The Georgia National Guard assists civil authorities in the state of Georgia in three primary ways: 1) Through the Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ), it maintains liaisons with state emergency management agencies and provides rapid response forces to assist with natural disasters or civil emergencies. 2) It protects critical infrastructure in Georgia such as power systems, transportation, and communications networks through programs like the Critical Infrastructure Protection Mission Assurance Assessment. 3) It supports other states through mutual aid agreements during governor-declared emergencies, and provides specialized response capabilities like assessing weapons of mass destruction and managing consequences of chemical/biological incidents.