Thread by @WMedlin1

I read a thread on the argument about well regulated militia. Decided to weigh in my thoughts.
The spin: *at the time of writing the Consititution well regulated meant well working*.
Really not wrong, but context(?).
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Looking at history there are some details conveniently overlooked/ignored. Starting with the Militia and the minutemen. If you look at them they were the forerunner of the US Army. They were established mostly by/for local community defense & quite frankly...
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...were only minimally, when if even, effective, reasons that will become apparent. The Continental Congress understood the formation of an Army was needed & authorized one giving the overall command to George Washington. It too, soon showed it's ineffectiveness.
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Now along comes a shadowy little known historical character, to this day is something of a mystery. Claiming nobility, his name, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Stueben. Washington posted him as Inspector General and later Chief of Staff.
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Given the rank of Major General von Steuben established the training, drills, tactics, and discipline that was lacking. He wrote Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, the beginning and roots of established regulations & traditions...
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... still used today. This along with establishment of a clear chain of command, efficient lines of communication (which includes the supply chain by the way), & standards of equipment & dress produced an effective fighting force that could stand toe to toe against...
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...the might of the British Military machine.The forefathers saw the need for an effective army, but still feared the potential for to much power, (they worried of a Caesar's crossing the Rubicon river scenario), so in the Consititution they placed limitations.
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Yet the idea of militias were still considered purposeful to supplement the Army on local & short term notice/necessities in order to maintain limitations on a large standing army with a potential of gaining too much power. (Seems a little ironic now after militia...
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... seized the surrounding forts & attacked Ft Sumter in 1861) They provided for both an army and militias in Article 1 of the Consititution. This is, by the way a very condensed brief summary of events & explanation. More detail would fill books, which by the way, does...
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...They can be found in the original *google search* called libraries.
Now I come to well regulated, well working. What does it mean well regulated (working) militia? To work well requires,
Clear chain of command,
Standardized equipment & dress,
Lines of Communication,
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Rules, standards of conduct & accountability,
Discipline,
Training...
The military staff organization, provides them through
Command & Control, Personnel, Intelligence,
Operations, Logistics &
Public Relations/Legal.
All these work together to comprise an effective,...
11/14

...well regulated (working) organization. Without them, well, you get, a bunch of hollywood type individual Rambos running around, a danger to others & themselves. Well regulated does mean well working. To work well there must be regulation. As true today as it was then.
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Bit of trivia,
Gen von Stueben was a very important character in the creation/history of the United States, often not given fully open due credit. Yet, without him the Revolution may have had a much different outcome & creation of the US a much different story.
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Also, most historians believe Gen von Stueben was openly gay, when being gay was a crime. Wonder if the 1776 commission include him/that in the 1776 report? 🤔
I'd bet not.
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@threadreaderapp can you unroll pls?