The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG; ) is the national guard of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions, which includes to provide soldiers and airmen to the United States Army and U.S. Air Force in national emergencies or when requested by the president of the United States, and to perform military operations at the state level or any other lawful service as requested by the governor of Puerto Rico. The PRNG responds to the governor of Puerto Rico, who serves as its commander in chief and imparts orders with the Puerto Rico adjutant general acting as conduit, and its local mission is to respond as requested in military or civilian tasks. Abroad, its main function is to train a reserve capable of providing additional personnel in a war scenario.
Background The PRNG traces its roots back to the first Puerto Rican militias founded by Juan Ponce de León during the 16th century and prides itself in the battles that its predecessor won against the Taíno, enemy navies, pirates, privateers and buccaneers, such as Francis Drake, Cumberland and Balduino Henrico, centuries before from strongholds such as Castillo San Felipe del Morro. These forces which preceded by operated similarly to the Minutemen, were involved in a number of military and piratical incursions during the Spanish colonial period. Due to this, the PRNG claims to be the only member of the National Guard of the United States to be a product of two distinct lineages.
The entity claims a unique tradition that unlike the rest of the state national guards, also includes the early American period that preceded the creation of the Thirteen Colonies. This claim is reflected in its first coat of arms which depicts the defeat of the British in the second Battle of San Juan and the patch worn by the 295th Regiment, designed by John Roqueña in 1953, which features a man wearing a morion. The first coat of arms of the PRNG featured a lion guarding a tower on top of an isle located in the middle of a blue field representing the ocean, the beast representing the militia guarding San Juan, three sailboats that represent the defeated British float in 1798, and a sheep next to a red book representing Puerto Rico as seen in the coat of arms. Since its early days, the units stationed in Puerto Rico used a yellow and red patch that features a guerite, similar to those at El Morro.
After the Spanish–American War in 1898, Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States. US military authorities discussed Puerto Rico's military value. It offered tremendous commercial value in expanding commerce among the US, Central and South America. Because of the political changes in the beginning of the 20th century, the strategic military importance of Puerto Rico grew. In 1906, a group of Puerto Ricans met with Governor Winthrop, and the commissioner of interior, Lawrence H. Graham, to organize a National Guard of Puerto Rico. The public supported this effort and some companies were organized, in different towns around the island: Yauco under the command of Captain Santiago Vivaldi; Juana Díaz, commanded by Captain Diaz-Brik; Peñuelas by Captain Gabino Balasquide; and two in Ponce by Pedro Juan Armstrong, Mario Belaval, J. Oppenheimer, F. del Valle and Doctor Laguna. In San Juan three companies were organized under Federico Vall-Spinosa, Justo Barros, J. del Barril, R. Swigett, J. Doere, Lugo Vinas and F. Fano. As the companies were being formed, all of the officers and soldiers had to purchase their own uniforms and supplies, since there was no government funding for the enterprise. This organization failed due to existing US federal law, which prohibited the formation of any armed force within the United States and its territories without authorization from Congress.
During World War I, Puerto Ricans served in the 373rd, 374th, and 375th Infantry Regiments of the National Army and the Puerto Rican Regiment of the Regular Army. Approximately 20,000 troops were trained at Camp Las Casas. The young Puerto Rican officer, Luis Raúl Estevez, thought a Puerto Rican National Guard was needed. As the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the US Military Academy at West Point, he had learned about military units in other states. He discussed the issue with the governor of Puerto Rico, Arthur Yager, soon after the conclusion of World War I. The governor, Legislature of Puerto Rico, and US Congress approved the plan, and the National Guard was organized in 1919. In 1938, Luis R. Esteves was promoted to major general and appointed as Adjutant General of the Puerto Rican National Guard.
The first regiment of the Puerto Rico National Guard, "First Infantry Regiment", was organized on June 2, 1920 and reorganized on December 26, 1922, as the 295th Infantry Regiment. On March 1, 1936, the 296th Infantry Regiment was organized. Before, the 296th existed as a battalion of the 295th Infantry Regiment. On October 30, 1950, the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party organized a series of uprisings in numerous cities in Puerto Rico against United States rule and the Puerto Rican commonwealth government in what is known as the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s. The Puerto Rico National Guard was mobilized under the command of Puerto Rico adjutant general Luis R. Esteves by orders of Governor Luis Muñoz Marín and sent to confront the Nationalists in various towns such as Jayuya, Utuado and San Juan.El ataque Nacionalista a La Fortaleza by Pedro Aponte Vázquez, page 7. Publisher: Publicaciones RENÉ.
Due to the lack of belligerent invaders, the PRNG has participated in a number of functions such as coordination during natural disasters (mainly tropical storms, hurricanes, floods and droughts) repairing roads, bridges, telecommunication arrays and aqueducts. The PRNG also hosts other disciplines, including a band and a religious services branch that includes personal of different credos. Through these, the organization also related with other government agencies and entities, occasionally organizing parades or friendly competitions or entertainment through its artistic unit, Banda 248. Otherwise, the organization makes donations to other initiatives, mainly the Red Cross and similar entities.
Structure
The Puerto Rico National Guard comprises both Army and Air National Guard components, namely the Puerto Rico Army National Guard and the Puerto Rico Air National Guard respectively, with a total authorized strength of 8,400 citizen-soldiers and airmen. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the different National Guards with dual federal and state missions. The Puerto Rico National Guard is the only United States military force empowered to function in a state/territorial status within Puerto Rico. Those functions range from limited actions during non-emergency situations to full-scale law enforcement of martial law when local law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control.
The Puerto Rico National Guard may be called into federal service in response to a call by the president of the United States or Congress, usually at the request of the governor of Puerto Rico. When under state/territory control, the governor serves as commander-in-chief. When troops from the Puerto Rico National Guard are called to federal service, the president serves as commander-in-chief. The federal mission assigned to the different National Guards is: "To provide properly trained and equipped units for prompt mobilization for war, national emergency or as otherwise needed."
The governor of Puerto Rico may call individuals or units of the Puerto Rico National Guard into state service during emergencies or to assist in special situations in which National Guard use is appropriate. The state mission assigned to the National Guard is: "To provide trained and disciplined forces for domestic emergencies or as otherwise provided by state law."
History Spanish colonial period (1510–1898) The PRNG claims direct descent from the Puerto Rican militias that were founded after the Spanish Empire granted the island a governor and general captain. Its first large conflict emerged from the response to the Spanish–Taíno War of San Juan–Borikén, only years after the arrival of Juan Ponce de León and before the totality of Puerto Rico was under Spanish sovereignty. The Taínos of Borikén, led by Agüeybaná II were forced into labor and their territory threatened by the Spanish expansionism in the region, consequently deciding to begin a counteroffensive by killing Cristóbal de Sotomayor, the leader of a settlement built in southern Puerto Rico. Lacking a formal structure during the initial stages of the colonization, the Spanish settlers were forced to adopt a military initiative and organize these militias, while also continuing their main jobs, giving rise to the first civilian reserves. Additional native attacks took place in 1514 and 1520 (by which point they had been driven into exile in the Lesser Antilles). During this decade, French buccaneers would also become a threat, attacking the archipelago in 1528, only for more exiled Taínos to attack the following year. Hostile adversaries would make a single incursion during the following decade, one was an attack attributed to island Caribs (in 1556) and the other a French attack, the only reported during the following thirty years. However, the 1570s saw a surge in activity, with buccaneers attacking in 1570 and 1576 and the natives in 1573.
Puerto Rico was considered a strong strategic point by the Spanish Empire due to its location as the last bastion before taking the transatlantic voyage to Europe, and due to this fortification of its ports began during the second half of the 16th century. The first major attack faced by the militias was led by Francis Drake in 1595, leading thousands of men in the Battle of San Juan but being repelled. In 1598, George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland managed to take the city in the second Battle of San Juan after battling his way through the local militias, but was forced to leave two months later due to an epidemic. Despite this setback, the local militias earned enough of a reputation for the next governor, Alonso de Mercado, to reportedly send back most of the soldiers that accompanied him in his voyage and rely on them for defensive purposes. The main fortress of San Juan Bay, El Morro, was finished by 1608 and additional fortifications such as San Cristóbal soon followed. The next major engagement took part 27 years later, when the Netherlands led another failed invasion in the third Battle of San Juan. The militias would also participate in military incursions in other adjacent islands, including some that are now part of the Puerto Rican archipelago.
In 1765, Marshall Alejandro O'Reilly who would later become known as "El Padre de las Milicias", reorganized the militias and created a group that was disciplined enough to fight in regular combat at the Anglo-Spanish War and be commended by the crown. In 1797, the British attempted another invasion, this time led by Ralph Abercrombie, but were defeated by a force that heavily depended on the local militias in the fourth Battle of San Juan. In 1868, amidst a growing pro-independence in the population that eventually lead to the Grito de Lares, the Spanish government decided to replace the mostly Puerto Rican quorum of the militias with an Institute of Volunteers that was completely composed of Spanish-born citizens. During the decades that followed, the loss of several former colonies and of influence in the continent affected the maintenance of the local military installations and of the force, leading to an ill-prepared force with which to face the Hispano-American War.
Early American colonial period (1898–1938)