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An Anonymous DC National Guardsman Tells All - “This is not what I signed up to do.”
(washingtonian.com)
this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2026
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The national guard is both state and federal, and can be subject to penalties under the Uniform Code of Military Justice at times just like active duty troops.
If you just stop showing up, your unit declares you AWOL, and this can carry criminal penalties under the UCMJ. They may ask local law enforcement to bring you in. Jail time is a possibility in aggravated cases.
You could claim certain types of mental illness, that you're experiencing gender dysphoria, or fake a disqualifing medical condotion and you may or may not be discharged or face a court martial based on wether or not they think you're lying.
Depends on the branch, but you could try gaining weight and failing your PT test, however the process of getting discharged could take months/years.
Failing a drug test would probably the be the fastest way out, but you're potentially going to get dishonorably discharged, which can be treated as equivalent to a criminal conviction in some regards.
Declaring yourself a consciencous objector could work, and is probably the closest to simply quitting, but the process of being discharged could be lengthy and involve some investigation to make sure your beliefs are "sincerely held". Again, you may be dishonorably discharged or face other penalties if someone really wants to be an asshole about it.
EDIT: After some googling. If activated under federal orders or participating in their annual training and therefore subject to the UCMJ, the consequences for a National Guardsman found guilty of desertion could be as severe as death. However, this is historically rare in the modern era.
When not activated, most states have their own code of military justice, which often mirrors the UCMJ.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/885
Some other relevant reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Slovik