State Defense Force Maryland Military Department

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About Maryland Defense Force (MDDF)

Location:

Headquarters, Pikesville Military Reservation, 610 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, MD 21208, US

Mission Statement

Mission

To provide competent supplemental professional and technical support to the Maryland Military Department (MMD) and the Maryland National Guard (MDNG) as required.

Vision
An organization of excellence dedicated to defend and serve the Nation, State, and Communities within Maryland.

Values
Integrity First
Service Before Self
Excellence In All We Do

MDDF Missions

Adjunct Training
In general, the members of the MDDF are individuals who have recently been released or retired from active duty, and who have current skills and expertise involving military doctrine, hardware, or training. These individuals figure more prominently in the non-emergency role of the MDDF, and are available, as requested, to the various units of the MDNG during the normal Unit Training Assemblies. These persons are the trainers, mechanics, or unit commanders who were retired yesterday, either because of age or length of service, but who still have a great deal to offer. In an emergency, these members may supplement Technical Assistance activities.

Cavalry Unit
Troop A, Maryland Defense Force provides the Maryland Military Department with a ceremonial unit that is a visible link to the horse cavalry units of the past, while supporting recruiting and public relations efforts of both the National Guard and Defense Force.

Chaplain Services
An organized and dedicated Chaplain Corps assists MDNG members, their families, and the community at large. When not activated for emergency state service, the individuals in this command provide chaplain support, as requested, to the several MDNG units throughout the state. Such support may include individual counseling, and the provision of regular Unit Training Assembly religious services all the way down to the company level.

Engineering Services
The 121st Engineer Regiment provides a professional organized, trained, disciplined, uniformed rapid response volunteer force of construction tradesmen, and professional engineers of all disciplines to assist the Maryland Military Department, state and local government agencies, and civil relief organizations in response to any impending or actual emergency.

Legal Services
Judge advocates in the Directorate of Legal Services are called upon to serve each of the 23 counties in Maryland in order to ensure "local" coverage for every MDNG member and his or her family.
When not activated for emergency state service, the individuals in this directorate of the MDDF provide legal assistance, as requested, to the several MDNG units throughout the state. Such activities may include the preparation of wills and powers-of-attorney, the delivery of required legal training and lectures, and support to the state military justice system.

Medical Services
When not activated for emergency state service, the individuals in the 10th Medical Regiment provide assistance, as requested, to the several units of the Maryland National Guard throughout the state. Such activities may include assistance with periodic physical examinations, conducting first aid and related training, and/or presenting required medical lectures.

Technical Assistance
Just as the National Guard provides added value to the regular forces, the individuals in the MDDF offer experience and expertise in fields that are either undermanned or under funded in the MDNG. These individuals are recruited from the private sector in areas such as information technology, communications, transportation maintenance, construction, and finance. MDDF personnel may have years of experience in their particular field and be ready, at a moment's notice, to lend their expertise to the MMD and the MDNG. When not activated for emergency state service, the individuals in this command are available to provide advice and training to the MDNG as requested.

Additional Missions
The maturity and experience of the members of the MDDF make them more than eligible for participation in almost any function related to support for the families of deployed MDNG soldiers and airmen. In addition, the MDDF could develop expertise in storm identification, and storm or disaster-related damage assessment. Both of these skills are taught by outside agencies (NOAA and the Red Cross, respectively) at little or no cost to the state. Given today's environment and the emphasis on "Homeland Defense," the scope of missions for this new organization is limited only by the imagination.

Description

A State Defense Force for the Twenty-First Century Heritage to Horizon
A Maryland Defense Force Monograph

Since earliest Colonial times, Americans have readily volunteered in the common defense of their homes, families, and homeland. These volunteer military groups, called militias, were at first composed of all able-bodied males in the vicinity. Later, they became volunteer bands raised or supported by Colonial or State governments, or by a wealthy patron. Such militias volunteered for every Colonial and American war (including on both sides of the War Between the States) to the end of the Nineteenth Century. As the Twentieth Century dawned and the World and its wars became more complex, it became clear that State militias needed to be brought to a uniform national standard if they were to enter Federal service, so the modern concept of the National Guard - a military force that is both a State militia and a reserve Federal force at the same time - was born.

With the massive Federal mobilization and overseas deployment of the National Guard in the First and Second World Wars, it became apparent that a back-up military force should stay in the various States to take on the State militia duties (including guarding military and other installations and quelling riots) that would otherwise not be fulfilled. These State Guards, as they were called, were State troops without Federal reserve status. Many States, including Maryland, had thousands of volunteer State Guardsmen during both Wars. These units were generally disbanded after the Wars.

The modern version of the State Guard, born during the Cold War, is the State Defense Force (SDF). The Constitution authorizes States to maintain troops only with the consent of Congress, and Congress has consented to maintenance of the National Guard and State Defense Forces. Presently, about half the States have SDFs.

During peacetime, the Cold War, and when there was no local or regional state of emergency, many SDFs lacked a coherent sense of identity and mission. It was unlikely that the National Guard would be subject to federal call-up on the scale of the World Wars, and there seemed to be little use for what amounted to a body of troops redundant to the National Guard. Thus, some SDFs were reduced to performing "missions" such as supervising car parking at fairs, or endlessly training for missions that were highly unlikely ever to materialize.

In Maryland, at the Millennium, a handful of key leaders in the Military Department chose to rethink the entire SDF concept, in terms of whether - and, if so, how - the Maryland Defense Force (MDDF) should be restructured. It was concluded that the best and highest use of the MDDF should remain as a "back-up" force for the National Guard, but not just in case of mobilization. That is, why not utilize the Defense Force as a pool of trained, often professionally-qualified, soldiers who could augment the National Guard in those areas where the Guard had a specific need?

Thus, the "new" MDDF was born, with the key concept being the creation of talent pools, organized into professional Mission-Oriented Commands, e.g., Legal, Medical, and Chaplain. Highly qualified Commanders - most of them former active or reserve officers - were recruited, and they, in turn, recruited other professionals for their Commands. Additional Commands were organized, as qualified personnel presented themselves. These included the Command for Financial Services and an Engineering Corps.

In the meantime, the Medical Command grew amazingly in strength and mission capability. A key catalyst was the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster, during which the MDDF expanded its Medical Command (which had already achieved Medical Reserve Corps recognition) by a factor of 10, and deployed teams to the New Orleans vicinity, where they treated close to 7,000 patients over a period of three weeks, in very difficult conditions. This out-of-State deployment of the MDDF (as authorized by Maryland statute, but never before utilized) was highly successful, leading to the organization of the Medical Command into the 10th (MD) Medical Regiment, with its own command and staff elements.

All the while, the numbered General Staff elements of the MDDF, designated as Directorates, continued performing typical staff functions, growing to include a G-6 (IT). The question of how best to utilize other non-professionally-qualified soldiers was solved by abolishing the traditional battalions (which were largely hollow units anyway) and reorganizing the troop units into a Military Support Command, the purpose of which is to provide command, control, logistic, and administrative support to MDDF personnel in deployment or other operational environments. Another function of Military Support personnel (though open to other professional personnel of the Mission-Oriented Commands as well) is to serve, after intensive training, in the Maryland Joint Operations Center (MJOC), alongside civilian and National Guard personnel in both routine and emergency operations.

The theme of fully integrating MDDF personnel into everyday State missions and operations, which is really at the heart of MDDF's post-Cold War mission, is not limited to MJOC duty, but is actively pursued at all levels of the Maryland Military Department. MDDF Chaplain personnel are fully trained alongside their Guard counterparts and can perform the same State duties, as they did in Maryland during the Lebanese Repatriation of 2006. MDDF Medical personnel are playing integral roles in the Military Department, teamed with Guard medical personnel, in medical missions, ranging from planning for pandemics to deploying with the Maryland Air National Guard's 175th Medical Group to Bosnia on a one-month humanitarian medical mission in connection with the DoD State Partnership program. MDDF Engineering personnel will be assisting in engineering assessments of existing Guard facilities and the design of new ones. On a monthly - and sometimes even weekly - basis, MDDF Attorneys, Chaplains, and Finance officers are tasked with individual counseling of soldiers and their families in cases where National Guard personnel are not available in adequate numbers. And, finally, the MDDF's own Cavalry unit (Troop A) performs Color Guard and Parade duties, fulfilling requests from the civilian community for support from the Maryland Military Department.

The accompanying Table of Organization illustrates the distribution of professional and military assets across the MDDF and is our model of how to organize for effective delivery of militia services in the 21st Century. In sum, we in the MDDF strongly feel that we have, by good planning and good fortune, hit upon a winning formula, assuring that the Defense Force will become and remain an indispensable resource for the State's Military Department, in accordance with its traditions, but with an eye to the future.

Brigadier General (MD) Frederic N. Smalkin
Senior Advisor to the Commander

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Brooke Gunning: The Maryland Defense Force: 'Ready when called'

BALTIMORE - We just passed Memorial Day, a time for Americans to reflect on the sacrifices made on our behalf by our fellow countrymen and women, past and present, so that we as a nation are able to continue to enjoy the benefits of liberty.

The days between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July include other patriotic days, like the anniversary of the D-Day landings in World War II and Flag Day. While much attention is rightly directed at veterans of major conflicts, other organizations' contributions go largely unrecognized. The Maryland Defense Force (MDDF) is one whose recognition is long overdue.

"Marylanders have a proud heritage of defending and serving their communities in times of war and disaster," said Brig. Gen. (MD) Benjamin F. Lucas II, former commanding general of the Maryland Defense Force. "Our motto is 'Ready When Called,' and so we will be there."

The MDDF traces its roots back to pre-Revolutionary colonial militias, where able men and their muskets provided homeland security. As with many matters military, the current defense force existed under a different aegis and name. However, the spirit of patriotism continues with the current force of 250 (and growing). Of particular appeal to taxpayers is that the organization operates with virtually no budget. The group is supported from time to time with in-kind services, such as office space, from the Maryland Military Department.

The current Maryland Defense Force is an all-volunteer organization whose goal is to supplement the needs of the Maryland National Guard and the Maryland Military Department in the event of a catastrophic event. Although they do not and will not carry weapons, members support the Maryland National Guard with lawyers, medical personnel, chaplains, training, and engineering/construction and communications help. The force has its own command structure, uniforms, ranks and credentials.

Among other services, the MDDF provides pro bono legal advice for military families when the head of household is overseas. It also assists troops prior to deployment by drawing up wills and powers-of-attorney.

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Lucas transformed the force into what it is today. He was central in recruiting lawyers and others who could not join the military for health or other reasons and those who did not know their services could be used by the MDDF.

Hurricane Katrina provided an outstanding example of the organization's contributions. In its first out-of-state deployment, members, including dozens of top medical personnel from area hospitals, traveled to Jefferson Parish, La., a region decimated by the storm. The group cleaned an abandoned hospital, set up six clinics and assisted the needy. In a nod to American ingenuity, some clever fellows rigged a tiki bar on the hospital's roof, which provided a much-welcomed respite from the rigors of the day.

Katrina proved a valuable training ground, while cementing the organization's credentials both within and without Maryland. In fact, the MDDF's success during Katrina has prompted governors from other states, including California and Ohio, to inquire how they can set up their own state defense forces along the new model provided by the MDDF.

Should a similar crisis hit home, Maryland's Adjutant General, currently Major General Bruce Tuxill, would assign tasks for the MDDF. This could possibly include setting up disaster relief centers dispensing critical items such as fresh water or supplies, as well as supplying medical personnel. As Col. (MD) Courtney Wilson notes, "We're not out in front, but behind. We have sustainability."

The MDDF's current Commander, Brig. Gen. (MD) Frederic N. Smalkin, said, "Utilizing our lessons learned from Katrina, the Defense Force has reorganized into a mission-oriented task-force structure geared to specific scenarios where the professional and military talents of our volunteer force can best be used to augment the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard in serving the needs of Marylanders."

If you feel a call to volunteer, you may visit the group's Web site at http://mddf.maryland.gov