First class of 120 graduates join the newly established Florida State Guard

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — The first official class of the newly established Florida State Guard graduated from boot camp at Camp Blanding Friday morning.

A total of 120 men and women earned their patches and certificate of completion, joining the ranks of the Florida State Guard in the first graduation ceremony.

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Among them, guardsman and State Representative Tom Fabricio (R-Miami), who not only co-sponsored the legislation reestablishing the state guard, but signed up to serve himself.

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“I wanted to serve,” said Fabricio.

A civil attorney by trade, Fabricio described the training as intense.

“A lot of running, pushups, leadership training, practical training, water rescue training, land navigation. Elements that you would see in a traditional Army-type boot camp,” said Fabricio.

This isn’t the first iteration of the Florida State Guard.

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Originally formed in 1941, the Florida State Guard was disbanded in 1947.

“Volunteerism is at the heart of Floridians protecting Floridians,” said State Representative Bobby Payne (R-Palatka).

Payne, who attended Friday’s ceremony, said lawmakers decided to resurrect the force, funding it to the tune of more than $100 million, in-part because the state has one of the lowest ratios of National Guard members to residents in the country.

“We’ve known this has been an issue for some time. This enhances our ability to respond to disasters and help those Floridians that are in need of help,” said Payne.

But the effort to restart the state guard didn’t come without controversy.

Because the guard will be under the authority of the Governor, some critics opposed to its formation raised concerns it could be wielded as a ‘personal army’ of Governor Ron DeSantis.

“I mean, what? We’re gonna put a prison next to Disney and what we’re going to occupy Epcot? Like, that’s the sort of thing that’s coming out of this branch right now and giving that kind of power to somebody so power hungry that exists currently, I believe is dangerous,” said Senate Minority Lead Senator Lauren Book (D-Davie) during the bill’s final committee hearing in April.

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Fabricio pushed back on the characterization of the Florida State Guard as a state-controlled military.

“That’s absolutely not accurate to what our mission is at all. Our mission is hurricane and disaster preparedness and preparing response,” said Fabricio.

State Representative Sam Garrison (R-Orange Park) also pushed back, noting roughly two dozen other states have similar state-based guards, that help fill in gaps for the National Guard and other agencies.

“It just kind of shows how kind of silly all the politics was in the creation. These folks are doing great work to help Floridians in times of crisis,” said Garrison.

So far, there have been 5,000 applicants for the Florida State Guard.

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The current force will build overtime with two classes graduating each year, until the force reaches its max capacity allowed under state law of 1,500 servicemembers.