Saturday, January 26, 2008

The Modern Militia

Via Sear & Hammer, I was pointed to a post by Clayton Cramer showing how the Unorganized Militia was called into service as recently as WWII in Alaska, Oregon, and Maryland. Citizen Volunteers, not eligible for Army service, were organized to prepare defenses against potential Japanese and German aggression due to the fact that the National Guard was called into Federal service outside of their respective states.

These men were to be used as a first defense against paratroops and saboteurs in their local areas and to provide a guerrilla force against a large scale invasion as snipers, scouts, and raiders. Many of them were expected to provide their own weapons and equipment.

Thousands heeded the call.

4 comments:

Linoge said...

Thankfully, thousands still do heed that call.

Not as though we are likely to be invaded by Russian paratroopers coming over the North Pole any time soon, but that is no reason to let down your guard.

Anonymous said...

In my opinion, it is not just about defending against invasion. It is about civic responsibility.

It is about not just sandbagging your own house when the floods come.

Anonymous said...

We've all heard that, with rights come responsibilities. Militia service is the responsibility that comes with the right to keep and bear arms.

Fortunately, the Unorganized Militia is alive and well today. Anyone who wants to take that responsibility seriously can find a unit near him at http://www.awrm.org.

Disclaimer: We are pretty far from the image of us as potrayed by the MSM.

Anonymous said...

Our unorganized militia is one of the reasons Japan avoided "boots on the ground" in America and instead started sending over those weather balloons with bombs on them. Unfortunately, these are still being found in remote parts of Oregon and are still quite deadly. One of these killed an entire family on a camping trip about 15 years ago.