<P> 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 ." Section 313 of Title 32 refers to persons with prior military experience . ("Sec. 313 . Appointments and enlistments: age limitation (a) To be eligible for original enlistment in the National Guard, a person must be at least 17 years of age and under 45, or under 64 years of age and a former member of the Regular Army, Regular Navy, Regular Air Force, or Regular Marine Corps . To be eligible for reenlistment, a person must be under 64 years of age . (b) To be eligible for appointment as an officer of the National Guard, a person must--(1) be a citizen of the United States; and (2) be at least 18 years of age and under 64 .") </P> <P> These persons remain members of the militia until age 64 . Paragraph (b) further states, "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 ." </P> <P> The National Guard of the United States is the largest of the organized federal reserve military forces in the United States . The National Guard of the United States is classified (under title 10, United States Code (see above)) as the organized federal reserve military force . Under federal control, the National Guard of the United States can be called up for active duty by the President of the United States . Since the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, many National Guard units have served overseas--under the Total Force Policy of 1973 which effectively combined the National Guard with the armed forces, making them regular troops . This can lead to problems for states that also face internal emergencies while the Guard is deployed overseas . To address such issues, many of the states, such as New York and Maryland also have organized state "militia" forces or state guards which are under the control of the governor of a state; however, many of these "militia" also act as a reserve for the National Guard and are thus a part of it (this varies from state to state depending on individual state statutory laws). New York and Ohio also have active naval militias, and a few other states have on - call or proposed ones . In 1990, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of Perpich v. Department of Defense that the federal government has plenary power over the National Guard, greatly reducing (to the point of nonexistence) the state government's ability to withhold consent to federal deployments and training missions of the National Guard . </P> <P> Since the Militia Act of 1903, many states have created and maintained a reserve military force known as state defense forces (Some states refer to them as state military reserve, state guard, or foot guard). They were created to assist, support and augment National Guard forces during peacetime conditions . Also during the call up of National Guard forces for wartime deployments, state defense forces can be used to assume the full military responsibilities of the state . Their mission includes the defense of the state and the enforcement of military orders when ordered by their Governor . </P>

When was the last time a militia was used