 For much of the final decades of the twentieth century, National Guard personnel typically served "One weekend a month, two weeks a year", with a portion working for the Guard in a full-time capacity.In the first five years of the 21st century, Department of Defense policy was that no Guardsman would be involuntarily activated for a total of more than 24 months (cumulative) in one six-year enlistment period.This policy was due to change on 1 August 2007, with the new policy to state that soldiers will be given 24 months between deployments of no more than 24 months.