Location: The Heritage Foundation's Lehrman Auditorium

They were there at Concord Bridge. They shaped the vast volunteer armies of the Civil War. They have fought in America's major wars around the world. And they made the first military response on 9/11 after the World Trade Center towers crashed in Manhattan. The National Guard has had a singular place in American history as citizen-soldiers responding both to homeland crises and to the need for fighting power overseas.

Beginning with the first regiments formed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Doubler chronicles how American militiamen have transformed themselves from a loose collection of local defense forces into a modern efficient reserve force.  The militia and National Guard have always concerned themselves with homeland defense, and as the current administration reviews national security, this book provides an opportunity to reconsider the role of the Army National Guard in America's latest war.  Civilian in Peace, Soldier in War offers a virtual primer on the military policy of the United States, showing us that citizen-soldiers have played a vital role in struggles against imperialism, fascism, and communism - and assuring us that they will be ready for the war on terrorism as well.

MICHAEL D. DOUBLER served for twenty-three years as a Regular Army and full-time Army National Guard officer and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Guard Education Foundation.  He is the author of Closing with the Enemy: How GIs Fought the War in Europe, 1944-1945 and is a frequent commentator on The History Channel.