Northern Mariana Islands National Guard

The first legislative attempt at forming a National Guard unit in the Northern Mariana Islands occurred on October 12, 2001.

The bill, which would have amended titles 32 and 37 of the United States Code, was sent to the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel where it eventually died in committee.

Babauta met with the adjutant general of the Guam National Guard to discuss the militia’s composition, organization, and other pertinent matters, including funding.

The bill was originally co-sponsored by Republican representative Walter B. Jones, Jr. (North Carolina) and Democratic delegates Donna Christian-Christensen (U.S. Virgin Islands) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia).

Sablan renewed the call for a separate National Guard unit in the Northern Mariana Islands, later commenting, “We pray we never have to experience another disaster like Typhoon Soudelor.

Released in August 2015, the study concluded that a National Guard for the Northern Mariana Islands composed of two company-sized units (in addition to U.S. Army Reserve personnel already residing in Saipan) was feasible but required several major actions, including changes to the federal law that governs the National Guard.