Reserve (unorganized) Militia

[angrychair]

Need some help from DU Constitutional history and legal scholars.

10 USC Reserve Militia states that all male US citizens 17-45, not already in the National Guard or current or former military, are part of the Reserve Militia that can be called up to serve if needed.

This is not a draft, any male 17-45 is already in this Reserve Militia.

Is this actual current law? How is this a thing and how did I go through 18 yrs of school and never recall this ever being mentioned.

For reference:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_(United_States)

[MineralMan]

1. Really, the draft drew from that unorganized militia.

Since there is no draft, currently, there isn't really a mechanism for calling up the unorganized (Reserve) militia. So, in essence, it doesn't actually exist as a pool of potential soldiers unless a draft is begun again.

The draft was really based on that, but has no structure any longer. Guys do have to register for the draft at age 18, though, and if necessary a draft could be instituted by Congress, but it seems unlikely.

Think of it as a pool of able-bodied people who could be drafted if there was a draft and a need for drafting soldiers.

These days, reinstituting the draft would be massively unpopular, and would lead to lawsuits in federal court demanding that women also be part of it, to prevent discrimination due to sex or gender.

Don't worry. They won't be coming for you.

[angrychair]

2. Well no

I'm old

That said, this isnt the draft though.
The law is explicit: all males 17-45 are part of the Reserve Militia. Nothing extra need be done. Its automatic.
It's made clear in related material that this is not a draft list as the Reserve Militia also includes women in the National Guard.

It reads:

The current United States Code, Title 10 (Armed forces), section 246 (Militia: Composition and Classes), paragraph (a) states: "The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard."

I've read through most of the actual law at this point. I'm just dumbfounded by it. And unsure if it's really a thing or just a law on the books from the 1930s that no one actually intends to enforce.

[JHB]

3. The only place that wikipedia page uses the phrase "Reserve Militia" is for Canada

Where is that definition actually coming from?

[angrychair]

4. The link I gave above?

No, shouldn't be.

Try this:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_(United_States)

Its 10 USC, Unorganized Militia.

[JHB]

8. I still don't see that definition on that page, so let's go to the real one

While the statutory term seem to be unorganized militia, I think a more familiar term is "eligible for military service."

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title10/subtitleA/part1/chapter12&edition=prelim

§246. Militia: composition and classes
(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia are—
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.
(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 14, §311; Pub. L. 85–861, §1(7), Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1439; Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title V, §524(a),

[sarisataka]

5. You are conflating two terms

That have different meanings.

The reserve is the officers and enlisted of the military who are contractually committed to serving but are not on active duty. Most of them do the one weekend a month and two weeks in summer but there are some who do not do any drills.

The militia are those who are not connected to the active military or the reserve. This includes the organized militia (National Guard) and the unorganized militia (everyone else not otherwise disqualified from service)

There is no longer a mechanism to call the militia as a whole to duty since states stopped keeping roles of members long ago.

Theoretically the militia could be called to service but the President for federal duty or a governor for state duty. Without any lists, there is no way to know who would show up nor anyway to punish those who fail to respond.

[hack89]

6. Yes it is current. Proper term is "unorganized militia" .nt

[braddy]

7. Here is wiki on it

Reserve militia
All able bodied men, 17 to 45 of age, are ultimately eligible to be called up into military service and belong to the class known as the reserve militia, also known as the unorganized militia (10 USC). Able bodied men who are not eligible for inclusion in the reserve militia pool are those aliens not having declared their intent to become citizens of the United States (10 USC 246) and former regular component veterans of the armed forces who have reached the age of 64 (32 USC 313). All female citizens who are members of National Guard units are also included in the reserve militia pool (10 U.S.C. § 246).
(snip)
Many individual states have additional statutes describing their residents as part of the state militia; for example Washington law specifies all able-bodied citizens or intended citizens over the age of eighteen as members of the state militia, as explicitly distinct from the National Guard and Washington State Guard.[62]