NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Hundreds of citizen-soldiers from across the country are in Nashville for the 28th annual General Conference of the State Guard Association of the United States.

State guards are established under the authority of Title 32, Section 109 of the United States Code and are typically called state defense forces, state guards or state military reserves.

Twenty-six states have active State Guards or Defense Forces, and representatives from at least 17 states are registered to come to the annual meeting running Friday through Sunday.

The conference will include addresses from retired Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, the 25th chief of the National Guard Bureau; Tennessee's adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Terry "Max" Haston; and a keynote address from author and national security expert James Jay Carafano of the Heritage Foundation.