The South Dakota National Guard finds its origins dating back to 1862 as part of the Dakota Territory. Since that time, our National Guard units have served in nearly every major U.S. conflict since the Civil War, while concurrently responding to domestic crisis here at home.
The South Dakota Army National Guard (SDARNG) continues to maintain and deploy competent, reliable, capable and effective forces in support of both our federal and state missions. Located in 22 communities throughout South Dakota, today’s SDARNG is comprised of 42 separate units that perform a variety of missions to include command and control, engineering, field artillery, transportation, logistics, communications, maintenance, aviation, public affairs, military police, firefighting and medical. More than 3,100 SDARNG Soldiers stand ready to leave the comforts of home and family to help their friends and neighbors, defend the nation’s interest, and bring peace and hope to people throughout the world.