Colorado Army National Guard The Colorado Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard . Nationwide , the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army ' s available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization . National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau . Colorado Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army . The same ran ks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards . The Colorado Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in or to the state of Colorado . The Colorado Army National Guard is composed of over 3500 soldiers , maintaining 30 armories in 24 communities ( as of 1999 ) . Units . The following units are part of the Colorado Army National Guard : 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 TDY ) , 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 . The current forces formation plans of the US Army call for the typical National Guard unit ( or National Guardsman ) to serve one year of active duty for every three years of service . 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 is due to change 1 August 2007 , the new policy states that soldiers will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months , individual states have differing policies ) . History . The Colorado Volunteer Militia , predecessor of the Colorado Army National Guard , was originally formed in 1860 . The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militia s into the present National Guard system . In 1914 in Ludlow , Colorado a unit of the guard was deployed during a strike by coal miners , but the sympathies of the militia leaders allied with company management resulted in the deaths of 20 people . Originally Colorado was a part of the CONUS regional command , called the Southern Department . This was later redesignated , in 1920 , as Eighth Corps area . with Headquarters at Fort Sam Houston Texas . In 1941 Colorado was transferred to the new Central Defense Command . Approximately 300 Colorado ARNG soldiers deployed to Iraq with the 36th Combat Aviation Brigade in September 2006 .