MANSFIELD, Ohio – The oldest military institution in the United States celebrates its birthday on Dec. 13.
On this day in 1636, the first militia regiments in North America were organized in Massachusetts, thus marking the beginning of the organized militia, and the birth of the National Guard. This year marks the National Guard’s 379th year in existence.
“I’m proud of the Guard, our roots go back to long before we were a country,” said Wing Commander Col. Gary McCue of the 179th Airlift Wing in Mansfield. “The citizen solder concept is an important part of our construct as a nation. We have a strong tradition, a strong history, and I think we’ll be around a long time.”
Today, the National Guard is made up of the 54 states, territory, and the District of Columbia militias. McCue has been a member of the National Guard for 32 years, first joining in 1983.
Since joining the National Guard, McCue said he has seen a number of changes within the organization. One noticeable change has been its size. McCue said when he first joined there were 710,000 members of the Air Force, whilenumbers are now closer to 310,000.
“I’ve known people who were in the Guard for 20 years who never deployed,” he said. “Now since 9/11, younger folks who have joined since then will only know deployment, it’s just something you do that’s always out there.”
In Mansfield specifically, McCue said the geography of the base has changed drastically with construction of new buildings and demolition of others. He also noted the base is at a different level professionally than in years past.
“A lot more younger folks are getting in and taking on college tuition and getting their degrees,” he said. “Educationally, our statistics are higher. More folks have some sort of degree program or professional certification.”
One consistent at the 179th has been their position as a vital part of the Mansfield economy, particularly after the closing of the GM plant.
“We’ve been pretty hard hit in this county, but we’re rebounding,” said McCue. “We’re larger than we’ve ever been numbers-wise, and we’ve always been a big part of employment in the county. That was proven recently when the community has come out and said how important it’s been to have the unit here.”
Though the base will likely send a collective “Happy Birthday” message out on Dec. 13, McCue said sadly there will be no birthday cake.
For the 379th birthday, the National Guard encourages all social media audiences, both civilian and military, to show and share their affiliation with the National Guard and its members by using the #WeAreGuard tag.
“The citizen solder concept is an important part of our construct as a nation. We have a strong tradition, a strong history, and I think we’ll be around a long time,” said Wing Commander Col. Gary McCue of the 179th Airlift Wing in Mansfield.
