FORT WORTH, Texas -- The former commander of a defunct Texas State Guard battalion says he will form a private armed militia in Tarrant County, a Dallas newspaper reported today.
Robert Holloway, former leader of the Texas State Guard's 105th Battalion, told the Dallas Morning News he would reorganize his 60-man unit into a private armed group called the National State Defense Force Association.
'We're not a pack of weirdoes or crazies. It's just a method of keeping the guys together,' Holloway said.
But he described the role of the association as 'to promote a well-trained militia capable of assuming any role, to include combat in defense of state or country.'
The all-volunteer Texas State Guard, an adjunct to the federally-supported Texas National Guard, was established to reinforce the National Guard in state emergencies.
State Guard officials ordered Holloway's unit disbanded recently because it had become too independent of the state organization under the leadership of the former Green Beret.
Holloway, 36, drew criticism from the state brass for making the unit too 'gung-ho' and was removed from the unit last spring. He allegedly led his group outside the perimeters of State Guard regulations by swapping standard green uniforms for camouflage fatigues.
David Cottom, spokesman for the Texas State Guard, said Holloway's new undertaking is no longer within the purview of the guard.
'This is totally a civilian venture,' Cottom said. 'Once he was dislodged, they're on their own.'
