Maine Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management

When National Guard troops are called to federal service, the President serves as Commander-in-Chief.

Forty years later, more than 72,000 Soldiers from Maine fought to preserve the Union during the Civil War (1861–65).

The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards.

The headquarters of the Maine Army National guard is located at Camp Keyes in the state capitol, Augusta, Maine The larger units in the state specialize in: Smaller unit's specialties include: In addition, the Maine National Guard includes the 11th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team.

The 11th WMD CST was of the first of the now 57 teams that are spread across the United States of America that is tasked with immediate, less than 4 hour response to any unknown chemical, biological, and/or radiological incident.

The joint Army/Air Guard team can self-sustain for 72 hours of continuous operation and is constantly training to stay on top of the technology and techniques for sampling, evidence collection, identification, and education of the possibilities that the team may be alerted for.

Today, the Maine Air National Guard consists of three units: At the State level MEMA coordinates the mitigation (risk reduction) preparedness, response and recovery from emergencies and disasters such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes or hazardous materials spills.

The Agency uses strategies such as planning, training, exercise and public education to carry out its mission.

Since 2001, MEMA has been the focal point for the implementation of programs regarding Homeland Security, integrating these concerns into its all-hazard mission.