Militia roles must be sized to the people available, and the parent structure of one leader, four squads and four support roles needs at least 27 people if every role is filled, more than a whole community of 20 and over half of one of 50. A small community therefore merges squads, gives every person one primary role and one trained backup, and writes each role down as a card that says what it does, whom it reports to and what it must never do.
Part of Community Militia Training
Roles and responsibilities in a militia are the defined jobs, such as leader, squad leader, sentry, medic, signaller and quartermaster, and the written limits on each.
Count The Roles Before Writing Them
The parent article’s structure for a community of 20 to 50 has a militia leader, squad leaders for groups of 4 to 8 members each, squads organised by position (gate team, observation post team, patrol team and reserve), and support roles: a medical team of 2 to 3, communications of 1 to 2, logistics, and an evacuation team. Count what that needs.
Worked Example: The Minimum Headcount
The logistics and evacuation team sizes are not given in the parent; I assume 1 and 2 as minimums.
| Group | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Militia leader | 1 | 1 |
| Four squads, each a squad leader plus 4 to 8 members | 4 x (1 + 4) = 20 | 4 x (1 + 8) = 36 |
| Medical team | 2 | 3 |
| Communications | 1 | 2 |
| Logistics | 1 (assumed) | 2 (assumed) |
| Evacuation team | 2 (assumed) | 4 (assumed) |
| Total | 27 | 48 |
At the minimum, 27 people. A community of 20 cannot fill it even if every person serves. A community of 50 would have more than half of its people in the structure, and the parent also excludes the primary carers of children and the elderly, people with medical conditions, and those who cannot keep discipline under stress. If half of a community is adult and fit to serve (an assumption), 40 people give 20 candidates. The structure cannot be filled by 20 people.
Then add the watch load. Yellow posture in the watch article is two posts manned round the clock, 48 person-hours a day; at the 4.8 to 6 watch-hours per person per day that the roster arithmetic gives (Watch Rotation Systems), that is 8 to 10 people on the posts alone, before any patrols.
What Follows
- Merge squads. A small community runs one post team and one response team, not four squads.
- Give each person a primary and a backup role. The same person can be a sentry on one rota and a signaller on another, provided the rotas do not collide. See Cross-Training.
- Staff the support roles first. Medical, communications, supply and evacuation are the roles whose absence is felt first.
- Use lower postures and mechanical warning at night to cut the number of watchers (Early Warning Systems).
Role Cards
A role card is a half-page that says: the job in one sentence; what the holder does on an alarm; whom they report to and who replaces them; what they may decide; and what they must not do. Examples:
- Militia leader. Trains the group, commands it in an incident, reports to the council. May not decide on negotiation, evacuation or yielding resources, which are the council’s. May not hold the post past the term.
- Squad leader. Responsible for their team’s training, kit and readiness. Reports to the leader.
- Sentry. Observes, logs and signals (Observation Post Operations). Does not leave the post, light a lamp or challenge alone.
- Medical team. Treats casualties at a pre-agreed collection point; does not fight. The parent places them in a safe location; the point must also be reachable by casualties.
- Communications. Keeps the signal systems working and the code book current.
- Logistics. Supplies water, food and equipment to positions (Sustainment and Resupply).
- Evacuation team. Moves children, elderly and non-combatants by the prepared routes (Escape Route Planning).
- Safety officer (an addition, not in the parent). In every drill, one person’s only job is to stop it when something is unsafe.
Diagnosing A Weak Structure
- The leader does everything. The roles are not delegated; the leader is a single point of failure (Building Capable Deputies).
- Nobody knows who has the backup role. Write it on the card.
- The medical team is also on the watch rota. When casualties arrive, they are asleep or at the post.
- Roles accumulate in a few people. Burnout follows (Burnout Prevention).
Common Mistakes
- Writing the structure from the parent without counting. It does not fit the small end of its own range.
- No role for the person who cannot fight. Support roles keep the militia running.
- Titles without limits. A role without a “must not” list expands.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Chain of Command — who gives orders to whom
- Combine with: Essential Roles — how defence ranks with the community’s other critical roles