Florida State Guard New Bill

New Legislation Would Massively Expand Florida State Guard

A new bill being proposed and discussed in The Florida State Legislature will vastly expand The Florida State Guard (State Defense Force). If passed House Bill 1285 would greatly increase the number of troops within the organization from 400 to 1,500. Along with vastly increasing the authorized strength of the force the budget is by far the biggest increase. Originally 10 million was allotted to get the Florida State Guard up and running, that figure will now rise to 107.9 million. This massive increase in funding is designed to build new facilities, purchase new equipment and vehicles  for The State Guard as well as keep 10 soldiers on permanent Active Duty.

A large portion of the funding proposed in House Bill 1285 would go to the purchase of new transportation vehicles & storage facilities. These would include trucks for transporting the troops throughout the state, as well as purchasing maritime and aerial assets. With these new vehicles The Florida State Guard would mirror other State Guards such as Texas & California which possess such maritime and aerial equipment for Search & Rescue Operations.

Search & Rescue is a key mission in nearly every State Defense Force. During statewide emergencies such as severe weather events or natural disasters, State Guard units are heavily utilized to transport stranded and injured individuals to hospitals and shelters.

There is however one very major modification in the bill. A modification that would differentiate The Florida State Guard from every other State Defense Force. When legislation was originally proposed The Florida State Guard was originally set to be under the command of The Florida Department of Military Affairs. This department is headed by The Adjutant General of The State typically a high ranking General from The Army National Guard or Air National Guard. This bill would severe that connection. The Adjutant General nor The Department of Military Affairs would have any authority over The Florida State Guard.

In this new organizational change The Director of The Florida State Guard would report directly to The Governor of The State. This would be a major change compared to how every other State Defense Force / State Guard is organized. Every state has a The Department of Military Affairs whos missions is to manage and supervise all military branches of The State, from The Army National Guard, Air National Guard, State Guard / State Defense Force to The Naval Militia*. In this reorganization that department would retain no authority over The State Guard.

Another unusual change to The Florida State Guard would be the creation of a ‘specialized unit’ which would be authorized to carry arms. This specialized unit would be designed to work with other law enforcement agencies within Florida to complete assigned missions. Currently the only other State Defense Force that has an active armed unit is The California State Guard. That unit works as Active Duty base security personnel for Join Forces Training Base Los Alamitos. They work hand in hand with other National Guard soldiers and airmen and are composed of Former Military Police & law enforcement officers.

Lastly a few other notable changes has been included. Within the original legislation The Florida State Guard was authorized to be activated only during a statewide emergency, that now has been removed. This would allow The Governor to activate The State Guard at any time. While other State Defense Forces / State Guards are sometimes activated during non state emergencies they are typically supporting or augmenting National Guard forces.

The last addition we discovered is that every member of The Florida State Guard would now be covered under the same protections as National Guard soldiers. This would include employment & liability protection, and workers compensation in the case of injury while on Active Duty.

The Florida State Guard is expected to become operational in July of this year. So far the organization has 3000 applicants who have applied to join the service. The State Guard has not mentioned the amount who were approved to join.

We will keep track of any further changes to the legislation. If you want to be alerted of any changes please join our Patreon program. The program allows you to help keep the site up and running, pay the staff, and update critical components. Visit Patreon to join.

If you are joining The Florida State Guard we have a State Defense Force Online Store with State Guard apparel  & uniforms.


Here is the legislative bill:

Florida-2023-H1285-Comm_Sub

Sources: US Department Of Defense Inspector General ReportChannel 6 Click Orlando – Channel 6 Orlando 

* = The Naval Militia is a reserve branch of the armed forces whos missions it is support The National Guard & Coast Guard to ensure the waterways are secure. They also assist in Search & Rescue operations and are composed of US Navy & Marine Corps Reserve Personnel.

Updated 4/26. The amount of applicants changed from 1200 to 3000 to reflect new information provided by State Senator Avila. Also adjusted was the budget for The State Guard to 107.9 million.

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