Much is happening within the Office of Government & Legislative Affairs, with multiple investigations, legislative initiatives, policy projects, and advocacy campaigns now moving forward simultaneously.
Because of the sheer volume of work underway, we cannot publicly report every phone call, email, meeting, records request, and development as it occurs. However, we want the State Defense Force community to know that substantial work is taking place behind the scenes, and our investigation involving the Maryland Defense Force uniform policy is continuing to advance.
As our workload expands, we are also growing our team. The Office of Government & Legislative Affairs is currently seeking a Legislative Assistant to help coordinate legislative communications, investigations, outreach campaigns, records management, and other day-to-day operations.
View Our Open Career Positions →
Maryland Defense Force Uniform Policy
One of our current priorities concerns the Maryland Defense Force and its planned transition away from its traditional OCP uniform configuration.
The Maryland Defense Force has utilized the OCP uniform while maintaining organizational distinctions, including OCP-pattern nametapes with red lettering.
Unfortunately many other State Defense Forces have adopted substantially more visible uniform distinctions, including bright or contrasting nametapes, colored insignia, baseball-style caps, and prominent State Defense Force identification.
These changes have generated concern within the State Defense Force community regarding military identity, professionalism, recruiting and retention, morale, mission effectiveness, public recognition, and the safety of personnel performing emergency missions.
The broader national discussion also involves National Guard Bureau Instruction CNGBI 5500.01A, which contains recommendations concerning State Defense Force uniform distinctions.
For more than a century, State Defense Forces have served their states and country through wars, natural disasters, state emergencies, and periods of National Guard overseas deployment where State Defense Forces had to step in to assume more of the roles and duties of The National Guard. For more than a century, these forces have worn uniforms based upon those of the U.S. Army while remaining distinguishable through organizational nametapes, unit patches, state insignia, and, colored state flags.
We believe any major departure from that tradition deserves careful examination.
Our Investigation Is Moving Forward
On August 13, 2026, the Office of Government & Legislative Affairs submitted a public-records request seeking documentation concerning the Maryland Defense Force uniform-policy change.
Since then, additional steps have been taken to advance that request, and we have now received communication concerning the matter.
We are continuing to pursue the requested records and determine what documentation exists regarding the development, consideration, approval, and implementation of the uniform policy.
The Office of Government & Legislative Affairs has also begun communicating with Maryland lawmakers regarding the uniform issue and our concerns surrounding its potential effects on Maryland Defense Force personnel and the Maryland residents they serve.
We are additionally beginning outreach to The Maryland Governor’s Office, with the goal of further discussing the issue while one of our Directors is in the Washington, D.C. region in September to meet High Level Personnel that shape US Military & National Guard policy.
Want the Full Behind-the-Scenes Updates?
What we publish publicly on StateDefenseForce.com will provide the major developments.
Our supporters receive considerably more.
For those who want to follow the investigation as it develops—including detailed timelines, correspondence, records-request developments, legislative outreach, responses from government offices, documents we obtain, and our analysis of what happens next—we will be providing expanded coverage through our supporter channels.
For $5 per month on Patreon, members can receive our in-depth behind-the-scenes reporting and follow major Office of Government & Legislative Affairs initiatives as they progress.
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Help Fund the Investigation and Our Legislative Advocacy
Investigations and advocacy efforts of this scale require significant resources.
Public-records requests can produce hundreds or thousands of pages of documents that must be collected, organized, reviewed, researched, and compared against military regulations, state law, National Guard Bureau policy, and other relevant materials.
Our work also requires staff to communicate with government agencies and lawmakers, conduct policy research, manage outreach campaigns, consult military and policy experts, and, where necessary, obtain professional legal review.
The StateDefenseForce.com community is the largest community dedicated to America’s State Defense Forces, with thousands upon thousands of members and supporters across the country.
That means even relatively small contributions can become extremely powerful when many members of our community participate.
$5, $10, $20, or whatever you are comfortable contributing, helps us continue this work.
When donating, be sure to select the option to receive email updates from the Office of Government & Legislative Affairs. Subscribers will receive the latest developments involving State Defense Force legislation, investigations, policy initiatives, and advocacy efforts.
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Donors can also receive updates from the Office of Government & Legislative Affairs so they can stay informed as our major investigations and advocacy initiatives move forward.
The State Guard & Defense Force Council, also known as StateDefenseForce.com, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions may be tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
More Is Coming
The Maryland Defense Force investigation is only one of several major initiatives currently being undertaken by the Office of Government & Legislative Affairs.
Some of those efforts involve individual states. Others involve policies with potential consequences for State Defense Forces nationwide.
We will continue making major developments available to the entire State Defense Force community while giving our supporters a much deeper look at the work being conducted behind the scenes.
If you have information relevant to the Maryland Defense Force uniform policy or would like to contact our organization regarding this effort, please contact Director Jean Marciniak at [email protected].
Support. Inform. Advocate. Protect America’s State Defense Forces.
