9781422280164

T he atrocities of September 11, 2001, took America completely by surprise. The attack was unique in its wanton murderousness and ruthless cunning. In more than 200 years of its history, the United States has been at war many times, but never before has it faced a foe that is so cynical. An attack not on an army in the field but on the ordinary man and woman on the street, the terrorist outrages shattered the routine of what had dawned as an ordinary working day. The victims of the onslaught were regular travelers and flight crews, not military personnel; they were office workers, police, and firefighters, not soldiers. The war against terrorism that followed has seen U.S. forces in action in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond. Yet many experts firmly believe that those best equipped to protect America are to be found closer to home. An enemy that seeks to strike at civilians in their homes and offices is, they argue, best resisted at the battlefront: in the small towns and city neighborhoods of the nation. It is ironic that, as America faces this new threat to its way of life, it should be finding a new appreciation of one of its oldest institutions, the National Guard.

The Guard and Reserve forces of the U.S. military are more integrated with their active-duty counterparts than ever before.

Words to Understand Insurgents: Revolutionaries, protestors. Militias: People trained like soldiers but who aren’t in the military. Sorties: Missions flown by a single plane.

C itizen S oldiers : T he N ational G uard

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