Ex-Marine from Miami heads new Florida State Guard. 1,200 apply as volunteers

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the appointment of a retired Marine from Miami as director of the Florida State Guard as the governor works to revive the World War II-era civilian force.

Retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Chris Graham, a Purple Heart recipient who grew up in Miami, will lead the group, DeSantis said during a news conference Wednesday. DeSantis noted that more than 1,200 people have applied to join the State Guard and said he expects more applications.

DeSantis has pitched the State Guard as a way to provide additional support beyond the Florida National Guard during state emergencies. But he also said federal vaccine requirements for military members inspired his decision to reestablish the State Guard.

The state force differs from the much larger Florida National Guard because the State Guard would be in use only within Florida, while the National Guard can be sent across the country. State Guard members cannot be ordered into the armed forces.

Graham grew up in Miami and graduated from Auburn University before being commissioned into the Marines, a spokesperson for the governor’s office told the Tampa Bay Times. He served two years as a helicopter pilot flying evacuation missions during the Iraq War and became a member of the Marine Corps’ Antiterrorism Battalion.

He said he was looking forward to leading the State Guard and said it had a particularly important mission because in Florida, “the last hurricane is behind us and the next hurricane is on the horizon.”

The governor’s news conference featured images of the State Guard’s logo of an alligator on a blue backdrop over a banner that says, “Let us alone” in all capital letters.

Florida would not be the only state with a state guard; 22 other states have forces, according to the Brennan Center. State guards tend to be smaller groups focused on emergency operations to deal with hurricanes and other natural disasters, according to the center.

DeSantis on Wednesday praised the state’s National Guard but said it was stretched thin with one of the lowest guardsmen to civilian ratios of any state. He also reiterated criticism of President Joe Biden’s administration for issuing a vaccine requirement for military service.

Florida lawmakers passed a budget that includes $10 million for a state guard with a force of up to 400 volunteers. DeSantis initially asked for $3.5 million for a 200-guard force.

DeSantis said the increase in funding and forces came because of high interest, joking in a lilted voice that it was because of media outlets making it seem like he was “raising an army.”

“The thing is, all they did was give free advertising for it,” DeSantis said. “So people are like, ‘Oh man, I want to join the Florida State Guard.’ ”

The idea of the State Guard has been a point of criticism for Democrats. U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, who is running for governor, called the State Guard DeSantis’ “handpicked secret police,” and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, another candidate for governor, called DeSantis an “authoritarian dictator.”