Militia

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A militia (/mɪˈlɪʃə/ mil-ISH-ə)^[1] is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or serve as a pool of available manpower for regular forces to draw from.

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. However, militias may also engage in defense activities to protect a community, its territory, property, and laws.^[2] For example, naval militias may comprise fishermen and other civilians which are organized and sanctioned by a state to enforce its maritime boundaries.^[3]

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, members of the part-time United States National Guard militia are considered professional soldiers, as they are trained to the same standards that their full-time, active duty counterparts are.^[1] Militias may nonetheless operate outside of a state's legal jurisdiction, taking the form of a private military force, irregular military, or guerilla forces.^[4]

In countries with conscription, the term "militia" may refer to the entire able-bodied population available, legally obliged, or who actually respond to be called to arms. In Russia and some countries of the former Soviet Union, an official reserve army composed of citizen soldiers is known as the militsiya.