotment for The State Defense Force. The current years budget for The Defense Force is estimated to be at approx $9,800, however the 2023-24 years budget proposal includes a 621% increase to 70,700. This is by far one of the largest increases in the history of The Ohio State Defense Force.
The Ohio State Defense Force has been very active the last few years becoming a vital resource for The Ohio National Guard. They were activated on multiple occasions in the past few years including The 2020 Covid Pandemic. Their missions ranged from logistics support, Point of Distribution (POD) assistance, to assisting local local enforcement at The Cuyahoga County Jail. They also had setup a new element within The Defense Force known as The Cyber Reserve which assists The National Guard and State in defending The States Online Infrastructure. This huge increase in Joint Task Force missions has been noticed by The National Guard and so their upcoming budget will reflect that change.
The Ohio State Defense Force is composed of The Ohio Military Reserve (OHMR), Ohio Naval Militia (ONM) , and The Ohio Cyber Reserve (OhCR). All are department within The State Defense Force.
This line item supports training and administrative operations of the Ohio Military Reserve (OHMR), a voluntary state defense force capable of being expanded and trained to defend Ohio under circumstances when it might otherwise be left without adequate defense. The increases in funding from FY 2023 levels reflect increased costs to annual trainings, technological upgrades, purchasing mobile internet devices, enhanced recruiting efforts, travel and materials, and preparation related to mission readiness
Source: Ohio Military Reserve – Adjutant General Budget Proposal – Legislative Bill
