“Title 32 status” means National Guard members are on federally funded duty under Title 32 of the U.S. Code but remain under the command and control of their state governor rather than being fully federalized under the president. They get federal pay/benefits while operating as state-controlled forces, typically for training or domestic missions inside the U.S.
In this statement, the “secretary of war” is Pete Hegseth, who has served as the U.S. Secretary of War (previously titled Secretary of Defense) since January 25, 2025, according to the department’s official biography and leadership pages.
According to the official statement, the Louisiana National Guard members will “support federal law enforcement partners, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, as they enforce federal law and counter high rates of violent crime in New Orleans and other metropolitan areas in Louisiana.” The release does not specify more detailed tasks (such as exact patrol or support roles).
Title 32 activations are authorized under federal law by federal officials (typically the President or a delegated defense official such as the Secretary of War/Defense), but they are carried out under the command of the state governor. The duty time, pay, and many costs for Title 32 missions are funded by the federal government, not the state, even though the forces remain in state status.
Under Title 32, National Guard members remain under their governor’s command and generally cannot be used for overseas combat operations; their duty (including many domestic missions) is usually federally funded but they are legally in “state” status. Under Title 10, the Guard is “federalized”: personnel come under the president and federal military chain of command, can be deployed like active-duty troops worldwide, and operate solely as federal forces. Pay and benefits are federal in both cases, but command authority and legal status differ sharply.
The Pentagon statement only says that up to 350 Louisiana National Guard members are authorized for activation through Feb. 28, 2026; it does not state exactly when each Guard member will be mobilized or whether all 350 were already on duty at the time of the Dec. 23, 2025 release. Outside reporting indicates deployments are beginning around late December and continuing through the Mardi Gras period, but the precise mobilization schedule is not detailed publicly.