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There are numerous missions that even old geezers could be trained and equipped to handle during any emergency, regardless of whether the emergency is war/terrorism related or due to natural disaster: surveillance/watch duty, guard duty, traffic control, transportation and distribution of supplies, etc. The value is that using State Guard personnel on these low-skill tasks frees up the more highly-trained National Guard and Regulars for more difficult missions. You don't need the guys to undergo extensive combat training or even much close-order drill. Just a couple of hours on the rifle range and a few days of mostly-classroom training will do. One additional advantage of having a trained, equipped, and organized State Guard is that you could almost immediately get some substantial numbers of manpower on the spot where needed. Even under the best of circumstances, deployment of the National Guard even within their own state takes hours, if not days.