Tennessee State Guard The Tennessee State Guard is the state defense force of the state of Tennessee under the Tennessee Military Department . The Tennessee State Guard is an all - volunteer force . The creation of a state military force is recognized under Tennessee Code Annotated 58 - 1 - 401 . The mission statement of the Tennessee State Guard sums up their responsibilities , namely : " The purpose of the Tennessee State Guard is to provide a professional complement of personnel to support the State mission of the Tennessee National Guard , by assisting the Tennessee Army National Guard as a force multiplier , and at the direction of the Adjutant General , to assist civil authorities with disaster relief , humanitarian causes , ceremonial service , religious and medical support for the well being and safety of the citizenry of Tennessee . " History . The Tennessee State Guard traces its origins to the American Revolution . During the Battle of King ' s Mountain , approximately four hundred volunteers from the area known today as Tennessee crossed the mountains into North Carolina to fight against the British Army and Loyalist militias . They contributed significantly to the Patriot victory . Tennessee militias would serve in battle again in the War of 1812 under Andrew Jackson . After fighting and winning the Battle of Horseshoe Bend ( 1814 ) , they served with distinction in the Battle of New Orleans alongside other state militias , federal soldiers , local volunteers , slaves , and pirates against the British Army . It was during the Mexican - American War where the nickname " The Volunteer State " became associated with Tennessee . When asked by President Polk to provide two infantry regiments and one cavalry regiment , only to find approximately ten times that number volunteered . During the American Civil War the confederacy took advantage of the many state based militias to fight their war . Tennessee ' s location on the border of Kentucky , which was a Union state , and the strategic hub of Memphis made the residents of Tennessee in constant need of forces to protect them from Union incursions . Tennessee units served in many battles of the Civil War , notably the Battle of Shiloh in which the 4th Tennessee Infantry served with distinction and lost nearly half of its members . During both World Wars , when National Guard units were federalized , state defense forces became the replacement military for guarding the home front . Although State Guard units could not be directly drafted , many individual members were either drafted or volunteered for battle through the federal military . One famous Tennessean , Alvin York , belonged to the Tennessee State Guard , helping to reorganize it for modern times in 1941 . By 1948 The State Guard went inactive . It wasn ' t until the latter half of the twentieth century , with National Guard units becoming increasingly federalized , that the need for a local force who would not be sent abroad in a time of emergency was present . In 1985 the Tennessee Defense Force was formed to provide a trained military reserve force for use of the Governor ' s use in times of emergency , and in 1998 the name was changed by the legislature to the Tennessee State Guard . In 2005 , Governor Phil Bredeson activated the Tennessee State Guard to assist with relief efforts from Hurricane Katrina . Duties . Falling under the discretion of the governor of Tennessee , the Tennessee State Guard can be used to augment National Guard units in times of emergency , provide medical aid , security , funeral honors and other responsibilities generally covered by the state National Guard . Since they are not a part of the United States National Guard , they cannot be drafted as a unit into the military though individual members are not exempt from being drafted . Aside from deploying to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina , State Guardsmen also participated in Operation Vigilant Guard in disaster preparation through drills organized as an earthquake disaster zone response . Training . Tennessee does not directly provide any training for the Tennessee State Guard . Rather , members are recruited from honorably discharged members of all four branches of the United States military . One must be a resident of Tennessee , have graduated high school or obtained a GED , clear a criminal background check and meet standard educational requirements for commissioned officer duties . As most of these are also prerequisites to join the military most of these requirements are covered by the training and service under the United States military . Drill days are held one day per month , and there is an annual three day drill . Civilians with specific professional skill sets such as doctors , attorneys or engineers may be considered for membership without prior military service . Organization . The Tennessee State Guard is organized as a Directorate Headquarters with four regiments . The headquarters are based in Nashville , Tennessee . The regiments include the 1st Tennessee Regiment baseed in Millington , TN ; the 2nd Brigade Support Team based in Nashville , Tennessee ; the 3rd Tennessee Regiment based in Knoxville , Tennessee , and the 4th Tennessee Regiment based in Chattanooga , Tennessee . References . 1 . ^ http : / / www . tnmilitary . org / TCA - Authority . html 2 . ^ " Tennessee State Guard " . 3 . ^ " Tennessee State Library and Archives : Brief History of Tennesseein the War of 1812 " . 4 . ^ http : / / www . tnhistoryforkids . org / stories / volunteer _ state 5 . ^ http : / / www . tnmilitary . org / SGHistory . html 6 . ^ http : / / militaryhistory . about . com / od / 1900s / p / World - War - I - Sergeant - Alvin - C - York . htm 7 . ^ http : / / www . heritage . org / research / reports / 2005 / 10 / katrinas - forgotten - responders - state - defense - forces - play - a - vital - role 8 . ^ http : / / fox2now . com / 2012 / 10 / 29 / national - guard - holding - earthquake - exercises - following - memphis - quake /