The National Guard has a long history of being called out during protests - but not in numbers like this

The National Guard.

Maybe you've seen them in your community in recent months in a broad range of responsibilities: from sewing face masks for coronavirus patients to, in recent days, preventing property damage during protests.

Right now, about 74,000 Guardsmen have been activated across the US. That's more than at any other point in recent history, according to the National Guard Bureau.

"This civil unrest mission is an uncomfortable mission," Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said in a statement to CNN. "Our Guard members are from these communities."

Here's a breakdown of what the National Guard is and what its members do -- including in moments of civil unrest.