We’ve been reporting on State Defense Forces since 2005, originally under the name Home Guard Armory. In 2008, we added another site to our portfolio, StateDefenseForce.com, which was intended to be a referral site for State Guards and State Defense Forces, to give visitors a brief description of State Defense Forces, their mission, reasons to join, and a link to the State Defense Force in their state or the one closest to them. We eventually merged Home Guard Armory and StateDefenseForce.com into one site to be a one-stop shop for everything State Defense Forces.
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We started this journey with one staff member whose sole intent was to post the news, training, and missions going on in State Defense Forces throughout the country, so if one State Defense Force was doing an amazing mission—such as developing a Drone Reconnaissance Unit for disaster recovery—others could say, “We need something like that in our state during hurricanes, tornadoes, or other state emergencies.” And for years it worked; we’ve seen State Defense Forces grow over the last two decades to amazing heights. We’ve seen California State Guard troops set up specialized units that included former military and police firearms instructors who helped California Army National Guard soldiers develop their firearms skills; we’ve seen State Guards develop maritime units that worked with the U.S. Coast Guard patrolling harbors during special events. We even saw the first international deployment of a State Defense Force overseas when the Maryland Defense Force joined the Maryland Air National Guard on a joint task force humanitarian and medical mission in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Click Here To Read About The NGB Directive Change
However, over the last few years we’ve seen a dangerous problem develop affecting every State Defense Force. We all heard of it, but if you haven’t: in 2024, the former National Guard Bureau Chief, General Daniel R. Hokanson, updated CNGBI 5500.01, which is the directive that specifies the National Guard’s interaction with State Defense Forces. This directive was meant to direct how the National Guard was to interact with State Defense Forces regarding training, funding, etc.—nothing more. However, in 2024 General Daniel R. Hokanson took it upon himself to add uniform regulations for State Defense Forces, invited the Adjutant Generals (the senior National Guard officers of the state, in charge of the National Guard and State Defense Force) to Washington, D.C., briefed them and encouraged them to adopt this new policy.
Once StateDefenseForce.com discovered rumors of this new policy a few months before it was to be released, we made all attempts to reach out to the National Guard Bureau. We had heard there were going to be major “recommended” revisions to the uniform of State Defense Forces. We knew that any recommendation by the National Guard Bureau would be implemented by the Adjutant Generals who ran the day-to-day operations of the state military forces, and that the governor—who is the ultimate Commander in Chief of State Defense Forces—would most likely be kept out of the loop or wouldn’t consider it a priority to get involved. Unfortunately, our attempts to get in touch with General Hokanson failed. We utilized all our contacts at our disposal, including former colleagues and friends of the General, but none materialized. Then in March, the directive was released, and it was a shock to the system.
Click Here to Read The National Guard Bureau Directive
The National Guard Bureau recommended to every Adjutant General that they alter their State Defense Forces’ uniform from the traditional OCP uniform worn by the U.S. Army National Guard—previously distinguished by features such as a state flag patch instead of the U.S. flag on the soldier’s shoulder, and nametapes reading “Texas State Guard” or “NY Guard” instead of “U.S. ARMY.” No longer. The National Guard Bureau recommended a red baseball cap, red nametapes, red rank insignia, and a large patch on the shoulder in bold red and white stating “SDF.” For over 100 years State Defense Forces wore basically the same uniform as the National Guard—no longer. They will now wear a uniform that makes them drastically stand out from a distance and, in our view, makes them look more like circus clowns.
But General Hokanson wasn’t done yet. Inside the directive he stated that “No military qualification badges earned from any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces are authorized for wear,” so if you were a veteran of the U.S. military and earned illustrious achievements such as the Combat Infantryman Badge, you can no longer wear it. He even went another step forward: he forbade any State Defense Force soldier to wear their U.S. military combat patch. So if you served in a combat theater and earned this prestigious identification award, you could no longer wear it on your State Defense Force uniform. Considering that a significant portion of every State Defense Force is made up of U.S. military veterans—some as high as 50%—this is definitely a slap in the face to those who sacrificed so much.
What makes this worse is that no reason was given for such a change. Neither the National Guard Bureau nor General Hokanson gave any explanation for why such a change was needed—only that it is now in effect. And to finish the State Defense Forces off for good, they delivered a final blow by recommending that State Defense Forces not utilize the U.S. Army uniform at all, that they could switch to polo shirts and khaki pants, which some State Defense Forces have already adopted like The Louisiana State Guard.
Since the directive was released in March 2024, states started the transition. One by one, we’ve seen their uniforms change from the traditional OCP uniform to modified versions. We’ve seen some pushback from some State Guard commanders pushing for less striking alternatives; some commanders read the directive carefully and saw that they could “use any distinguishable solid color,” as stated in the directive so they had their State Defense Force wear Black and White Nametapes like The California State Guard now wears. However, some states, like Ohio’s State Defense Force, failed to catch that—or at least failed to convince their Adjutant General—so they switched fully to red nametapes.
Before we dive further into this article, I wanted to highlight that this directive was rumored to be released for months. During that time, we used every avenue at our disposal to speak directly to the National Guard Bureau, but our appointments kept being put off. We hoped that the leading organization in this space, the State Guard Association of the United States—whose mission is to advocate for the development of State Defense Forces and to ‘facilitate cooperation between state defense forces, the Department of Defense, the National Guard Bureau, and active/reserve federal forces’—would engage. So we had high hopes that they would have better luck than us since, from our sources, they had more contacts & influence within the Department of Defense, U.S. Congress, and National Guard Bureau—and we were right. They did have more contacts in The National Guard Bureau.
So during our interview we questioned Lt. Colonel Greene if SGAUS was aware of the coming revision to CNGBI 5500.01 and its uniform changes. The Colonel said yes. When we dug deeper, he mentioned that they were welcoming of the changes and even thanked the National Guard Bureau for publishing the updated directive.
Furthermore, during the interview we asked Lt. Colonel Greene whether SGAUS was actively advocating for the creation of new State Defense Forces in the states or pushing legislation at the federal level to expand and strengthen existing ones. He answered yes, but refused to provide any specifics. We pressed further, suggesting that if our lobbying departments worked in unison, we could be far more effective; once again, his response was no. As of this writing we have yet to find any bill or legislation introduced in either the previous or current session of Congress that references State Defense Forces or State Guards.
The relationship between StateDefenseForce.com and SGAUS deteriorated further this year when the Connecticut Adjutant General, Major General Francis J. Evon, Jr., introduced legislation to remove the Connecticut Governors Guards (State Defense Force) from the Military Department and reclassify them as a private civilian entity with no official ties to the state. StateDefenseForce.com was tipped off to this and immediately took action. We reached out to members of the Veterans’ and Military Affairs Committee to oppose the measure, secured a time slot to testify before the committee. During that testimony, we highlighted the Governors Guards’ accomplishments in recent years—from their critical support during COVID-19 to their evolving role in assisting the National Guard, the state, and the nation.
We knew this was going to be a difficult fight to keep the Governors Guards within the Connecticut Military Department, so we turned to SGAUS for assistance. Jean Marciniak personally requested support from SGAUS President Lt. Colonel Greene, who informed us they would not be participating in or opposing the legislation because “they weren’t invited.” Fortunately, the legislation died in committee, and to this day the Connecticut Governors Guards remain a military branch of the State of Connecticut.
We soon started an investigation into SGAUS finances. We were shocked to see that their annual budget revolved around $100,000–$130,000 annually over the last few years. We tried to find any mention of funding allocated to lobbying within the last five years; we were unable to. However, we did discover many anomalies in their finances, such as $22,988 spent on “Website expense.” This is very odd to us, as StateDefenseForce.com operates two websites that hold hundreds of gigabytes of photos, videos, and code, and our monthly costs for hosting and domain fees are less than $1,500. Rest assured, we are conducting an investigation into SGAUS to ensure that it’s living up to its mission—that they are advocating for State Defense Forces both at the state and federal level.
But as of now, we at StateDefenseForce.com would like to see the immediate dismissal of Lt. Colonel Greene as President of the State Guard Association of the United States. We believe his ability to grow and develop State Defense Forces properly is in dispute. Also, once his term ends, he is committed to serving on the board per the bylaws of SGAUS for another five years, which we do not support. We believe such an officer is a detriment to State Defense Forces rather than a benefit.
We do want to add that not all SGAUS Presidents have been failures, as the previous SGAUS President such as Major General Jay Coggan did a great job, and the upcoming President, Brigadier General Gregory J. Juday is a great leader and we do believe he will lead the organization back to its rightful place.
All this leads us to the focus of this article. We’ve seen State Defense Forces start the uniform change, much of it pushed by the States Adjutant General. The California State Guard was one of the first, they changed their uniforms last year from OCP patterned uniforms to black name tapes with bold white lettering. They were allowed to continue wearing The US Army OCP Patrol cover albeit with a Black name tape on the back for differentiation. All of this looks bad, but not as bad as red.
We also have sources within the Georgia State Defense Force that they are changing their uniform from OCP to tan name tapes and possibly a tan ball cap instead of the U.S. military OCP patrol cover which they currently wear. From our sources the tan ball cap is still being discussed, once we get confirmation we will let you know.
However, Ohio State Defense Forces underwent one of the worst uniform changes we’ve seen. They shifted from OCP uniforms with tan nametapes to red nametapes with bold white lettering. To make matters worse, they added a large ‘SDF’ patch on the left shoulder and replaced their subdued (camouflage) unit patch with a full-color version—all deliberate moves to create a stark separation from the Army National Guard. This stands as the most damaging change we have observed so far until today. This brings us to The Virginia Defense Force.
We learned through an anonymous source that the Virginia Defense Force was preparing to implement similar changes, and now they have displayed them openly in a recent news release. This is by far the most damaging change of all. The Virginia Defense Force, which previously wore a BDU-pattern uniform (the old 1980s U.S. Army style), is now transitioning to the current U.S. Army standard OCP-pattern uniform—but with horrendous and poorly conceived features. Instead of adopting a more professional alternative, such as black nametapes and a black cover as some State Defense Forces have chosen, they opted for full red nametapes with bold white lettering, a brightly colored unit insignia patch on the left shoulder, and on that same shoulder a large bold red-and-white patch that reads ‘SDF.’ The cover is a baseball cap dyed in a shade resembling OD green. The result is nothing short of ‘disgusting’.
We believe that many Adjutants General, together with the National Guard Bureau, aim to undermine the existence of State Defense Forces by imposing such clownish uniforms. But don’t worry, we have heard you; we know what these changes have decimated morale and that it has had a drastic effect on recruiting and retention and we have been working to roll back the tide.
We have also heard supporters of this new uniform—those who claim it’s just a uniform, that you’re there to serve, and that the uniform shouldn’t affect your service. Our rebuttal to that is, those who serve in the State Defense Forces are volunteers who give up time with their family, friends, and loved ones to serve their one weekend a month and two-weeks-a-year training events. That’s on top of the numerous times they are called to State Active Duty, putting their lives on the line to serve their state and country. They are also defined under State law as military entities of the State, so they deserve respect. They deserve a uniform they can wear with pride and affection—not a comedic uniform that will have many question, “Who are these people, wannabe military?, or worse yet “Are they a militia like the Proud Boys and other radical groups”
To combat this wave of uniform alterations, we will be announcing a new division of the State Guard & Defense Force Council (StateDefenseForce.com) within the next month. This department will be known as the State Guard Administration. Its mission will be to issue policy recommendations to State Defense Forces, Adjutants General, Military Departments, Governors’ Offices, and the National Guard Bureau. These policies will cover a wide range of subjects—from the organizational structure of a State Defense Force, to recommended pay and benefit allowances, to template legislation that can be presented to members of state assemblies—and, of course, uniform guidance.
Our uniform guidance will be clear. It recommends the OCP-pattern U.S. Army uniform with a U.S. Army cover and rank style, and OCP-pattern nametapes with the soldier’s name on one side and the name of the State Defense Force on the other. On the shoulders: a subdued unit patch on the left and, on the right, either the state flag or the U.S. flag. The standard headgear will be an OCP-pattern Army patrol cap. That’s it. And importantly, soldiers will be permitted to wear their combat patch and any U.S. military badges they have earned.
The policy will highlight the reasons we oppose states adopting the National Guard Bureau policy: that it demoralizes troops within the State Defense Forces and, more importantly, risks lives—both those of the State Defense Force soldiers and those of Americans. We highlighted scenarios of State Defense Force troops sent to rescue stranded Americans, only for citizens to look at their clownish uniforms and ask, ‘Who are these people—and why are they dressed like buffoons?’. Other situations could unfold with State Defense Force troops assigned to guard a shelter’s food pantry. A crowd gathers demanding more supplies, sees the unprofessional uniforms, assumes the troops are part of a wannabe pretend military, and storms the pantry—sparking a riot that could leave injuries or even deaths in its aftermath. These are conditions we often discussed with experts, both in the U.S. military and in academia.
We believe this National Guard Bureau policy presents a clear and present danger to Americans and to the soldiers who serve this nation with honor and integrity, and we plan to fight it.
The funding we get from Patreon and our soon to be announced fundraiser will be utilized to hire a academic research agency to conduct a professional research study on how these uniform changes can disrupt mission success and endanger lives during state emergencies and natural disasters. If the study confirms a such an effect, we will contact every major media outlet and government official at both the state and federal levels to publicize the findings and insist an immediate reversal of the NGB Uniform Policy. For states or federal agencies that refuse to revert the uniform policy, we may pursue legal action. We will work with Adjutants General to restore appropriate uniforms for each State Defense Force but if they refuse we have legal options we can and will explore.
Our solution to reversing the uniform policy—and tackling the broader challenges created by Adjutants General and the National Guard Bureau—lies in the State Guard Administration and the Legislative Department of the State Guard & Defense Force Council. These vital efforts are made possible through the support of our Patreon members. If you want to help us fight back against this attack on State Defense Forces and restore professionalism and pride to our ranks, the most effective way is to join and fund our Patreon program. Your support directly fuels the research, advocacy, and policy work needed to protect the future of State Defense Forces.
The more money you donate, the more perks / benefits you get as a member and the more we can do to fight this uniform change.
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Once our uniform policy is finalized—anticipated in the coming weeks—it will be distributed to the National Guard Bureau, the Department of Defense, and every Adjutant General and Governor in the country. To ensure it cannot be ignored, we will send it both by email and traditional mail. Following that, we will launch a major media campaign to expose the dangers posed by the current National Guard Bureau directive—a policy rooted not in necessity, but in politics. At its core, their message is simple: ‘We don’t want State Defense Forces to look like us”.
We also find it hypocritical that The Federal Government has no quarrel with local, state, and federal police forces wearing The US Army OCP uniform, some looking exactly like U.S. Army soldiers, yet State Defense Forces are singled out. Police forces, which are not military—as an officer can walk off the job at any moment and not held to the State or Federal UCMJ standards—are allowed to wear the U.S. Army uniform without issue, while State Defense Force troops, who are subject to the state equivalent of the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice), are frowned upon from doing so.
At StateDefenseForce.com, we are tired of the politics, pleading with The Adjutant Generals and National Guard Bureau to better utilize and treat The State Defense Forces. We will now turn to the judicial system, national media, and our contacts within the current presidential administration to restore the uniform policy to what it was—a standard that worked without issue for more than 100 years, until General Hokanson, with the complicity of SGAUS, allowed a change that disrupted a century of unity and service.
Please reach out to the Virginia and Georgia Adjutant Generals and let them know your disappointment.
Virginia Adjutant General – Major General James W. Ring
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (804) 236-7892
Mailing Address: 6090 Strathmore Rd., Building 430, Richmond, VA 23237
Georgia Adjutant General – Major General Richard D. Wilson
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 678-569-6010
Mailing Address: 1000 Halsey Avenue, Building 447, Marietta, GA 30060
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. This article is intended as commentary based on publicly available information.