VIEWPOINT | The Guard, the Governor, and the Legislature - the path forward

Guest column by Rep. Tim Reisch, former Adjutant General of the South Dakota National Guard

One of the jobs I held before becoming a legislator was serving as the Adjutant General of the South Dakota National Guard. In fact, of the 23 Adjutants General that have commanded our Guard in the history of the state, only two others have served in the position longer than I did.

Gov. Kristi Noem recently announced that she would be deploying the National Guard to the southern border again this year. Article IV, Section 3 of our state’s constitution makes it clear that the governor is “commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the state, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States, and may call them out to execute the laws, to preserve order, to suppress insurrection or to repel invasion.”

Since 9-11, many South Dakota Guard units have been placed on active-duty orders under Title 10 of the United States Code of Laws. In those instances, they temporarily become part of the U.S. Army or U.S. Air Force, are paid by the federal government, and serve in a chain of command that leads to the President of the United States. At all other times, the Governor of South Dakota is commander-in-chief.

It is common practice, and I would say expected that a governor would activate the National Guard to respond to in-state emergencies such as tornados, floods, fires, and riots. The costs incurred by those “state activations” are naturally the responsibility of the state.

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