Kansas Adjutant General's Department - About the Department

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 website of the Museum of the Kansas National Guard.

Kansas Emergency Management

Kansas Emergency Management was created in 1950 during the Cold War as the State Civil Defense Agency, charged with providing civil defense to protect life and property in the event of nuclear attack.

In 1955, the agency became a part of The Adjutant General's Department, and was responsible for emergency management for all disasters and coordination of recovery and response activities statewide.

In 1975, the agency was renamed the Division of Emergency Preparedness, symbolizing its dual role in preparedness for both nuclear and other disaster situations.

Now known as "Kansas Emergency Management," the agency is responsible for emergency management statewide and coordination of state and federal response to all disasters and emergencies in Kansas. Other responsibilities of the agency include the training of state and local personnel to respond to all varieties of natural disasters and other emergencies.

When not responding to or preparing for emergencies, Kansas Emergency Management engages in a Homeland Security role along with the Kansas National Guard. After September 11, 2001, The Adjutant General was named Director of Homeland Security for the State of Kansas. Kansas Emergency Management has focused effort on preparedness for potential terrorist threats, such as bioterrorism.

These terrorism preparedness efforts predated the events of 9-11, but have become a greater focus of concern since that time. Training and exercises have been utilized to help prepare emergency management personnel statewide to handle emergency situations that include foreign animal disease and bioterrorism.