Florida National Guard The Florida National Guard is the National Guard force of the U . S . state of Florida . It comprises the Florida Army National Guard and the Florida Air National Guard . The United States Constitution charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions . Ordinarily under the control of the state government ( in which the governor is the commander - in - chief ) pursuant to Title 32 of the United States Code , National Guard troops may also be called into active federal service with the United States Army or the United States Air Force ( in which the president serves as commander - in - chief ) and deployed world - wide with their active duty Army and Air Force counterparts . The Florida National Guard , like those of other states , provides trained and equipped units for prompt mobilization in case of war or national emergency . Guardsmen may take part in functions ranging from limited actions in non - emergency situations to full - scale law enforcement ( martial law ) in cases when the governor determines that ordinary law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control . The state mission assigned to the National Guard is " to provide trained and disciplined forces for domestic emergencies or as otherwise provided by state law . " The Florida National Guard serves as the state ' s " defense force . " Florida currently has no State Defense Force ( SDF ) . The State Defense Force is a military entity described by the Florida Statutes as a state - authorized militia prepared to assume the state mission of the Florida National Guard in the event that all of Florida ' s National Guard units are federally mobilized and authorized by executive order when the situation requires . If needed , the SDF would be recruited , trained , organized , equipped and deployed , under direction of the Adjutant General of Florida and the cadre of full - time state military officers within the Florida Department of Military Affairs at the department ' s joint training center at Camp Blanding , Florida . It is unlikely that a SDF would be created in the near future . National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau . Duties . National Guard units can be mobilized at any time by presidential order to supplement regular armed forces , and upon declaration of a state of emergency by the governor of the state in which they serve . Unlike Army Reserve members , National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually ( except through voluntary transfers and Temporary Duty Assignments TDA ) , but only as part of their respective unit s . However , there has been a significant amount of individual activations to support military operations ( 2001 - ? ) ; the legality of this policy is a major issue within the National Guard . Active Duty Callups . For much of the final decades of the twentieth century , National Guard personnel typically served " One weekend a month , two weeks a year " , with a portion working for the Guard in a full - time capacity as either Active Guard and Reserve ( AGR ) , Army Reserve Technicians or Air Reserve Technicians ( ART ) . This changed dramatically during the 1990 - 91 Gulf War , and continued on to present day , with both the Federal Reserve Components and the National Guard increasingly utilized as an " operational " force for worldwide deployment . The current forces formation plans of the US Army call for the typical Army National Guard unit ( or Army National Guardsman ) to serve one year of active duty for every three years of service . The US Air Force applies a similar utilziation model for Air National Guard units ( and Air National Guardsmen ) . More specifically , current Department of Defense policy is that no Guardsman will be involuntarily activated for a total of more than 24 months ( cumulative ) in one six - year enlistment period ( this policy has changed 1 August 2007 , the new policy stating that Guard soldiers and airmen will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months , individual states have differing policies ) . The Florida National Guard is composed of approximately 9 , 600 soldiers and airmen ( as of July 2007 ) .