The National Guard was part of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, composed of National Guard militia units of each state, territory, and the District of Columbia, for a total of 54 separate organizations. National Guard units were under the dual control of the state and the federal government. They served as a domestic defense and disaster relief force during peacetime while during wartime, they were also deployed abroad as front-line troops alongside other Army or Air Force units.
Background
During the food and resource shortages in the United States in the 2070s, protests and both the food and automation riots, the National Guard was in more demand than ever before in its history.[1] They came to be widely used as strike breakers to suppress these riots, with Guard units and regular troops deployed across the country in the worst trouble spots. One such deployment was following the labor strike of Poseidon Energy Plant WV-06.
After Poseidon Energy developed and installed the Poseidon Power Management System it essentially rendered the facility automated. The employees, feared being fired as so many others were, worked with the Associated Miner's Union to peacefully protest and try to renegotiate their work contract. While they're trying to guarantee their own job security, under the terms of the existing contract with Poseidon they were fired the second they joined the picket line.
While the now jobless protesters continued to gather more pressure and support, the plant's chief of security Brent Olson decided that instead of negotiation they should call in the military. Since its reactivation Energy Plant WV-06 was using newly discovered ultracite to provide power to the region, making it easy for the company to convince the government that the strike had become a matter of national security.
Since sending in soldiers to clear out what was a peaceful protest wouldn't go over well in the media, a conspiracy to remove public support for the workers began. To tarnish their image, Olson needed the protesters to become violent. The plan was for the National Guard to launch HalluciGen gas at the protesters to incite them into attacking one another, then the Guardsmen could use whatever force necessary to quell the riot.
Poseidon's first step was to forcibly detain the union sympathizing manager Renee Hargraves, so she wouldn't interfere in the operation. When the National Guard were deployed they released their gas, however it worked too well. While the gas did forcibly incite most of the protestors to violence, instead of attacking each other they charged the National Guard lines, quickly overwhelming them, and stormed the power plant. With the Great War occurring soon after the incident ended, those left alive had other matters to attend to.
Already deployed en masse to ensure order,[2] on October 23, 2077 they had a twenty nine minute early warning of the oncoming nuclear attack from the Department of Defense via the Defense Intelligence Agency.[3] Although in the dark the National Catastrophe Relief Auxiliary were also deployed en masse in accordance to their scores in preparatory drills.[4]
After the nuclear detonations devastated the nation all the surviving, and still active, personnel executed their respective contingency plans: establishing checkpoints, evacuating the populace, initiating cleanup operations and locking down contaminated areas and vital parts of the infrastructures.[5] They continued to operate for a few days after the bombs fell, however between the radiation and violence that followed in the days after most servicemen deserted and went out into the new wasteland, with those who stayed finding themselves soon overwhelmed by the collapse of society. The National Guard had ceased to exist.
The remnants of their contingency plans still litter the landscape. Checkpoints – although ravaged by time – may still contain large stockpiles of ammunition and equipment among the remains of the guardsman; still guarded by their robotic materiel.[5]
Organization
Created by the Militia Act of 1903, the National Guard Bureau was the federal instrument responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and with the National Security Act of July 26, 1947, the Department of the Air Force. As part of the militia of the United States as defined by 10 U.S.C. § 311 National Guard units were under the dual control of the state and the federal government. They operated under their respective state or territorial governor, except in the instance of Washington, D.C., where the National Guard operated under the President of the United States or his designee. Furthermore the National Guard was called up for active duty by the to help respond to domestic emergencies and disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and emergency radiation cleanup.
National Catastrophe Relief Auxiliary
The National Catastrophe Relief Auxiliary (NCRAR) units were composed of civilian medical corps charged with initial evacuations and medical triage following a nuclear disaster. These units were typically unarmed and assigned military detachments to provide security.
Locations
Bases
- National Guard depot - Headquarters of the Columbia Commonwealth National Guard.
- National Guard training yard - Training yard and armory for the 1st Battalion of the 101st Field Artillery Regiment, located north of Boston.
- Spanish Fork Armory - An National Guard armory within the town is the source of high powered weapons used by the White Legs tribe, particularly their signature "storm drums", the .45 Auto submachine gun.[6]
Checkpoints
Columbia Commonwealth
Main article: Fallout 3 military checkpoints
New England Commonwealth
Main article: Fallout 4 military checkpoints
Technology
As a reserve military force the National Guard typically used the same materiel as the United States Army and Air Force, however due to their reserve nature and the needs of the ongoing Sino-American War, the National Guard was primarily outfitted with surplus equipment.
Known equipment
- Armor
- Army fatigues
- Combat armor including riot gear
- Military fatigues
- Power armor, mostly older T-45 variants (though a few elite units and high level commands within the NG had access to extremely limited numbers of T-51 models)
- Recon armor
- Tesla armor[7]
- Explosives
- A range of hand grenades including fragmentation, pulse, and plasma grenades
- HalluciGen gas grenades
- Various types of land mines
- Mini nukes
- Plastic explosives including Cordex
- Weapons
- Combat knives
- Combat shotguns
- Experimental MIRV (At least one example was delivered to the National Guard Depot in D.C. shortly before the Great War, presumably for test & evaluation purposes.)
- Flamers
- Gatling lasers
- Gauss rifles, including the M72
- Different types of grenade launchers including the grenade machinegun
- Incinerators
- Wattz 2000 & AER9 laser rifles
- Wattz 1000 & AEP7 laser pistols
- Light support weapon[8]
- M199 5.56mm assault rifle (Mentioned only, not seen to date in series)
- Miniguns
- N99 10mm pistol
- R91 5.56mm assault rifle
- Military Ripper
- Sniper rifles, including the DKS-501 (.308 variant)
- Submachine guns, including the .45 Auto submachine gun and M3A1 "grease gun" SMG[9]
- Various types of Missile & rocket launchers
- Winchester P94 plasma rifle (Also known as a plasma caster)
- Other
- Various models of Stealth Boy, including the RobCo 3001 and the satchel model
- Radiation suits
- Robots
- Assaultron
- Cyberdogs, including the Cyberhound Mk III military model
- Eyebots
- Mister Gutsies
- Protectrons
- Robobrains
- Sentry bots
- Turrets
- Vehicles
Notes
- Nate served in the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment, which is a real regiment in the New York Army National Guard.
 | The following is based on Van Buren design documents and is not canon. |
|---|
- At the outbreak of the Sino-American War, totally separate from the NG at both commonwealth and national level, the various Commonwealths began raising armored infantry divisions on a basis similar to that of the state volunteer regiments which served in the American Civil War and other 19th and early 20th Century conflicts. While part of the regular Army operationally, administratively these Commonwealth divisions enjoyed considerable autonomy where oversight by the Department of the Army in particular, and the federal government in general, was concerned. As their name suggests, the armored infantry divisions primarily consisted of power armor equipped units; at least initially their power armor suits were early versions of the T-45 power armor. These units are only mentioned in the Van Buren tech demo, which features Corporal Armstrong of either the 13th or 4th Armored Infantry Division, Great Midwest Commonwealth.[10]
| End of information based on Van Buren design documents |
|---|
Gallery
Appearances
The National Guard is mentioned in Fallout 2, Fallout 3, the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts, Fallout 4,Fallout 76, and its update One Wasteland For All.
See also
References
- ↑ Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Collector's Edition p.293-295: "[2.32] National Guard Training Yard
Two hundred years ago, the National Guard was in higher demand than ever before. This facility was expanded just prior to the bombs falling. Currently, this location has recently been visited by the Brotherhood of Steel; they used this location to house and repair Power Armor."
(Fallout 4 Vault Dweller's Survival Guide Map) - ↑ Year: 2077
- ↑ The Switchboard terminal entries; Central Terminal, DEFCON Status - 2077
- ↑ Germantown police HQ terminal entries; Terminal, Log Entry #003
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Fallout 3 military checkpoints and Fallout 4 military checkpoints
- ↑ The Courier: "Nice guns."
Joshua Graham: "In the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau, all tribes are known for a specific weapon. White Legs are known for their big submachine guns, "storm drums." They broke into an armory near Spanish Fork and have been using them for years. Of course, the Dead Horses have their wooden war clubs and even the Sorrows have their Yao Guai gauntlets. This type of .45 Automatic pistol was designed by one of my tribe almost four hundred years ago. Learning its use is a New Canaanite rite of passage."
(Joshua Graham's dialogue) - ↑ Fallout 2 Official Strategies & Secrets p.66: "Tesla Armor is designed to deflect energy weapons. However, its protection against impact attacks falls far short of what its military designers were looking for. Still, some surplus suits ofTesla
Armor found their way into National Guard Armories, and from there to the Wastes. Tesla Armor gives the wearer a 20% bonus to their Radiation Resistance."
- ↑ Fallout 2 item description: "{35500}{}{Light Support Weapon}"
"{35501}{}{This squad-level support weapon has a bullpup design. The bullpup design makes it difficult to use while lying down. Because of this it was remanded to National Guard units. It, however, earned a reputation as a reliable weapon that packs a lot of punch for its size. Min ST: 6.}"
(PRO ITEM.MSG (Fallout 2)) - ↑ Fallout 2 item description: "{33200}{}{M3A1 "Grease Gun" SMG}"
"{33201}{}{This submachine gun filled National Guard arsenals after the Army replaced it with newer weapons. However, the "Grease Gun" was simple and cheap to manufacture so there are still quite a few still in use. Min ST: 4.}"
(PRO ITEM.MSG (Fallout 2)) - ↑ Armstrong dialogue file
