CHAPTER 6. Discipline and Exercise [360. - 375.]

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC 6.
in effect

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 360. Section 360.

The system of discipline and exercise of the National Guard, unorganized militia when called into the service of the State, and the Naval Militia shall conform generally to that of the Army of the United States, the United States Navy and the United States Air Force, and to the provisions of the laws of the United States, except as otherwise provided in this code.

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 361. Section 361.

All matters relating to the organization, discipline, and government of the National Guard, the unorganized militia when called into the service of the State, and Naval Militia not otherwise provided for in this code or in the general regulations, shall be decided by the custom and usage of the United States Army, United States Air Force and United States Navy.

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 362. Section 362.

All commanding officers shall be responsible to their immediate commanders for the equipment, drill, instruction, movements, and efficiency of their respective commands.

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 363. Section 363.

Every officer and enlisted person shall be responsible to the officer under whose immediate command they serve for prompt and unhesitating obedience to lawful orders, faithful performance of duty, and the preservation and proper use of the property in their possession that belongs to the United States, the State of California, or the appropriate military organization. Each officer and enlisted person shall at all times, without equivocation, obey the lawful orders of their superior officers.

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 364. Section 364.

Any officer or enlisted person of the National Guard or Naval Militia who willfully fails to attend any parade or encampment, or who neglects or refuses to obey the lawful command of their superior officer on any day of parade or encampment, or who fails to perform any military duty that may be lawfully required of them, or who uses disrespectful language toward their superior officer or commits any act of insubordination, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 365. Section 365.

When an armed force is called out for the purpose of suppressing an unlawful or riotous assembly, or arresting the offenders, or in any emergency or under the provisions of Sections 128, 143, or 146 of this code, and is placed under the temporary direction of any civil officer, it shall obey the orders of such civil officer which extend only to the direction of the general or specific object to be accomplished. The tactical direction of the troops, the kind and extent of force to be used, and the particular means to be employed to accomplish the object specified by the civil officer are left solely to the commanding officer of the active militia on duty or to the commanding officer of the unorganized militia called to the service of the State.

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 366. Section 366.

Whenever any portion of the National Guard, or of the unorganized militia when called into the service of the State, or Naval Militia is called into active service to suppress an insurrection or rebellion, to disperse a mob, or in an emergency or in any of the cases provided for in Sections 128, 143, or 146 of this code, or to enforce the execution of the laws of the State or of the United States, the commanding officer shall use his own discretion with respect to the propriety of attacking or firing upon any mob or unlawful assembly, or of attacking or using fire power in the military situation present. His honest and reasonable judgment in the exercise of his duty shall be full protection, civilly and criminally, for any act or acts done while on duty.

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 367. Section 367.

No officer who is called out to sustain the civil authorities shall, under any pretense, or in compliance with any order, fire blank cartridges upon any mob or unlawful assemblage, under penalty of being dismissed.

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 368. Section 368.

(a) Each company, troop, squadron, battery, detachment, and unit shall assemble for drill and instruction, including indoor target practice, not less than forty-eight times each year unless excused by the Governor or other competent authority, and shall in addition thereto participate in encampments, maneuvers, or other exercises, including outdoor target practice, for at least fifteen consecutive days in each year unless excused by competent authority. (b) In addition to the drills and periods of duty specified in subdivision (a), the commanding officer of any unit may require the officers and enlisted persons of their command to meet for parade, drill, and instruction at the times and places as they may appoint.

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 369. Section 369.

No parade or drill of the active militia shall be ordered in time of peace for any day during which any general election is held, nor shall any organization of the active militia drill or parade on the day during which an election is held at the place where the organization is stationed, except in cases of riot, invasion, insurrection, or imminent danger thereof, or in cases of public calamity or catastrophe.

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 372. Section 372.

Officers and enlisted persons may be warned for duty by stating the substance of the order, by reading the order to the person warned, by delivering a copy of the order to that person, by leaving a copy of the order at the last known place of abode or business of that person with some person of the age of discretion, or by sending a copy of the order or its substance to that person by registered mail directed to the enlisted person at his or her last known place of abode or business or to the post office nearest thereto. In addition to or in lieu of the foregoing, notice may be given by posting a copy of the order at the entrance to the nearest post office to the military or naval headquarters issuing the order, at the entrances of the city hall or county courthouse of the city or county where the headquarters are located, and by causing a copy of the warning order to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in that county.

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 373. Section 373.

The person giving the warning for duty shall make a return thereof containing the names of the persons warned and the time, place, and the manner of the warning. The return shall be verified by his oath. Such verified return shall be as good evidence of the facts therein stated on the trial of any person returned as a delinquent as if the person making such return were present and testified.

Cal. Military and Veterans Code - MVC § 375. Section 375.

Officers and enlisted persons of the active militia not in the service of the United States shall be subject to and governed by this code while outside this state under the order or authorization of the Governor under Section 142 in like manner and to the same extent as when on duty within this state under orders of the Governor. Military courts may be convened and held outside the state with the same jurisdiction and power of punishment as if held within the state. Offenses and delinquencies committed outside the state may be tried and punished either within or without the state after the termination of the duty.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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