STARKE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Thursday morning in Starke to highlight the Florida State Guard’s achievements since its rebirth in 2022.
DeSantis said the Florida State Guard’s inaugural class consisted of 120 soldiers. The most recently completed round of entry training increased the number of soldiers to 630 Floridians.
Once the current class graduates next week, the number of soldiers will increase to 800, according to DeSantis.
“There are more people that want to join the Florida State Guard than we have spots in training capacity to actually train them to be members of the Florida State Guard. And so I think that’s something that’s really significant,” DeSantis said. “I also think it just shows that people have pride in the Free State of Florida. We do things our own way.”
The governor said the 800-civilian volunteer mark is the halfway point in achieving the statutory requirement to support the state for public safety.
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DeSantis said the goal is to continue to grow and expand the Florida State Guard’s capabilities to meet the state’s emergency response and public safety needs.
“We are trained and equipped to persist in high-risk environments while all others are told to shelter in place. We cost substantially less to the Florida State taxpayer than any other state agency,” Florida State Guard Director Mark Thieme said.
Officials highlighted some of the work the Florida State Guard does including helping in hurricanes and other weather events, search and rescue missions, and help enforce immigration laws — especially with maritime operations.
“Here in Florida, our Operation Vigilant Century involves interdictions at sea as illegal aliens are trying to penetrate and land in Florida, mostly in southern Florida,” DeSantis said. “They have worked with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as technical flight officers to identify and defend our coastal waters from suspicious activity.”
There are four distinct commands in the State Guard, the Crisis Response Battalion, the Maritime Squadron, the Aviation Squadron, and the Special Missions Unit.
“We’re not just the governor’s Florida State Guard, these are not just my soldiers, we’re fellow Florida citizens representing 59 of our counties, our demographics are many though concentrate in emergency medical, healthcare and veteran populations.”
State officials said the State Guard’s accomplishments include responding to:
- Operation Lone Star: a border security effort in south Texas
- The 2024 flooding in South Florida
- Hurricanes Idalia, Debbie, Helene and Milton
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“Performing more than 200 welfare checks, more than 300 water rescues, 30 medical assists, over 50 pet rescues, and on two occasions rescued an infant in serious medical distress and a stranded kayaker lost after hurricane Helene,” Florida State Guard Commander Randy Jones said.
State officials said the organization is expected to grow to 1,000 members by June 30 and reach 1,200 by the end of the year. The cap for the organization is 1,500 members.