In the United States, state defense forces are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under th
Members of the Virginia Defense Force and the Virginia National Guard operate a mobile command post.
A Georgia State Defense Force Volunteer passes a sandbag to a Georgia Army National Guard Soldier during a flood preparation mission.
Georgia State Defense Force members help recertify Georgia Army National Guard medics in CPR/AED.
South Carolina State Guard members during pack training.
The militia of the United States, as defined by the U.S. Congress, has changed over time. During colonial America, all able-bodied men of a certain age range were members of the militia, depending on
State defense force
…military, state military force, state guard, state militia, or state military reserve. Every state defense force is also the command authority for the "unorganized militia", which is defined as every able bodied male between the age of 17 and 45 who is not already serving in some capacity within the armed forces or National…
The U.S. ideal of the citizen soldier, in the militia, depicted by The Concord Minute Man of 1775, a monument created by Daniel Chester French and erected in 1875, in Concord, Massachusetts.
Colonial muster in Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Battle of Lexington, April 19th, 1775. Blue coated militiamen in the foreground flee from the volley of gunshots from the red coated British Army line in the background with dead and wounded militiamen on the ground.