Expert: Aaron Shifferly - 5/30/2009

Question
Does the National Guard consider natural disaster's as active duty status? The Guam Army National Guard was declared activated for a Super Typhoon (Pongsona) on December 12, 2002 and didn't end until March of 2003.

Answer
Yes and no. You were most likely in title 32 status which means that you were activated and controlled by the state. The other kind would be title 10 status, where the US Government pays for it entirely (a deployment is the most usual kind of this. ) There is another kind of activation that is essentially a hybrid of both title 10 and 32 but not important here.  You would have to check and see what your state provides for active duty status benefits when activated on title 32 orders.. the problem is that they could vary from state to state and guard to guard since the activation is at their level.. but you should be entitled to most benefits afforded other active duty members. If this doesn't answer your question please feel free to follow up.