The military defense of Puerto Rico is the responsibility of the United States as part of the Treaty of Paris. Locally, Puerto Rico has its own National Guard, the Puerto Rico National Guard, and its own state defense force, the Puerto Rico State Guard, which, by local law, is under the authority of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The commander-in-chief of both forces is the governor of Puerto Rico, currently Pedro Pierluisi, who delegates his authority to the Puerto Rico Adjutant General, currently Major General José J. Reyes. The Adjutant General, in turn, delegates the authority over the State Guard to another officer but retains the authority over the Puerto Rico National Guard as a whole. At the national level, the commander-in-chief is the President of the United States, currently Joe Biden.
Two of the least-known roles played by Puerto Rican women and women of Puerto Rican descent have been that of soldier and that of revolutionary. This is a brief account of some the Puerto Rican women who have participated in military actions as members of either a political revolutionary movement or of the Armed Forces of the United States.
The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG) –Spanish: Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico– 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.
The Puerto Rico Air National Guard(PR ANG) —Spanish: Guardia Nacional Aérea de Puerto Rico— is the aerial militia of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States of America. It is, along with the Puerto Rico Army National Guard and the Puerto Rico State Guard, an element of the Puerto Rico National Guard. After beginning as four units, the PRANG expanded to 11 units by the 1980s, including the 1956th Tactics Combat Group, the 140th Radar Squadron and others.
Luis Ernesto González Vales was a Puerto Rican historian. He held the post of Official Historian of Puerto Rico, having succeeded Pilar Barbosa.
The Puerto Rico State Guard (PRSG) is the state defense force of Puerto Rico that operates under the sole authority of the governor of Puerto Rico who, in turn, delegates such authority to the Puerto Rico Adjutant General. The Guard's secondary purpose is to assume the state mission of the Puerto Rico National Guard in the event that the National Guard is mobilized. The first incarnation of the PRSG was created in 1941 in response to World War II and it disbanded in 1946. The PRSG was revived in 1971 and has remained in continuous existence since then. It is one of the few state defense forces of the United States that has an air division.
Brigadier General Alberto A. Nido is a former United States Air Force officer who during World War II served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, the British Royal Air Force and in the United States Army Air Forces. He was also the co-founder of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard.
Brigadier General José M. Portela (Ret.),, is a retired officer of the United States Air Force who recently retired from the position of Assistant Adjutant General for Air, which he held while also serving as commander of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard. In 1972, Portela became the youngest C-141 Starlifter aircraft commander and captain at age 22. Portela is also the only reservist ever to serve as director of mobility forces for Bosnia. He is also the first native of Puerto Rico to hold the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Air Force Reserve.
Brigadier General Rafael O'Ferrall is an Army National Guard officer who is the Deputy Commanding General for the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the Assistant Adjutant General (Army) and Deputy Commanding General of the Joint Force Headquarters at San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Antonio J. Vicens-Gonzalez was the 18th Adjutant General of the Puerto Rico National Guard from January 2, 2009, to December 2012. The Adjutant General is the Commander of the Puerto Rico National Guard. As the Adjutant General he was also the Senior Military Advisor to the Governor of Puerto Rico and oversees both State and Federal Missions of the PR National Guard. He provides effective leadership and management in the implementation of all programs and policies affecting more than 10,500 citizen-soldiers and airmen, and civilian employees of the three components of the PR National Guard: Army National Guard, Air National Guard and Puerto Rico State Guard. MG Vicens holds a B.B.A-Management Degree from the University of Puerto Rico.
Major General Emilio Díaz Colón, is a former United States National Guard officer who served as the Adjutant General of the Puerto Rican National Guard. In 2011, he became the first member of the PRNG to be named superintendent of the Puerto Rico Police Department.
The Puerto Rico Adjutant General is the commander of the Puerto Rico National Guard. As the adjutant general he is also the senior military advisor to the Governor of Puerto Rico and oversees both State and Federal Missions of the Puerto Rico National Guard. He provides leadership and management in the implementation of all programs and policies affecting more than 10,500 citizen-soldiers and airmen, and civilian employees of the three components of the PR National Guard: Puerto Rico Army National Guard, Puerto Rico Air National Guard and Puerto Rico State Guard. It is the responsibility of the Adjutant General of the Commonwealth to share his reports with the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary of the Air Force.
Major General Carlos Fernando Chardón also referred to as "Fernando Chardón", was the Secretary of State of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973 and the Puerto Rico Adjutant General from 1973 to 1975.
Brigadier General David A. Carrión Baralt is a former Adjutant General of the Puerto Rico National Guard during the administration of Puerto Rico Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá from 2004 to 2008.
Brigadier General Salvador Teodoro Roig Marietti,, was the Superintendent of the Puerto Rico Police Department under the Government of Luis Muñoz Marín, and Adjutant General of the National Guard under the Government of Roberto Sánchez Vilella.
The 1st Air Support Group of the Puerto Rico State Guard (1ASG-PRSG) is the main unit of the State Guard of the Military Forces of Puerto Rico that operates under the sole authority of the governor of Puerto Rico who, in turn, delegates such authority to the Puerto Rico Adjutant General and to the Commanding General of the Puerto Rico State Guard.
Isabelo Rivera Negrón was the 21st Puerto Rico Adjutant General, and the commanding officer of the Puerto Rico National Guard.
Major General Francis J. Evon Jr. is the Adjutant General of the Connecticut National Guard. He is responsible to the Governor and the Chief, National Guard Bureau, for providing operationally trained, equipped and mission-ready forces to support both U.S. mobilization requirements and state emergency operations to include developing and coordinating counter terrorism and domestic preparedness contingencies for the State of Connecticut. He implements policies, programs, and plans as the direct link to all state assigned National Guard resources, providing information and evaluation, issue resolution and action recommendations. General Evon began his military career in 1985 as an enlisted Anti-Tank Crewman in the Combat Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 102nd Infantry of the Connecticut Army National Guard. He was commissioned through the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in 1989. Major General Evon has held command leadership positions at the company, battalion, and brigade levels. He served as commander of the 1st Battalion, 102d Infantry Regiment in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom from November 2009 to November 2010. Prior to his current assignment, General Evon served as the assistant adjutant general for the Connecticut Army National Guard. His promotion to major general was confirmed at the federal level by the U.S. Senate on May 23, 2019.
José J. Reyes is the 22nd Puerto Rico Adjutant General, and the commanding officer of the Puerto Rico National Guard.
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