The Missouri Reserve Force, originally known as the Military Reserve Military Force, is the official state defense force of Missouri. As a state defense force, the MRF is a reserve military force which serves parallel to the Missouri National Guard. MRF members serve as reservists and therefore can hold full-time jobs while serving, like their National Guard counterparts. As the MRF falls solely under the command of the state of Missouri, it cannot be federalized or deployed outside the borders of Missouri, unlike the National Guard. Although the MRF and the Missouri National Guard are separate organizations, the MRF's primary scope is to work alongside the National Guard during stateside operations, or in lieu of the National Guard when the National Guard is deployed outside of Missouri.