Given the task definition and input, reply with output. In this task, you will be presented with a passage and have to answer a question based on your understanding of the events inferred from the passage. Try to find the best answer that is most likely to fill in "_". Note that the URLs in the text have been replaced with [Link].

(CNN) Fifteen years ago today, on September 11, 2001, members of the Air National Guard leapt into action -- scrambling F-16s, putting their lives at risk, and serving as the vanguard between our country and its enemies. This should come as no surprise. The first American militia, founded in 1636, consistently lives up to the motto "Always Ready, Always There." And while most Americans are aware of the National Guard's valiant contributions on domestic missions -- its effective and rapid response to hurricanes, wildfires and floods -- perhaps the most significant contribution the Guard makes is on the battlefield. Indeed, the National Guard provides a critical link between local communities and American national security.Wendy Anderson: National Guard is more than simply a critical component of our nation's fighting forceIt is also the connective tissue bridging the civil-military divide, she says 
 Question:At 42.6% of the total selected reserve, the Army National Guard represents both the largest segment of the nation's "citizen soldiers," but also a diverse cross section of the _ who serve, and whose families serve alongside them.

American