History Main / HomeGuard

* On the sixth anniversary of 9-11, the passenger and crew of Flight 93 were honored as citizen soldiers because they fought the terrorists keeping them for crashing the plane into the US Capitol.

** Then there were "Croft's Pikes", an unfortunate incident where a bit of hyperbole on Churchill's part[[note]]"every man must have a weapon of some kind, [[TemptingFate be it only a mace or pike]]"[[/note]] [[PoorCommunicationKills was misinterpreted]] and led to some well-intentioned idiot at the War Office ordering the production of 250,000 pikes made from steel tubes and old bayonet blades. This lead to a bit of a scandal, and the whole affair got named for Henry Page Croft, a junior minister at the War Office who, rather than blaming Churchill, tried to defend the decision by claiming that the pike was "a most effective and silent weapon". Accounts vary as to whether any Home Guard units were actually issued with the pikes, but if any of them did they probably never used them for anything. They do represent [[ThicketOfSpears the very last time the British Army paraded with pikes as a weapon]].

** Then there were "Croft's Pikes", an unfortunate incident where a bit of hyperbole on Churchill's part[[note]]"every man must have a weapon of some kind, [[TemptingFate be it only a mace or pike]]"[[/note]] [[PoorCommunicationKills was misinterpreted]] and led to some well-intentioned idiot at the War Office ordering the production of 250,000 pikes made from steel tubes and old bayonet blades. This lead to a bit of a scandal, and the whole affair got named for Henry Page Croft, a junior minister at the War Office who, rather than blaming Churchill, tried to defend the decision by claiming that the pike was "a most effective and silent weapon". Accounts vary as to whether any Home Guard units were actually issued with the pikes, but if any of them did they probably never used them for anything.

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* In the ''Series/ChinaBeach'' fanfic [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8302846/1/Past-toPresent "Past to Present,"]] Colleen [=McMurphy=] re-enlists in the Army Reserve, is promoted to Major and later Colonel. She also becomes the commander of the 3098 *M*A*S*H during UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar.

[[folder:Film ]]

* ''Film/CarryOnSergeant'' sort of revolves around this. The Home Guard in this movie is the National Service and the men called up have no choice but to draft in.
* ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights:'' The Sheriff and his men. Robin takes a [[TakeThat cheap shot]] at the Sheriff, who seized his family's property while Robin was fighting in the Crusades.
-->'''Robin:''' ''My father couldn't get me into the National Guard.''
-->'''Crowd:''' ''Oooooooohh... ''
* ''Film/TheBigRedOne''. TheSquad find themselves confronted by Volksturm armed with pitchforks and pictures of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. It looks like a massacre is about to take place, but they quickly surrender when the Sarge fires his gun over their heads.

* The comedy, ''Film/WeekendWarriors'' was about an Air National Guard unit near Hollywood in 1961.
* ''Film/TheLongestDay'': During D-Day, the 29th Infantry Division's was tasked with clearing strong points at Omaha Beach and they were in the first wave of Allied troops during Operation Overlord. Their prominent role in the battle is shown throughout the film. The division is a part of the Florida, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia Army National Guards.

* Frequently shows up in the ''Literature/JackRyan'' series by Creator/TomClancy. In particular, a brigade of the North Carolina National Guard plays a pivotal role in ''Executive Orders'', General Gennady Iosefovitch Bondarenko manages to field an entire division of reservists in ''The Bear And The Dragon'', and John Kelly (later John Clark) is threatened with being recalled to active duty since he checked the box for joining the reserves in ''Without Remorse''

* ''Literature/TheElenium'': Sparhawk, Platime, and Stragen organize a home guard [[note]]they even use that term[[/note]] to defend the city of Cimmura after Ehlana is restored to her throne. It's not clear how many of the citizens actually have prior military experience, but they manage to impress Wargun a few chapters later.

* In Creator/LenDeighton's ''SS-GB'', set in [[AlternateHistory a world in which the Germans successfully invaded Britain in 1940]], remnants of the Home Guard form the backbone of the [[LaResistance British Resistance]].

* Deconstructed in ''Literature/ColdMountain'' where the Home Guard led by Captain Teague are the antagonists. Formed to defend the people of Cold Mountain while their menfolk are away fighting the war, Teague turns them into a marauding band of villains, hunting and killing deserters and anyone suspected of harboring them, so Teague can confiscate their properties for his own.
* As ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'' continues, so many people have become aware of TheMasquerade that it's no longer practical to conscript them into the Laundry. Instead anyone who's more useful where they are is inducted, trained, then let back into the workplace as a reserve force to be drawn on in emergencies. Officially their absence is explained by their working part-time for the Territorial Army.

* Noel Coward's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZUTV6F6IyM "Could You Please Oblige us with a Bren Gun?"]] about the travails of a unit belonging to the trope namer.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWrMeBR8W-c The video]] for "American Soldier" by Music/TobyKeith shows a weekend warrior being called up.

* In ''Tabletopgame/BattleTech'', the various Successor States of the Inner Sphere often have little more than a garrison of a dozen outdated [[HumongousMecha battlemechs]] or a smattering of tanks guarding their non-industrial worlds, though important worlds often get an entire ''[[SuspiciouslySmallArmy platoon]]'' of battlemechs! The [[ProudWarriorRace Clans]] are infamous for their defensive garrisons using third-rate equipment ([[LostTechnology it's still better]] than Inner Sphere gear, though). In Operation Bulldog, a [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge combined offensive]] against Clan Smoke Jaguar as vengeance for their OrbitalBombardment against a civilian city. The IS task force quickly crushes the Smoke Jaguar's homeworld defenders, which are notoriously poorly equipped even among the other Clans.

* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'': The Gallian Militia unit that the protagonist commands is an example of a home-guard, constituting members of the nation from all ranks: singers, wealthy heiresses, university students, bakers...
* After the [[spoiler: ultimately-unsuccessful [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs coup attempt]] on the Citadel]] in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', the Council authorizes the founding of a "Citadel Defense Force", structured as a reserve extension of the Citadel's existing police assets. Its initial strength is very low, but it serves as a catch-all for War Assets earned from completing various sidequests and [[TrainingThePeacefulVillagers can grow surprisingly large]] given enough care.
* Most of the resistance from ''VideoGame/EnemyFront'' are civilian conscripts and volunteers, due to the Allies suffering too much casualties during the war. Their in-game description even gives them the name "Home Army Guard".
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has the aptly named "Homeguard Regiment" of the Guardian Corps. They are tasked with defending the capital city Eden and are [[EliteArmy the toughest, most well-trained forces]] the GC has on hand.
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'': Most UNSC planets have a force of Colonial Militia, who are often the first line of defense when standard UNSC forces are not present; it was the Harvest militia who fought humanity's first major battle against the [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Covenant]]. However, the only militia seen in the games themselves are the Reach militiamen in ''VideoGame/HaloReach''[='s=] "Nightfall" level. While a number of more autonomous human worlds, like [[Film/HaloNightfall Sedra]] and [[Literature/HaloLastLight Gao]], maintain their own proper militaries (complete with starships), their equipment still is vastly inferior to those of standard UNSC forces; for example, the Sedran Colonial Guard's standard-issue pistol is ''200'' years out of date.

[[folder:WebComics]]

*** In addition to the National Guard, certain states even have a State Guard, essentially a National Guard writ small, which the Federal government has no claim to without the Governor's consent. These are typically intended to guarantee that the state will have at least a small reserve force of trained personnel if a crisis arises locally while the National Guard is deployed elsewhere.

* ''VideoGame/WorldInConflict'' pits the [[RedsWithRockets Red Army]] [[InvadedStatesOfAmerica against various units of the U.S. National Guard]], mainly those from [[UsefulNotes/TheOtherRainforest Oregon and Washington]].

* Music/KidRock wrote and recorded [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9Mk6UzIYm8 "Warrior"]] for a [[JoinTheArmyTheySaid National Guard advertising campaign]].

In practice, these forces might also be called the Reserves or the Militia, with either name (in the [[EagleLand United States]], at least) carrying different connotations. From an American point of view, "Militia" sounds more like TrainingThePeacefulVillagers at best, and more like "RightWingMilitiaFanatic" at worse. "Reserves" gives more of an impression of professional soldiers (again, [[WeAllLiveInAmerica from an American audience's perspective]]).

* ''Series/TheWestWing'': Shortly after joining the Senior Staff it's revealed that Will Bailey is a First Lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve, specifically in the JAG corps.