Alabama Army National Guard The Alabama 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 . Alabama 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 Alabama Guard also bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in or to the state of Alabama . 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 small portion of each unit working for the Guard in a full - time capacity . New forces formation plans of the US Army were announced in early 2007 modifying the recent ( 2001 – 2006 ) United States National Guard active duty callup pace . The new plan will nominally anticipate that each National Guard unit ( or National Guardsman ) will serve one year of active duty for every five years of service . Secretary of Defense Robert M . Gates imposed " a one - year limit to the length of [ Federal deployments ] for National Guard Soldiers . " Callups by Alabama authorities for state emergencies are not included in this policy . History . The Alabama Army National Guard was originally formed in 1807 . The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militia s into the present National Guard system . On the morning of July 21 , 1861 , the Union Army under the command of Brig . Gen . Irvin McDowell , in an effort to cripple the newly assembled Confederate Army at Manassas , Virginia , fired the opening shots of the first major battle of the Civil War . Both armies were largely made up of volunteer militia with regiments of both sides wearing blue and gray uniforms . The brunt of the Union attack fell on the Confederate left flank . Confederate Brig . Gen . Bernard Bee ( Barnard Elliott Bee , Jr . ? ) , having recently resigned from the U . S . Army and still wearing his blue uniform , realized that the army ' s left flank was seriously exposed . Gen . Bee ordered the Fourth Alabama Regiment ( of the The Alabama Brigade ) to advance rapidly in order to plug the gap in the Confederate line . For over an hour , the Fourth Alabama held position and repulsed several Union regiments . The gallant stand of the Fourth Alabama stalled the Union advance and gave the Confederate forces more time to regroup . The regiment played a prominent part in the fighting all day and contributed to the Confederate victory . The Battle of First Manassas proved to both sides that the Civil War would be a bitterly contested struggle . The Fourth Alabama went on to fight in every major battle in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War and never surrendered its colors . The heritage and traditions of the Fourth Alabama are carried on by the 1st Battalion , 167th Infantry , Alabama Army National Guard . Following the inactivation of the 31st Infantry Division in 1968 , the Alabama Army National Guard was allotted the 31st Brigade , 30th Armored Division , located in Tuscaloosa . In 1973 the 30th Armored Division was inactivated and Alabama was assigned a new major headquarters , the 31st Armored Brigade ( Separate ) . In 2002 , the 31st Armored Brigade was inactivated , merging into the 149th Armored Brigade headquartered in Kentucky . Alabama was again assigned a new major headquarters , the 122nd Chemical Brigade , later redesignated as the 31st Chemical Brigade . On February 13 , 2009 , the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen tricked guard officers into allowing him to participate in training at the Alabama Military Academy at Fort McClellan . The officers were led to believe that Cohen was a reporter making a German TV documentary . The ruse ended when a young Alabama cadet recognized the actor . Said Guard spokesperson Staff Sergeant Katrina Timmons on March 16 , 2009 about the incident , " It ' s an embarrassment to the Alabama National Guard . Since then we have put in protocols to make sure this doesn ' t happen again . "