Kenneth Baylor

Date published: 3/6/2006

Ron Miller's op-ed missed its target entirely ["Hold your fire: Second Amendment was aimed at building militias," March 1].

The 19th-century state militias failed not from lack of ability, but because they became glorified social clubs that neglected basic military tactics.

This was magnified in their poor performance during the 1898 Spanish-American War. Recognizing this collapse, Congress passed the 1903 Dick Act, which established the National Guard as a U.S. Army reserve component.

However, a civilian army formed under the militia concept can win military victories, even if a battle is never fought.

Mr. Miller conveniently forgot about Switzerland and its reliance on a well-trained civilian army to protect the country from outside forces. As recently as 1945, the 400,000-man Swiss militia army was able to deter Germany from launching an invasion. German military planners eventually determined it was not worth the bloody urban battles necessary to conquer Switzerland, and chose not to invade.

Switzerland still maintains to very high standards a well-armed, highly motivated civilian army dedicated to homeland defense.

The militia concept still works extremely well, if the government and people support it. A civilian army does deter if properly trained. And it is the fault of just one institution in America that we do not have this skilled force today: Congress.

Congress has haughtily neglected for 103 years its duty under the Constitution's militia clauses to provide for a civilian military force, instead finding it easier to maintain a standing army for foreign adventure and political benefit through the Army and Navy clauses.

The demise of the militia concept has nothing to do with the capabilities of the American people, for they are the same ones volunteering for active military service.

If Congress had bothered to do its job in 1903--and 2006--and appropriate enough money for training and equipping a "well regulated" civilian military force, the Second Amendment might be clearer to even the most confused observer.

Arlington

Date published: 3/6/2006