South Dakota National Guard

[1] The Guard in South Dakota was first activated 1862 by the territorial governor, and consisted of six companies of militia, composed of cavalry and infantry.

Major components of the SD ARNG include field artillery, engineer, transportation, aviation, maintenance and medical units.

Because of this, the Territorial Governor William Jayne raised two companies of volunteer militia in December 1861, which were the predecessors of the South Dakota National Guard.

The National Guard was also called up during the Mexican Border Conflict, Korean War, Berlin Crisis and peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo.

[10] In June 2021, Governor Kristi Noem announced the deployment of up to 50 National Guard troops to the southern U.S. border to be funded by a private donor.