Soldiers and airmen of the Massachusetts National Guard take the oath of office during a ceremony celebrating the 389th Birthday of the National Guard at the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. The National Guard traces its founding to 1636 order from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (Steven Eaton/U.S. Army)

The Army National Guard on Saturday celebrates its 389th birthday amid months of hotly debated deployments to U.S. cities, recruiting success and a recent tragedy in the nation’s capital.

The Guard traces its lineage to a Dec. 13, 1636, order from the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s General Court establishing three permanent militia regiments, the descendants of which are still active today in the Massachusetts Army National Guard and are the oldest components of the U.S. military.

The force’s nearly four centuries of service make it about as old as the Taj Mahal and the Palace of Versailles (both of which were in construction when the colony’s militias were established).

The Air National Guard celebrated its birthday months earlier, with Sept. 18, 1947, marking its founding. (The ANG formed when the Air Force was established out of the Army Air Forces.)

Though National Guard-specific celebrations are not as widespread as those for the branches’ birthdays, a ceremony was held in Boston on Thursday to honor the Massachusetts National Guard, and a gala in Washington, D.C., last week was attended by the force’s top general, Air Force Gen. Steven Nordhaus.

Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, delivers remarks during the bureau’s gala to honor the Guard’s 389th birthday in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (Zach Sheely/U.S. Army)

Members and veterans of the Guard can also take advantage of the occasion to visit the National WWII Museum in New Orleans on Saturday for free. A similar offer for Saturday stands for the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites in Hawaii.

The force is celebrating its birthday in one of its most politicized years, with thousands deployed to several U.S. cities. Just three days before the official birthday, senators heard testimony from military leaders on the legality of the deployments. Just a day before that, the West Virginia National Guard member who was fatally shot near the White House in November was laid to rest.

Despite the unusual degree of scrutiny, the Guard has beaten its recruiting goals for the fiscal year, the second year in a row it has done so. In September Nordhaus praised the Guard’s recruiting apparatus but also noted the Trump administration’s use of the force for a variety of new missions has increased its visibility and likely contributed to a recruiting boost.

Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 5 William Solmo, Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Gary Charlton II and Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Emma Grace Charboneau cut a birthday cake during a celebration held on Dec. 12, 2025, at the New York National Guard headquarters in Latham, N.Y. Solmo, with 39 years of service, represented the history of the Guard, while Charboneau, who enlisted in 2023, represented the force’s future. (William Albrecht/U.S. Army)

Stars and Stripes reporter Corey Dickstein contributed to this report.