Ohio Defense Force
The Ohio Defense Force (ODF) is a privately organized militia in the state of Ohio. The Ohio Defense Force is not a part of the organized military of Ohio, which consists of the Ohio National Guard, the Ohio Naval Militia, and the Ohio Military Reserve. Rather, it is organized, led, and staffed by private citizens. History. The Ohio Defense Force, originally named the Southeastern Ohio Defense Force, was founded in 1989 as a non-profit corporation. In 2004, the organization decided to expand statewide and was renamed the Ohio Defense Force. The Ohio Defense Force has provided  emergency assistance to the Columbiana County Sheriff's Department by performing duties such as directing traffic, in order to let deputies attend to other duties. Mission. The duties of the Ohio Defense Force are: Organization. The Ohio Defense Force is organized into four battalions, and maintains a signal corps and a security unit attached to its headquarters. The ODF claims it has 300 active members statewide. Equipment. The Ohio Defense Force infantry uses the Battle Dress Uniform with a woodland-style boonie hat, along with black combat boots as its uniform. Members are required to own a military-patterned rifle , six magazines, and maintain a survival kit with weather-appropriate clothing, water, and first aid supplies. The Ohio Defense Force (Recon) D company, ODF's special forces company, uses the Battle Dress Uniform with asian tiger-style boonie hat. Recon specialized training includes reconnaissance, scout/sniper, combat tracking and small arms.