"Citizen soldier" redirects here. For other uses, see Citizen Soldier (disambiguation).
Mustering in the "Hempstead Rifles," Arkansas Volunteers, at Arkadelphia, Arkansas, in 1861.
A militia (/mɪˈlɪʃə/)[1] is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional and/or part-time soldiers; citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of regular, full-time military personnel; or, historically, to members of a warrior-nobility class (e.g. knights or samurai). When acting independently militias are generally unable to hold ground against regular forces; militias commonly support regular troops by skirmishing, holding fortifications, or conducting irregular warfare, instead of undertaking offensive campaigns by themselves. Local civilian laws often limit militias to serve only in their home region, and to serve only for a limited time; this further reduces their use in long military campaigns. Militias may also, however, serve as a pool of available manpower for regular forces to draw from, particularly in emergencies.
Beginning in the late 20th century, some militias (in particular officially recognized and sanctioned militias of a government) act as professional forces, while still being "part-time" or "on-call" organizations. For instance, the members of United States National Guard units are considered professional soldiers, as they are trained to the same standards that their "full-time" (active duty) counterparts are.[2]
Militias thus can be either military or paramilitary, depending on the instance. Some of the contexts in which the term "militia" can apply include:
forces engaged in a defense activity or service, to protect a community, its territory, property, and laws,[3]
the entire able-bodied population of a community, town, county, or state available to be called to arms
a subset of these who may be legally penalized for failing to respond to a call-up
a subset of these who actually respond to a call-up regardless of legal obligation
a private (non-governmental) force not necessarily directly supported or sanctioned by a government
an irregular armed force that enables its leader to exercise military, economic, or political control over a subnational territory within a sovereign state
in Russia and some countries of the former Soviet Union, an official reserve army composed of citizen soldiers known as the militsiya. Under the Soviet Union, and until 2011, militsiya (militia) was the title given to the regular civil police force.
a select militia composed of a small, non-representative portion of the population,[4]
maritime militias composed of fishermen and other participants of the marine industry which are organized and sanctioned by a state to enforce its maritime boundaries.[5]
^militia, n. June 2009. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^"Army National Guard — Today's Military". www.todaysmilitary.com. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
^p.7, Sumner
^Fields, William S.; Hardy, David T. (Spring 1992). "The Militia and the Constitution: A Legal History". Military Law Review. Archived from the original on 2008-04-10. Charles II demobilized the army, keeping only troops that he felt would be loyal to the new regime...Charles's "select" militia was composed only of a small part of the population...
^Parameswaran, Prashanth. "What's Next for Vietnam's Maritime Militia?". thediplomat.com. The Diplomat. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
A militia (/mɪˈlɪʃə/) is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional and/or part-time soldiers; citizens of a country, or...
elements. These groups may refer to themselves as militia, unorganized militia, and constitutional militia. While groups such as the Posse Comitatus existed...
A naval militia or maritime militia is a volunteer organization comprising civilian sailors who train periodically to support naval operations during...
The Maritime Militia, also called the Fishing Militia (Chinese: 中国海上民兵), is one of the three forces, next to the China Coast Guard (CCG) and the People's...
The Michigan Militia is a paramilitary Michigan-based organization founded in 1994 by Norman Olson, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. The group was formed...
Two Militia Acts, enacted by the 2nd United States Congress in 1792, provided for the organization of militia and empowered the president of the United...
Metal Militia may refer to: Metal Militia (band) "Metal Militia" (song), a song by Metallica on the album Kill 'Em All "Metal Militia", (Robot Chicken...
Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American...
The Bolivarian Militia of Venezuela, is a militia branch of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. Its headquarters is at the National Military...
The Militia Ordinance was passed by the Parliament of England on 15 March 1642. By claiming the right to appoint military commanders without the king's...
were the Falangist paramilitary militia in Spain. The name refers to the blue uniform worn by members of the militia. The colour blue was chosen for the...
Guard. The militia is divided into the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and Naval Militia, and the unorganized militia. In May of...
The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established...
The Scottish Militia Bill 1708 (known formerly as the Scotch Militia Bill) was a bill that was passed by the House of Commons and House of Lords of the...
Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, primarily the People's Militias of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), were...
as Militia Act. The King's Sole Right over the Militia Act 1661, England Militia Act 1662, England, defining lord-lieutenants powers to raise militia Militia...
The Albanian Fascist Militia (MFSH) (Albanian: Milicia Fashiste Shqiptare) was an Albanian fascist paramilitary group formed in 1939, following the Italian...
The Texian Militia was the militia forces of Texian colonists in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas from 1823 to 1835 and the inaugurate force of the...
The Militia Templi (English: Militia of the Temple), also called the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ (Latin: Christi Pauperum Militum Ordo), is a lay...
The Militia Immaculatae (meaning the "Army of the Immaculate One"), called in English the Knights of the Immaculata, is a worldwide Catholic evangelization...
Global Information