The Maryland Defense Force (MDDF) is the

state defense force In the United States, state defense forces are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state. ...

for the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The MDDF is organized as a volunteer military organization organized parallel to the

Maryland National Guard The Maryland Military Department (MMD) is a department of the State of Maryland directed by the adjutant general of Maryland. The Maryland Military Department consists of the: *State Operations section, which manages fiscal and administrative du ...

and is designed to augment the National Guard during stateside emergencies. However, as a state defense force, the MDDF is solely under control of the State of

and cannot be federalized or deployed outside the borders of Maryland.

History

The history of the MDDF dates back to colonial days in the 17th century, but it was formally established in 1917 with the mission "to protect public buildings, water supplies, and other properties". It was called the Maryland State Guard. It was disbanded in 1920 to make room for the National Guard to return to duties in the armories. Maryland Defense Force Exercise

The Maryland State Guard was reactivated in 1939 in response to World War II. It was then deactivated in 1947. As of 1983, the Maryland State Guard was reactivated and renamed the Maryland Defense Force. In 1994, the Maryland Defense Force's missions were expanded to search and rescue, armory staffing, and disaster relief. As of

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

, the Maryland Defense Force was tasked with its current mission, which is to provide support to the Maryland Military Department as needed. In August 2005, members of the 10th Medical Regiment, including civilian medical professionals who were sworn into the MDDF on the tarmac of

Martin State Airport Martin State Airport is a joint civil-military public use airport located nine nautical miles (10 mi, 17 km) east of the central business district of Baltimore, in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The facility is located wit ...

, departed for Louisiana in two C130 cargo planes operated by the

Maryland Air National Guard The Maryland Air National Guard (MD ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Maryland, United States of America, and a reserve component of the United States Air Force. It is, along with the Maryland Army National Guard, an element of the Maryla ...

to provide medical treatment to approximately 6,300 hurricane victims over eighteen days as an operation called Operation Lifeline. In 2006, members of the 10th Medical Regiment, despite not being subject to deployment outside the state of Maryland, voluntarily deployed with the 175th Medical Group of the

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

as a part of a training exercise where the 10th Medical Regiment assisted in providing medical aid to the local populace. In September 2007, the MDDF participated with the National Guard for Exercise Vigilant Guard, a major homeland security/terrorist response exercise held in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. In June 2012, the MDDF provided food and water to residents of Baltimore during the heat emergency. During the

2015 Baltimore protests On April 12, 2015, Baltimore Police Department officers arrested Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American resident of Baltimore, Maryland. Gray's neck and spine were injured while he was in a police vehicle and he went into a coma. On Ap ...

, members of the Maryland Defense Force, including members of the 10th Medical Brigade as well as logistical support personnel and military chaplains, deployed alongside the Maryland Army National Guard in support of their mission.

Legal protection

The Code of Maryland guarantees that members of the Maryland Defense Force who are called to active duty or training are entitled to a leave of absence, and full reemployment rights after their deployment ends. This is only for Maryland State employees. Members of MDDF are also covered by Maryland workers compensation where actively deployed by the Maryland Governor.

Units

Maryland Defense Force Band

The Maryland Defense Force Band provides back up support for the 229th Army Band of the

Maryland Army National Guard The Maryland Army National Guard (MD ARNG) is the United States Army component of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is headquartered at the old Fifth Regiment Armory at the intersection of North Howard Street, 29th Division Street, near Martin Lut ...

. The MDDF band plays in military ceremonies, concerts, and receptions organized by the Maryland Military Department. The band includes wind, brass, and percussion instruments.

Cavalry Troop A

Cavalry Troop A, the ceremonial cavalry unit of the Maryland Military Department, was established January 8, 2004. The troop acts in a ceremonial and public relations role as a recruiting aid for both the MDDF and the

. Training for Troop A includes mounted cavalry drill, equitation or skill-at-arms on horseback or dismounted drill and ceremony and basic military customs and courtesies.

Chaplain Corps

The MDDF Chaplain Corps includes ordained ministers, staff assistants, and chaplain assistants who provide spiritual support for members of the MDDF, the Maryland National Guard, their families, and in times of emergency, civilians. The Chaplain Corps can be called upon to perform religious rites or sacraments when deployed. Chaplains are required be ordained ministers of their faith, in good standing with their church, and must meet secondary education requirements. On top of certification requirements, chaplains must have passed MDDF Basic Training and courses in MDDF-specific Chaplain duties.

256th Cyber Defense Unit

The 256th Cyber Defense Unit (CDU) was created in 2010 to supplement the cyber teams of the Maryland National Guard. Its mission statement includes providing support to the Maryland Military Department, improving the security stance of the State of Maryland agencies and being prepared to respond with the Maryland Military Department in case of a cyber emergency. In order to complete this mission, the MDDF Cyber Security Unit regularly trains with the Maryland Army & Air National Guard. In addition, they participate in numerous joint training exercises with members of the Maryland Air National Guard, Maryland Army National Guard and various state agencies.
The 256th CDU consists of five sections: Headquarters, Hunt Operations, Incident Response and Recovery (IRR), Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT) & IT Operations

121st Engineer Regiment

The 121st Engineer Regiment acts as a rapid relief engineering unit intended to deploy after an emergency to aid the Maryland Military Department in civil relief efforts. Since 2009, the 121st Engineer Regiment has conducted all of the inspections of state military facilities across Maryland for the

Maryland Emergency Engineering Response Team (MEERT)

The Maryland Emergency Engineering Response Team is a unit of graduate engineers, most of whom are licensed professional Maryland engineers, organized to work closely with both the

and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).

Finance Corps

The Finance Corps of the MDDF is composed of licensed financial consultants, advisers, and civilian energy managers. The mission of the Finance Corps is to provide the following: *Emergency Financial & Administrative surge capacity support to military and civil authorities during field training exercises and emergency missions. *Financial analysis, accounting, management, and forecasting for MDDF assets *Practical financial briefs to Maryland National Guardsmen and their families at group program events – Yellow Ribbon, Soldier Readiness, Recruit Sustainment, and Retirement *Energy analysis, accounting, management, and forecasting with the Installation Status Report (ISR), a decision support tool for garrison commanders and military facility managers.

Judge Advocate Corps

The Judge Advocate Corps (JAC) of the MDDF is composed of licensed attorneys.

10th Medical Regiment

The 10th Medical Regiment is the medical arm of the MDDF and is registered with the Office of the Surgeon General as a Medical Reserve Corps unit. The mission of the regiment is to provide emergency surge capacity support to civil authorities during an emergency. Unlike other MDDF guardsmen, members of the 10th Medical Regiment are allowed to serve in backup status and attend only an annual muster one day per year. In August 2005, on a purely voluntary basis as state guardsmen cannot be ordered to deploy outside the state of Maryland, members of the 10th Medical Regiment provided medical service to approximately 6,300 Hurricane Katrina victims over an eighteen-day period as a part of Operation Lifeline. Included in those deployed were civilian medical professionals who, despite a willingness to volunteer in providing medical care for hurricane victims, had no means of deployment into the emergency zone as civilians. These medical volunteers were inducted into the MDDF on the tarmac of

. As members of the MDDF, these volunteers received military transport, worker's compensation eligibility, and liability protection under Maryland law. Over 100 of those sworn in with the purpose of taking part in Operation Lifeline elected to remain members of the MDDF following deployment. Operation Lifeline, with only 250 MDDF volunteers lasted for 18 days and aided 6,300 patients. In 2006, volunteers from the 10th Medical Regiment deployed to

alongside the 175th Medical Group of the Air National Guard to provide medical care for locals as a part of a training mission.

Pioneer Detachment

The Pioneer Detachment, which is based at Anne Arundel Community College, is a student-run detachment whose members are assigned cyber-security, medical, engineering, and force protection responsibilities.

Troop Command

The MDDF Troop Command assigns members and units of the MDDF to work in tandem with the Maryland Army National Guard, Maryland Air National Guard, and Maryland Emergency Management Agency.

References

External links

Official websiteMaryland Military Historical Society
{{State Defense Forces Maryland Military Department Military in Maryland State defense forces of the United States