// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy join National Guard? To guard the nation.

Members of the Portuguese National Republican Guard (GNR).

National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.

National Guard may refer to:

Africa

• National Guard (Mauritania)
• Tunisian National Guard, a separate military force of Tunisia

Asia

• Azerbaijani National Guard, an armed force of the Government of Azerbaijan, and operates as a semi-independent entity
• National Guard (Bahrain), a separate military force in Bahrain that serves both as defence force and as a security force
• Cypriot National Guard, combined arms military force of the Republic of Cyprus
• National Guard of Georgia, a military structure within the Georgian Armed Forces
• National Security Guard, India
• National Guard (Iraq), part of the new Military of Iraq absorbed by the Iraqi Army
• National Guard of Israel
• National Guard of Kazakhstan
• Kuwait National Guard, an internal and border security force, part of Kuwait Military Forces
• National Guard (Kyrgyzstan), one of the branches of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic
• National Guard (Pakistan), a paramilitary force mainly charged with border patrols and air defences
• Saudi Arabian National Guard, one of the three major branches of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Sri Lanka National Guard, the largest regiment in the Sri Lanka Army
• Syria
  • National Guard of the Ba'ath Party, former Ba'athist militia in Syria
  • National Guard (Suwayda), a local alliance in Syria
• National Guard (Tajikistan), a special operations branch of the Tajikistani Armed Forces
• Turkmen National Guard
• Uzbekistan National Guard

Europe

• National Guards Unit of Bulgaria, successor of the Personal Cavalry Convoy of Knyaz Alexander I, re-established in 2001
• Home Guard (Denmark), volunteer defense force from after Danish resistance groups from second world war. It is divided into army, air and naval home guards.
• Estonian Defence League, unified paramilitary armed forces of the Republic of Estonia
• White Guard (Finland) (1918–1944), voluntary militia of the "Whites", who opposed the "Reds" in the Finnish Civil War of 1918
• National Guard (France), militias formed in each city from the time of the French Revolution to the Paris Commune, re-established after several terrorist attacks in 2016
• National Guard (Greece), a military structure within the Hellenic Army
• National Guard (Ireland), better known as the Blueshirts, a 1930s political movement in Ireland
• National Republican Guard (Italy), (1943–1945), a paramilitary force of the Italian Social Republic
• Latvian National Guard, a volunteer paramilitary armed force, part of National Armed Forces of Latvia
• National Guard (Poland), a Polish law enforcement unit during the November Uprising
• National Republican Guard (Portugal), the gendarmerie of Portugal
• National Guard of Russia, gendarmerie force of Russia, formed in 2016
• National Militia (Spain), 19th century quasi-military force
• National Guard of Ukraine, formed 1991–2000 and 2014–current
• United Kingdom
  • Fencibles, c. 1759 – c.1802
  • Home Guard (United Kingdom), 1940–1944
    • GHQ Auxiliary Units, 1940–1944
  • Home Service Force, 1982–1993

North America

• National Guard (El Salvador) (1912–1992), the Salvadoran gendarmerie
• National Guard (Mexico), a gendarmerie created in 2019
• National Guard (Nicaragua) (1925–1979), a militia and gendarmerie created during the occupation by the United States
• National Guard (Panama) (1946–1990) (Guardia Nacional), were the armed forces of the Republic of Panama. Later re-organized as the Panama Defense Forces
• National Guard (United States), military reserves organized by each of the 50 U.S. states, territories, D.C. and administered by the National Guard Bureau;
  • Air National Guard, a reserve force of the United States Air Force which functions as the air component of the state-level militia while not in federal service
  • Army National Guard, a reserve force of the United States Army which functions as the ground component of the state-level militia while not in federal service

South America

• National Guard (Brazil) (1831–1918), a paramilitary militia created to support the Brazilian Army
• Venezuelan National Guard (Guardia Nacional de Venezuela), the gendarmerie component of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela

See also

• Army Reserve (United Kingdom)
• Internal troops
• Military reserve force
• Presidential Guard (disambiguation)
• Republican guard