What kind of rifle might a National Guard (or regular) soldier be issued?

Question

..for guarding a domestic building/structure in the event of a national emergency.

This is for a novel I am working on, so any other equipment he might have would also be helpful and highly appreciated.

Thank you for any help.

Answer 1

This is for a novel and you came to this forum for research?

Not a good idea.

Seriously though, the rifle issued would be an M-16. he would
also carry a Beretta 9mm sidearm.

Thank you very much, while you're up.

Answer 2

This depends on the type of unit that the soldier is supposed to be a part of. The National Guard has recently undergone serious upgrades and modifications since the outbreak of the Iraq war. 10 years ago i would not be uncommon to find the M16A1 or even the older M14. Now the standards issue rifle for most guard units is the M16A2, even though some states have opted to save money and have their M16A1s upgraded. The upgraded M16A1s are almost identical to the A2s, except they still have the option for fully automatic fire. Some National Guard units, usually the combat arms branches (infantry, scouts, armor, engineers, special forces) have received the newest M4 series of weapons, which is simply a more compact M16. All of the military M16 family of weapons uses are 5.56 and on average have a 30 round magazine, though 20 rounders are encountered. Very few units, usually specialized have 100 round beta C-mags.
The m203 is the standard infantry weapon for engaging hardened targets. it is couple with the M16 and fires a 400 projectile in a round that resembles large fat short rimmed pistol round
Most guard units will carry the M9, 9mm Beretta pistol; some still have the M1911 .45 cal pistols. Despite the M9 having replaced the M1911 officially in 1985, we are starting to see more and more M1911s returned to serve because of their effectiveness. Some units will have the Sig Sauer 228, 9mm pistol, these are more typically Military police special agents, special forces, military intelligence and other units with unconventional missions.
The standard crew served weapons you will see in Guard units are M60s, M240s and M249s. The M60 is Vietnam conflict vintage with the latter 2 having been around since the mid to late1980s in the regular army and have finally filtered down to the national guard as replacements for the M60s.M60 and M240 are both 7.62 mm with the M249 being 5.56mm.
The military has used shotguns since before the First World War and the national guard has received their share, but the military has relied more on modified civilian weapons than having their own weapons designed. Weapons like the USAS 12 assault shotgun were developed for military applications, however you will rarely, if ever, see them in military units. A more practical option would be the Remington 870 12 gauge pump, or the Mossburg 590 pump shotgun.
Most other equipment is standard through out the army.

The Browning M2 heavy machine gun was mentioned, but it is very unlikely that this weapon would be used in civil duress inside the US because of its high potential for collateral damage. It fires a .50 cal round which has devastating effects on personnel, light skinned armored vehicles and lightly fortified structures. The same is true of the Mk 19, 40mm automatic grenade launcher that is classed as a machine gun.

This site has a lot of info and some pictures about US army small arms:

http://tri.army.mil/LC/cs/csi/satoc.htm

Answer 3

A national guardsmen would be issued the M-16A2 Service rifle. They would act as a regular infantry platoon, but they would be fighting on home soil. They also would have m-249 S.A.W (squad automatic weapon) and a Beretta 9mm. Good luck with your novel. Let me know what the title is. :)

Answer 4

Standard M-16 A2 rifle. Crew served weapons such as 50 cal browning machine guns and MK-19 Automatic grenade launcher would be used on HMMWV. Dont for get the m-203 grenade mounted under the M-16 A2.

Answer 5

The rifle would be an M-16a2 but as aside I was posted at some gates on Ft. Lewis ,Wa. BARNEY FIFE style with NO AMMO! to keep us from shooting someone-now this was eary 1990's but I would bet it still happens and since weapons are no fun to clean I would bet some lazy ARMORERS issue them "DRY"(oil attracts dirt) because "THEY ARE"T GOING TO USE THEM ANYWAY"