I am really surprised this came out in the Washington Post.  I’m almost inclined to call D.C. SWAT and send them to the Washington Post editorial offices.  This could be prima facie evidence that the Post editorial staff has been taken hostage and is being held against their will.  

The Post reports that the Governor of Maryland issued a call for all armed able bodied men in Maryland assemble and be prepared to defend the Eastern Shore, Maryland Militia call out 1942.  He went on to say that they could expect no military support or military arms and it was up to them to provide their own weapons. 

I am not claiming to be a military expert but the raising of volunteer regiments equipped at the unit’s expense occurred right up through WWI.  Teddy Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” is an example from the Spanish American War.  “Will Bill” Donovan, the leader of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII, got a Congressional Medal of Honor while serving in a volunteer unit that he helped raise, during WWI.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary to travel that far back in time to find a call for the aid of “the militia”.