Colonial Militia

Not to be confused with the Colonial Military Authority, also called "Colonial Military"

The Colonial Militia is a collection of defensive paramilitary forces trained and overseen by the United Nations Space Command on Unified Earth Government colony worlds. A component of the UNSC Armed Forces, they fall under the authority of the Unified Ground Command. They are tasked with safeguarding colonies when conventional UNSC forces are not present, and possibly to act as support and scout units. A colony's militia forces are trained by the UNSC under the Colonial Militia Training program.

Role
Often trained by non-commissioned officers in the UNSC, the Colonial Militia is comprised of citizens trained to provide defense, and emergency services and to serve as a potential paramilitary force. Often, militia members would later join the UNSC as enlisted soldiers, such was the case with Wallace Jenkins.

Operational history
The Colonial Militia troops of the planet Harvest were among the first humans to make contact with the Covenant, following a secret operation in orbit above the planet. They were trained and commanded by Captain Ponder and Staff Sergeants Avery Johnson and Nolan Byrne. Despite their attempts to defend Harvest, the planet was ultimately glassed and nearly half of the militia's seventy-two members were killed.

During the Battle for Earth, the Colonial Militia took part in the Battle of Mombasa with little success. For the purposes of civilian morale, the New Mombasa Police Department's public service announcer broadcast propaganda touting largely-imaginary, exaggerated militia 'victories'.

Despite the existence of the official UEG-backed Colonial Militia, unofficial and criminal local militias continued to operate in UEG territory into the Human-Covenant War, with the Reach militia eventually aiding UNSC forces during the Fall of Reach.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo: The Thursday War
 * Halo: Mortal Dictata
 * Halo: Fleet Battles
 * Halo: Ground Command
 * Halo: Fractures
 * Oasis
 * Halo: Silent Storm
 * Halo: Shadows of Reach