Branding the Protector and Helper: How the U.S. Army National Guard Presents Itself in Humanitarian Outreach

This study examines how the United States Army National Guard constructs and communicates its humanitarian identity during domestic disaster response through official social media. Addressing limited scholarship on how hybrid military institutions frame their roles in domestic crises, the research applies qualitative content analysis to visual and textual posts from official Facebook and Instagram accounts during three disasters: Hurricane Ian (2022), the Hawaii Wildfires (2023), and Hurricane Helene (2024). The analysis identifies three communication themes: operational preparedness and technical capacity, humanitarian assistance to affected civilians, and collaboration with civilian agencies. These narratives portray the National Guard as a professional and cooperative responder within civilian emergency management systems. The study concludes that social media functions as a strategic branding tool that strengthens trust and institutional legitimacy and underscores the Guard’s role.