About the Center

About the Center

How It Started

In the twenty-first century the U.S. National Guard has undergone an epic transformation from a status as largely “weekend warriors” and disaster first responders, to a kinetic battlefield force in combat of all types. This change in the role of the Guard has formed a quiet revolution in the way that the United States fights its wars. It also has transformed the relationships between the Guard and the local communities it has hereditarily served.

Written large, this story of transformation needs to be understood as a matter of international strategy and warfighting for leaders who still make decisions about deploying the Guard overseas. Written small, this story of transformation needs to be understood to write the history of our brave National Guard men and women into the epic of America at war.

Despite its 300-year history of service in every American conflict, the National Guard is the one major component of the armed forces without an all-encompassing archive and research center, leaving its story all-too-often ignored, scattered, and underrepresented. Quite simply, conducting research of this nature on the 54 requires travel to a minimum of ten archives and over 5 dozen research sites. Further, the quality of archival holdings within the Guard across the 54 ranges from non-existent to quite substantial depending on each state and territories approach to data collection and preservation. The National Guard and the 54 are long overdue for its own archival and research hub.

As a joint endeavor, the USM’s Dale Center for the Study of War & Society and Center for Oral History & Cultural Heritage worked to rectify this gap in historical information. This project began by first capturing and chronicling the documents and oral histories of the Mississippi National Guard and then made them publicly available for researchers, students, and teachers. So far, the project has begun digitally capturing some of the Mississippi National Guard’s archival materials and have collected over fifty oral histories from various Guard men and women within the 155th Armored Brigade.

It is from this project that a need for a central hub was largely recognized, resulting in the Center of the Study of the National Guard at USM.

 

Our Mission

To create and apply knowledge to facilitate research and scholarship on the National Guard.

Our Purpose

To achieve this mission, the CSNG will lead with:

• Documentary Preservation: Locate, identify, collect, and preserve the documentary history of the National Guard
• Oral Histories: Plan, execute, transcribe, and preserve the oral histories of members and veterans of the National Guard
• Research Hub: Serve as a centralized repository to facilitate research and publication on National Guard history
• Adaptation: Evolve to meet the changing needs of the National Guard and the scholarly community
  
  

Why Southern Miss?

Southern Miss is home to several functions integral to the Center of the Study of the National Guard’s mission, namely the Dale Center for the Study of War & Society, one of the top five military history programs in the country, as well as one of the oldest and most outstanding oral history centers in the country – The Center for Oral History & Cultural Heritage. Additionally, the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center, the largest state-owned training facility, rests on the southern border of Hattiesburg.

Southern Miss produces graduates ready to enter fields that are leading the way in emerging technologies through programs such as computer engineering, information technology, and ocean engineering. We’re developing the next generation of business leaders, while also responding to critical workforce shortages by producing skilled professionals in education and nursing. With a tradition of excellence in the arts, we are one of only 36 public institutions in the nation accredited in four major areas of the arts.

With a culture marked by passion and persistence, Southern Miss is delivering graduates who are ready for life.

"For this National Center to be at Southern Miss and at home in Mississippi is of profound significance to the University and the great State of Mississippi. The Center complements our renown Dale Center for the Study of War and Society and the Quinlan Hammond Hall for the support of veterans and families at Southern Miss."

- Dr. Joseph S. Paul, USM President