Militia

Captain John Parker, a militia leader of during the American Revolutionary War

A militia is a group of people who are not in the standing army or regular military but do many military tasks such as collecting weapons, training soldiers, defending people or land and policing an area. Militias are often made up of veterans, who used to be in the military.

Some militias, like the United States National Guard, are organized by a government. It is a group of state militias that help with wars, natural disasters and other emergencies. Others are not connected to a government and may even be illegal. One common definition of a militia includes all men who can serve as soldiers.

In the early late 20th century, some militias acted as professional forces but were still "part-time" or "on-call" organizations.

Militia Media

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  Mustering in the "Hempstead Rifles," Arkansas Volunteers, at Arkadelphia, Arkansas, in 1861.

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  Armenian fedayi were Armenian irregular militia formed in the late 19th and early 20th century to defend Armenian villages.

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  Republikanischer Schutzbund was an Austrian militia formed in 1923, one of several militias formed in post-World War I Austria.

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  Depiction of the 2nd Regiment of York Militia during the Battle of Queenston Heights. The regiment was one of several Canadian militia units during the War of 1812.

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  Uniforms of the Canadian Militia in 1898. The force included the Permanent Active Militia, a full-time professional land force which became the Canadian Army in 1940.

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  A group of Chinese militia recruits attending shooting practice with Type 56 rifles in Hangzhou (March 1978).

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  Designated Reserves Level 1 training - shooting from concealment.

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  A joint patrol between Arizona National Guard and the Danish Home Guard during the Golden Coyote training exercise.

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  Members of the White Guard after the Battle of Varkaus. The White Guard was a voluntary militia that fought for the Whites in the Finnish Civil War.