Most off world colonies consist of less than a million colonists, normally spread out over a wide area in small townships. Many have less than a thousand colonists. Maintaining a proper standing army in these cases is not possible or needed, but most worlds have a partially trained militia force.

Most colony worlds will form their own militia to defend against raiders, criminals and enemy governments. They tend to be poorly equipped and trained, but can force attackers to think twice about their chances of making a quick profit through a raid.

Militia rarely have any organisation above the squad level, so lack a platoon commander who can delegate actions. A force may consist of one or more squads of 10 men.

Unit quality tends to vary widely, but they are generally poorly trained with little in the way of actual battlefield experience.

Though colony worlds lack military training facilities, they often have plenty of wilderness where trackers and hunters can spend their lives learning to hunt and shoot wild animals. Such people tend to have excellent sniping skills, though often don't cope well when they themselves are being shot at.

Each sniper acts as an independent unit.