What is "militia"

Militia \Mi*li"tia\, n. [L., military service, soldiery, fr. miles, militis, soldier: cf. F. milice.]

1. In the widest sense, the whole military force of a nation, including both those engaged in military service as a business, and those competent and available for such service; specifically, the body of citizens enrolled for military instruction and discipline, but not subject to be called into actual service except in emergencies.

   The king's captains and soldiers fight his battles, and yet . . . the power of the militia is he.
   --Jer. Taylor.

2. Military service; warfare. [Obs.]
   --Baxter.

1580s, "system of military discipline," from Latin militia "military service, warfare," from miles "soldier" (see military). Sense of "citizen army" (as distinct from professional soldiers) is first recorded 1690s, perhaps from a sense in French cognate milice. In U.S. history, "the whole body of men declared by law amenable to military service, without enlistment, whether armed and drilled or not" (1777).

n. 1 (context in particular English) An army of trained civilians, which may be an official reserve army, called upon in time of need, the entire able-bodied population of a state which may also be called upon(,) or a private force not under government control. 2 The national police force of certain countries (e.g. Ukraine).

1. n. civilians trained as soldiers but not part of the regular army [syn: reserves]

2. the entire body of physically fit civilians eligible by law for military service; "their troops were untrained militia"; "Congress shall have power to provide for calling forth the militia"--United States Constitution

Militia is a 2000 direct-to-video action film directed by Jim Wynorski. It stars Dean Cain, Jennifer Beals and Frederic Forrest. The film features scenes taken straight from Terminator 2: Judgment Day spliced into newly filmed scenes to make up its action sequences.

The Militia of the United Kingdom were the military reserve forces of the United Kingdom after the Union in 1801 of the former Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland.

The militia was transformed into the Special Reserve by the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907.

For the period before the creation of the United Kingdom, in the home countries and their colonies, see Militia (Great Britain).

A militia is a military force composed of ordinary citizens.

Militia may also refer to:

• Militia (police) or Militsiya, police in several communist and post-communist states
• Militia (film), a 2000 direct-to-video action film by Jim Wynorski

A militia generally is an army or other fighting unit that is composed of non-professional fighters, citizens of a nation or subjects of a state or government who can be called upon to enter a combat situation, as opposed to a professional force of regular, full-time military personnel, or historically, members of the warrior nobility class (e.g., knights or samurai). Unable to hold their own against properly trained and equipped professional forces, it is common for militias to engage in guerrilla warfare or defense instead of being used in open attacks and offensive actions.

With the emergence of professional forces in the Renaissance, Western European militias wilted, to be revived as part of Florentine civic humanism, which held that professional militaries were a result of corruption, and admired the Roman model. The civic humanist ideal of the militia was spread through Europe by the writings of Niccolò Machiavelli (According to Hörnqvist, The Prince, ch. 12 and 13, Discourses on Livy, and The Art of War.)

Beginning in the late 20th century, some militias (particularly 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 some U.S. Army National Guard units are considered professional soldiers, as they are trained to maintain the same standards as their "full-time" (active duty) counterparts.

Militias thus can be military or paramilitary, depending on the instance. Some of the situations the term "militia" is used include forces engaged in:

• Defense activity or service, to protect a community, its territory, property, and laws.
• 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-government force, not necessarily directly supported or sanctioned by its government.
• An irregular armed force enabling its leader to exercise military, economic, and political control over a subnational territory within a sovereign state (See: Warlord).
• An official reserve army, composed of citizen soldiers. Called by various names in different countries such as; the Army Reserve, National Guard, or state defense forces.
• The national police forces in several former communist states such as the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries, but also in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia. The term was inherited in Russia, and other former CIS countries and are known as militsiya.
• In France the equivalent term " Milice" has become tainted due to its use by notorious collaborators with Nazi Germany.
• A select militia is composed of a small, non-representative portion of the population, often politicized.

The term militia in the United States has been defined and modified by Congress several times throughout U.S. history. As a result, the meaning of "the militia" is complex and has transformed over time. It has historically been used to describe all able-bodied men who are not members of the Army or Navy ( Uniformed Services). From the U.S. Constitution, Article II (The Executive branch), Sec. 2, Clause 1: "The President shall be the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States when called into the actual service of the United States."

Today, the term militia is used to describe a number of groups within the United States. Primarily, these are:

• The organized militia defined by the Militia Act of 1903, which repealed section two hundred thirty-two and sections 1625 - 1660 of title sixteen of the Revised Statutes, consists of State militia forces, notably the National Guard and the Naval Militia. The National Guard, however, is not to be confused with the National Guard of the United States, which is a federally recognized reserve military force of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force, although the two are linked.
• The reserve militia are part of the unorganized militia defined by the Militia Act of 1903 as consisting of every able-bodied man of at least 17 and under 45 years of age who is not a member of the National Guard or Naval Militia.

The Militia of Great Britain were the principal military reserve forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain during the 18th century.

For the period following the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801, see Militia (United Kingdom).

The Militia of the British Dominions and Crown Colonies were the principal military forces of the Dominions and Crown Colonies of the British Empire.

Militia is an Italian neo-Nazi group founded by Maurizio Boccacci, the former leader of the banned Western Political Movement.

The group first came to attention in 2008 when Boccacci was prosecuted over anti-semitic and Holocaust denialist graffiti.

Further prosecutions in 2010 followed raids against the group, prompted by further anti-semitic graffiti which had been put up in response to statements by political and religious leaders supporting the continued existence of Israel. Among the items seized in the raids were machetes, baseball bats, an Israeli Army uniform, and tools used for painting graffiti.

Boccacci and four other members were arrested in December 2011 by the Special Operations Group of the Italian Carabinieri. The group had made threats against Riccardo Pacifici, President of Rome's Jewish community, Gianni Alemanno, Mayor of Rome, Gianfranco Fini, President of the Chamber of Deputies, and Renato Schifani, President of the Italian Senate. They are believed to have plotted a bombing targeting Pacifici.