Alabama State Defense Force
[5] Prior to the modern National Guard, states would provide volunteer militia units to augment the federal army in times of war.In 1940, Governor Frank M. Dixon created the Alabama State Guard, recruiting primarily from World War I veterans in the American Legion."[8] By using an existing private organization as the framework for their state defense force, Alabama was able to achieve full readiness far sooner than might be expected.[10] On August 14, 2012, Governor Robert Bentley signed into law the Alabama State Defense Force bill (SB278), which added clarification to the role of the ASDF in relation to the Alabama National Guard, so that the two organizations can be better integrated in future stateside missions.The mission of the Alabama State Defense Force is to on order of the Adjutant General of Alabama provide trained and ready volunteer individuals and units to support the National Guard conducting Defense Support to Civil Authorities missions to mitigate and/or alleviate the effects of a natural or man-made disaster.