I really don't think these guys are in large enough numbers to be useful to us in any sort of combat situation. I figure, if they want to get together and just practice then there's no big deal. But they have no authority to be fighting on behalf of this country if there is no war going on here, which has been the case since 1865. I don't know, i just don't see the point of pretending you're in the army rather than just go and sign up for weekend national guard service or something.

Militias probably just want to defend their families and their own land, in the National Guard you're almost guaranteed to get shipped out and end up defending Iraqi families for a long, long time.

Are you sure that pic with the M203 is from a militia? I didn't think they were allowed to have any weapons that a civilian couldn't own.

You can get M203s; they're in a category of weapons called NFA Any Other Weapons (AOW). Civilians can get fully automatic weapons also, but they must be manufactured pre-1986. It's expensive, but very do-able.

I see the militia as something very useful. There is no war in the USA right now, but that doesn't mean that folks still should have the right to train to defend their homes and communites.

Some of those photos are hilarious! Glad to see the militia have a high standard of fitness!

Some of those photos are hilarious! Glad to see the militia have a high standard of fitness!

You dont have to run a 5 minutes mile to pull a trigger.

You might also notice that quite a few of these guys are equipped more for ranged combat than close combat. Rooting out a dozen snipers in unfamiliar territory is highly damaging to moral and the health of the unit searching for them. Just ask some of the US troops who have fought in wars this century.

Partisans, irregulars, and *ahem* insurgents as about as easy to get rid of as a bad case of VD once they infiltrate an area. There are numerous success stories of such groups throughout the last century. Arguing that militias are unnecessary is just a watered down version of asking why we need a military at all. It's another layer of defence.