Reviving the militia
Jul. 22nd, 2003 12:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenite0I read an interesting article describing the history of the militia in America and suggesting a way to revive it as a defense against terror attacks. The author asked for more ideas so I wrote this to him:
Militia training should be more than marksmanship. Few of the attacks on Israel can be stopped with snipers. We'd need:
* first aid training
* recognition of WMDs and how to respond to them
* recognizing terrorists (ie, spotting suicide bombers)
* basic security for home/office/other facilities
* overview of police/fire/medical procedures and how to work with them
* militia-level rules of engagement
* leadership in emergencies
A lot of this training already exists on the local level or could be set up by volunteers. Congress could supply funding, tax breaks, training objectives, and regulations. States and localities could implement training on their own, tailor to local conditions. Businesses would be encouraged to supply facilities and and equipment, and allow employees to take off work to participate in training.
Possibly we could have a program to designate people who've completed a minimum of training and passed some (field, not written) tests as "militia leaders". They'd get an armband to tuck behind their concealed carry holster and when an attack or other emergency occured they can step forward to help organize the response.
Militia training should be more than marksmanship. Few of the attacks on Israel can be stopped with snipers. We'd need:
* first aid training
* recognition of WMDs and how to respond to them
* recognizing terrorists (ie, spotting suicide bombers)
* basic security for home/office/other facilities
* overview of police/fire/medical procedures and how to work with them
* militia-level rules of engagement
* leadership in emergencies
A lot of this training already exists on the local level or could be set up by volunteers. Congress could supply funding, tax breaks, training objectives, and regulations. States and localities could implement training on their own, tailor to local conditions. Businesses would be encouraged to supply facilities and and equipment, and allow employees to take off work to participate in training.
Possibly we could have a program to designate people who've completed a minimum of training and passed some (field, not written) tests as "militia leaders". They'd get an armband to tuck behind their concealed carry holster and when an attack or other emergency occured they can step forward to help organize the response.
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no subject
Date: 2003-07-22 10:08 am (UTC)From the article you linked to:
"Suppose Congress required the local National Guard (the “organized militia”) to organize monthly shooting instruction in small arms — including sidearms and automatic rifles — using weapons supplied by the Guard in government-built local shooting ranges. To be eligible, you would need to be a citizen and to pay at least the cost of the ammunition you would expend. A gun-safety lecture before each session would be mandatory. Do you suppose such shooting sessions would be popular and well-attended? I sure do. I think it would be wildly popular. The government could even make money selling official “U.S. Militia” paraphernalia. And it would all be perfectly constitutional. "