Georgia State Defense Force The Georgia State Defense Force ( GSDF , GASDF , or SDF ) is an unpaid , volunteer component of the Georgia Department of Defense , serving in support of the national and state constitutions under direction of the governor and the adjutant general of Georgia . As a State Defense Force , members serve alongside the Georgia Army National Guard and the Georgia Air National Guard . The mission of the Georgia State Defense Force is to provide an organized , trained , disciplined , rapid response volunteer force to assist state and local government agencies and civil relief organizations during emergencies to ensure the welfare and safety of Georgia citizens . The SDF ' s members help support and augment the Georgia National Guard , provide professional skills to the Georgia Department of Defense , and assist Georgia communities . Volunteers are trained to assist the National Guard , provide search and rescue , medical support , and disaster relief . Organization . The Georgia State Defense Force is currently organized with a headquarters based at the Clay National Guard Center in Marietta ; three brigade s with geographic areas of responsibility throughout the state ; medical companies ; a support brigade providing special skills augmentation ; a Chaplain Corps ( based on Army special branches religious support ) with a Command Chaplain , Brigade Chaplain , Battalion Chaplain ( UMT ) Unit Ministry Team and a Chaplain Training Center ; and a military band ( based on the Army Band - Large , Music Support Team ( MST ) concept ) . Each brigade and equivalent unit is commanded by a field grade officer ( usually a colonel ) . The current chain of command for the State Defense Force at the state level is organized under three positions : The commander - in - chief ( Governor Nathan Deal ) , the adjutant general ( Major General Jim Butterworth ) , and the Georgia State Defense Force commander ( Brigadier General Thomas Danielson ) . At present , both the Georgia Army National Guard commander ( Brigadier General Joe Jarrard ) and the Georgia adjutant general are commissioned officers in the Georgia State Defense Force . Requirements . Current eligibility to join the State Defense Force extends to men and women between the ages of 18 and 64 . Prior military experience is not required , although approximately 40 percent of active members have prior service experience . History . The Georgia State Defense Force ’ s rich heritage dates back to England . Under the direction of General James Oglethorpe , Sergeants of the Guard trained future colonists in militia tactics . Georgia settlers arriving in 1733 became members of General Oglethorpe ’ s militia and were called up during the Battle of Bloody Marsh in 1742 to help repel the Spanish invasion of Georgia . These militia forces later joined General George Washington in the fight for American Independence . The volunteer militia remained in continuous service throughout the 18th and 19th centuries . During this time , the militia participated in Indian wars against the Creeks , Cherokees , and Choctaws , and , with the outbreak of the American Civil War , Georgia responded with over 100 volunteer regiments , battalions , and batteries . The portion that remained at home helped to defend Atlanta and Macon , shadowed by the Union advance in 1864 . This volunteer commitment was second only in number to the Commonwealth of Virginia . In 1917 , following passage of the National Defense Act of 1916 , the National Guard could be called into federal service . As a result , Georgia law organized the militia into three classes : the National Guard , the naval militia , and the unorganized militia . It further created a separate Home Guard , or State Constabulary , also subject to military law . After World War I , the militia was called to put down labor unrest at factories and mills across the state . In 1940 , with the onset of World War II , Governor E . D . Rivers requested the American Legion to organize the Georgia State Defense Corps . The next year , in 1941 , Colonel Ryburn Clay was appointed to head the State Defense Corps and it was activated and placed under the command of Brigadier General Omar Bradley , commanding officer at Ft . Benning , Georgia . Its name was shortly changed to the State Defense Corps of Georgia and then to the Georgia State Guard in 1942 . During World War II , 35 , 000 volunteer members guarded war plants , critical communications facilities , utilities , reservoirs , and transportation facilities . Approximately 8 , 000 served at any given time with about 10 , 000 left at the end of the war . They were trained to repel an invasion that never came . Although not officially disbanded until 1951 , the Georgia State Guard began its retirement in July 1946 . The Georgia State Guard was re - authorized in 1973 to serve as a constabulary force , and throughout the 1970s and 1980s was tasked to serve as a backup for state police forces . Legislation resulted in the first muster in 1985 when it was re - activated as the Georgia State Defense Force under the command of Brigadier General John Gillette . The force was tasked to provide a cadre around a larger force to assume the vacated domestic missions of Georgia National Guard members called to federal duty . The current Georgia State Defense Force is authorized by the federal government under 32 USC 109 ( e ) , by the State of Georgia under Title 38 of the Official Code of Georgia , and by the National Guard Bureau under NGR 10 - 4 . The Georgia Department of Defense is composed of the State Defense Force , the Army National Guard , and the Air National Guard , all of whom serve under the direction of the adjutant general of Georgia . Recent operations include support to National Guard units during the Gulf War , participation in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games , emergency aid to agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ) and Georgia Emergency Management Agency ( GEMA ) , support to Georgia National Guard units and their families since 2001 , and activation during the 2004 G - 8 Summit at Sea Island and the 2005 Katrina and Rita hurricane evacuations . In 2010 , the GSDF and its members were recognized by a special resolution of the Georgia Legislature for their participation in Operation Healing Hands , providing disaster relief to earthquake victims in Haiti . After the devastating outbreak of tornadoes across the Southeast U . S . in May , 2011 , members of the GSDF participated in relief efforts in Lamar County and other hard - hit areas of the state .