{ { Infobox military unit
|unit_name= Ohio Army National Guard
|image= File:Army_mil-2008-06-10-142859.jpg
|image_size= 220px
|caption= A soldier of the 371st Sustainment Brigade builds a barracks during an exercise in Michigan in 2008. |dates=July 25, 1788(as the Northwest Territory Militia) |country= |allegiance= |motto= "Always Ready, Always There!" |command_structure=Ohio National Guard |branch= Army National Guard |type=ARNG Headquarters Command
|commander1= President Joe Biden(Commander-in-Chief)Christine Wormuth(Secretary of the Army)Governor Mike DeWine(Governor of the State of Ohio) |commander1_label= Civilian leadership |commander2= MG John C. Harris Jr. |commander2_label= State military leadership |notable_commanders=
|identification_symbol=
|identification_symbol_label= Ohio Army National Guard Headquarters DUI
}}
The Ohio Army National Guard''' is a part of the Ohio National Guard and the Army National Guard of the United States Army. It is also a component of the organized militia of the state of Ohio, which also includes the Ohio Naval Militia, the Ohio Military Reserve and the Ohio Air National Guard. The Ohio Army National Guard consists of a variety of combat, combat support, and combat service support units. As of September 2010, its end strength exceeded 11,400 soldiers. Its headquarters is the Beightler Armory in Columbus, Ohio. Many units conduct Annual Training at Camp Grayling, Michigan.
On May 4, 1970, Guard units infamously opened fire onto a crowd of both Vietnam War protestors and simple bystanders on the campus of Kent State University. This incident killed four and wounded nine others, an event known as the Kent State shootings. The President's Commission on Campus Unrest concluded that the Guard's actions were "unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable."
History
Founding militia
The Ohio National Guard can be traced back to the initial settlement at Marietta, Ohio, in July 1788. Rooted in the English and early colonial tradition of citizen-soldiers providing local protection and law enforcement. These American Revolutionary War veterans and their families quickly organized into local militia units. The federal government passed the Militia Act of 1792, which required all able bodied men ages 18 to 45 to serve in their local militia units, and provide their own weapons and equipment. It further authorized the Governor of each state to appoint an Adjutant General to enact the orders of the Governor, and to supervise unit training and organization. Reflecting the Founding Fathers' distrust of a large standing army, it strictly limited the ability of the militia to serve outside of their state borders. And, it placed effective control with the Governor rather than the federal government.
The occupation of the Ohio Territory by the United States was contested by the region's native inhabitants. A confederation of Indian tribes with British backing engaged in a campaign of raids and depredations upon the scattered settlements, resulting in full-scale war by the 1790s. The disastrous campaigns led by Generals Josiah Harmar and Arthur St. Clair only intensified Indian resistance to white migration, and threatened the existence of white Ohio settlements. The decisive victory of General "Mad" Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794), outside of present-day Toledo and the subsequent Treaty of Greenville (1795). And so removed the combined British-Indian military threat to Ohio settlers for the time being. While only limited numbers of Ohio militia played a part in these campaigns, the local militia units formed an important bulwark defending their local communities against potential attack.
War of 1812
After achieving statehood in 1803 Ohio continued the law creating a body of "state troops" and each significant village or county providing its own local unit. The military readiness of these local militia units varied greatly as did their uniform and armament. The monthly militia muster was supposed to train the members in close order drill and marksmanship, but in many cases was more of a social and political event. Moreover, each unit was responsible for electing its own officers with the victors often being the most popular or the one best able to furnish a ready supply of sour mash.