 It soon recruited 112 former U.S. Army and Washington National Guard officers; the force was conceived of and organized as a command nucleus around which a larger element could be rapidly raised in the event of a crisis.It was formed into a skeleton headquarters detachment and five cadre-staffed internal security battalions which, if brought to full strength, would fulfill public order and civil defense missions.By the 1970s it had grown to 164 officers, added an eight-man air section posted to the King County International Airport, and was officially renamed the Washington State Guard.