Paramilitary

{{Short description|Organization similar to, but not part of, a military}}

File:Nd-3-105 LoF Edmonton 1915.jpg, Edmonton Command, 1915 – a nationalist paramilitary group not officially affiliated with the Canadian Army]]

A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces.{{cite book |chapter=paramilitary |title=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |edition=3rd |orig-year=online edition; original published in June 2005 |date= June 2011 |chapter-url=http://oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=paramilitary |access-date=2011-09-13 |quote= Designating, of, or relating to a force or unit whose function and organization are analogous or ancillary to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having professional or legitimate status. |title-link=Oxford English Dictionary}} The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934.

Overview

Though a paramilitary is, by definition, not a military, it is usually equivalent to a light infantry or special forces in terms of strength, firepower, and organizational structure.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-15 |title=Wider conflict feared as Sudan's army and rival paramilitary force clash in capital |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/wider-conflict-feared-as-sudans-army-and-rival-paramilitary-force-clash-in-capital |access-date=2023-07-28 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}} Paramilitaries use combat-capable kit/equipment (such as internal security/SWAT vehicles), or even actual military equipment{{Cite journal |last=Böhmelt |first=Tobias |last2=Clayton |first2=Govinda |date=February 2018 |title=Auxiliary Force Structure: Paramilitary Forces and Progovernment Militias |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0010414017699204 |journal=Comparative Political Studies |language=en |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=197–237 |doi=10.1177/0010414017699204 |issn=0010-4140|hdl=10654/38817 |hdl-access=free }} (such as long guns and armored personnel carriers; usually military surplus resources), skills (such as battlefield medicine and bomb disposal), and tactics (such as urban warfare and close-quarters combat) that are compatible with their purpose, often combining them with skills from other relevant fields such as law enforcement, coast guard, or search and rescue. A paramilitary may fall under the command of a military, train alongside them, or have permission to use their resources, despite not actually being part of them.

Legality

Under the law of war, a state may incorporate a paramilitary organization or armed agency (such as a law enforcement agency or a private volunteer militia) into its combatant armed forces. Some countries' constitutions prohibit paramilitary organizations outside government use.