CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The North Carolina State Guard Association has a name that sounds official, and its Web site shows pictures of men and women in military uniform in front of military aircraft.

The group has 55 members spread from Charlotte to the mountains. Jim Stephens and Thad Bryson said they are two of its generals.

“We are a volunteer organization that's here to help the state of North Carolina. Simple as that,” Bryson said.

But critics argue it's not that simple. The North Carolina State Guard Association isn’t part of the military, but Jaimie Brehler, a veteran decorated for serving in battle in Kosovo, said he believes they want people to think they are.

“If they want to serve, they can go and take an oath and serve. Nobody's stopping them from doing that,” Brehler said.

Brehler is part of an organization called the POW Network, which, among other things, investigates bogus military claims. Under the heading “Phonies and Wannabes,” it’s Web site lists the North Carolina State Guard Association.

“It's a misleading title in itself,” Brehler said. “They're calling themselves the State Guard Association. That in itself almost sounds like the state National Guard.”

In fact, the State Guard Association's own Web site states the group is available to "provide assistance to the National Guard . . . upon request of the governor."

But, from the governor on down, Eyewitness News found no state agency in North Carolina with any official relationship with the State Guard Association.

“They're not part of the state emergency response team,” said Julia Jarema with the state's Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, which oversees all emergency and disaster response for the governor.

“Which means . . . would you call them out?” asked Eyewitness News reporter Jim Bradley.

“I can't really foresee a circumstance where we would need to,” Jarema said.

The State Guard Association said its members have extensive emergency training and have helped many small counties.

“Just on our own. Deployed ourselves in Hurricane Isabel,” Stephens said. “We've been called into Shelby to help with parades.”

“Once they realize the value of a trained force, of people who want to volunteer and have had the training, they will see it is wise to accept them,” Bryson said.

But in Charlotte, emergency management director Wayne Broome has major concerns.

“What kind of training they have as the North Carolina State Guard, I have no idea,” Broome said.

“Would you want to take a chance?” Bradley asked.

“I'm not going to take a chance on an unknown commodity or an unknown capability in a disaster. No,” he said.

Even the North Carolina National Guard, which is the state's primary emergency response unit, worries that in a real disaster citizens won't know the difference between it and the State Guard Association.

“It sure has a legitimate sound to it, and there may be some confusion out there,” said Capt. Matt Handley of the North Carolina National Guard.

“Do you guys have any relationship at all with the State Guard Association?” Bradley asked.

“No, we don't, sir,” Handley said.

The State Guard Association insists it has working relationships with many local communities in western North Carolina, but many of the volunteer organizations whose logos are prominently displayed on the group’s Web site told Eyewitness News a different story. They said they “have no official relationship with the North Carolina State Guard Association."

For Brehler, though, it's the uniforms and military ranks that bother him most. Bryson said he was an enlisted man in the Marines and Stephens was a lieutenant in the National Guard, but both wear the rank of general in their State Guard Association.

“They're taking away honor and dignity from soldiers that have actually earned those things. And that's a big slap in the face,” Brehler said.

The generals said they plan to continue their mission no matter what anyone says.

“We're here if they need us. If they don't need us, we're still going to train,” Bryson said.

Stephens told Eyewitness News he's willing to take a closer look at the wording of his Web site and he’s willing to remove the logos of any group that asks him to.

The Red Cross said it's concerned and plans to contact the group, and the head of North Carolina's Citizen Corps and CERT teams said the Web site makes it appear as though they're endorsing the State Guard Association. They don't, and they either want that made clear or they want their logos removed.