Obama plans to raise a 1000000 (one million) strong civilian force, comprised of young men and women between the ages of 18-25. Every time you get involved with the Federal Government it is a contract..you trade off your constitutional rights. The beginning of the United States military lies in civilian frontiersmen, armed for hunting and basic survival in the wilderness. These were organized into local militias for small military operations, mostly against tribes but also to resist possible raids by the small military forces of neighboring European colonies. Beginning in 1689, the colonies also frequently became involved in a series of wars between Great Britain and France for control of North America, the most important of which were Queen Anne's War, in which the British annexed French Acadia, and the final French and Indian War (17541763). This final war was to give thousands of colonists, including George Washington, military experience which they put to use during the American Revolution.Ongoing political tensions between Great Britain and thirteen colonies became a crisis in 1774 when the British placed the province of Massachusetts under martial law. While shooting began at Lexington and Concord in 1775, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief of the newly created Continental Army, which was augmented throughout the war by colonial militia. General Washington was not the greatest battlefield tactician, but his overall strategy proved to be sound: keep the army intact, wear down British resolve, and avoid decisive battles except to exploit enemy mistakes. www.georgegordon.org