Rump brigade

Rump brigades (also known as rump battalions, rumps, private military societies or provisional state militias) in the United States are voluntary private paramilitary units that operate outside of U.S. Federal or State military command structures. Unlike National Guard and State Defense Forces units which are authorized by state and federal law, are under the command of the governor, and act as the organized militias under Title 10 USC and 32 USC Section 109 respectively, rump brigades are purely civilian volunteer organizations, self-organized and self-promoted, ostensibly for charitable and educational purposes. The legality of rump brigades varies depending upon their purpose, wear of military uniforms, and a variety of other factors.

Origins

There is little data on the origin of rump brigades in the U.S. In recent years some local militias have been created as part of the Constitutional militia movement. The creation of a rump brigade is usually tied to the historical use of civilian home guards and auxiliaries including state defense forces and official civilian reserves such as the Civil Air Patrol and Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Legal Status

Many rump brigades are corporations that are approved by the IRS as 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, which have tax-exempt status. Their corporate purpose is generally listed as education and benevolence. Participation with Federally-funded civilian volunteer corps programs, such as CERT, is common. Such participation does not necessarily accredit rump brigades to take any specific action, but such training allows these organizations to respond to natural disasters and other civil crisis.

Some rump brigades claim to act as the "de facto" state militia. Critics of rump brigades usually accuse the organizers of self-aggrandizement or the group of attempting to start an illegal alternative to governmental armed forces. Since many rump brigades are headed by generals or admirals whose rank originates solely within the civilian organization and who seem to miss few opportunities for appearing in public wearing attention-getting uniforms, the charge seems to have some merit.

Organization

Rump brigades tend to have a disproportionate number of flag rank officers compared to the number of enrolled members. An organization claiming a national presence may have as many as three or four flag officers, with additional flag officers at each state. The result tends to be that rump brigades are overly "top heavy" in officers with only a few company grade officers, noncommissioned officers, and relatively few private members compared to a similar numeric collection of U.S. Federal troops.

Unlike the German freikorps following WWI, current rump brigades generally have no wealthy sponsor and usually exist largely as paper tigers or only in one or two locations. Most rump brigades claim expansive geographic areas of coverage and wear impressive uniforms, but often have few programs or operations to support the illusion of a viable paramilitary organization.

On the Internet, rump brigade websites sometimes use links to Federal and state agencies, and to national volunteer recognition agencies, to create the impression that their organization is sanctioned by the Federal government. Only a few Federally-chartered veterans organizations exist, but these are well-known and do not generally use uniforms that resemble current U.S. Armed Forces uniforms. Examples of Federally-chartered veterans organizations include the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and AMVETS. The aforementioned groups perform many of the benevolent purposes also claimed by rump brigades, including providing uniformed members for honor guards and funerals, and supporting local disaster response efforts.

Uniforms

Rump brigades often wear uniforms similar to those worn by U.S. Federal or state forces, or actual uniforms with minor modifications. Such practices may violate of Title 10 USC, which provides that only officers and enlisted members of Federal and State armed forces may wear distinctive parts of the uniform. The issue is particularly emotional for veterans of Federal and state forces.