The Kansas National Guard The forerunner of the Kansas National Guard, the Kansas Militia, was formed on August 30, 1855 by the Territorial Governor and Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Kansas. The first Territorial Adjutant General was Hiram J. Strickler. Six years later, when Kansas became the 34th state, the Kansas Militia was organized into units of the Kansas National Guard. In 1946, the Kansas Air National Guard was established. The Kansas Guard now consists of the Kansas Army National Guard and the Kansas Air National Guard. The Kansas National Guard has been involved in the nation's conflicts since the state's inception as a territory. The Kansas Guard actively participated in the Civil War (1861-1865), Indian Wars (1864-1870), Spanish-American War (1898-1899), Mexican Border War (1916), World War I (1917-1919), World War II (1940-1946), Korean War (1950-1952), Berlin Crisis (1961-1962), Air National Guard Squadron Tactical Reconnaissance Interceptor Program alert (STRIP) (1955-1965), Vietnam War (1966-1969), Single Integrated Operations Plan Alert (1978-present), Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm (1990-1991), Operations Northern and Southern Watch in Southwest Asia (1992-present), Operation Restore Hope in Somalia (1992-1993), Operations Joint Endeavor, Deny Flight, Joint Guardian, and Joint Forge in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1995-present), Operations Phoenix Scorpion, Phoenix Scorpion III, and Desert Fox in Southwest Asia (1997 and 1998), Operation Allied Force in Kosovo (1999-present), and the War on Terrorism (Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Noble Eagle (2001-present), and Operation Iraqi Freedom, (2003-present)). Kansas citizen-soldiers and citizen-airmen have also served our state supporting civil authority, in the 1888-89 County Seat Wars, the 1893 Legislative War, labor disputes in 1886 and 1893, and during student unrest over the Vietnam conflict in the 1960's. They continue to train to assist civil authority today. Kansas National Guardsmen also serve to protect the lives and property of Kansans in response to disasters and emergencies throughout the state, including tornadoes, floods, snowstorms, and other weather-related and man-made disasters and emergencies. For more information about the history of the Kansas National Guard, we suggest you visit the Museum of the Kansas National Guard.