The Arkansas Defense Force is always seeking new members and welcome those with a wide range of skills or none at all. We have members of all ages and all abilities including folks that are disabled. The bottom line is there's a place for you in the ADF. Prior to joining we ask everyone review our Code of Conduct and ensure they are willing to abide by it. That is covered in the About section on the menu above.

We now utilize an online recruiting application which will allows for faster and more efficient recruiting. Just click on the Join button from any page.

A note about what kind of information we maintain:  We do not require your real name or address. All we need is either your name or nickname (what we call a handle or callsign), a phone number to reach you, a valid email address, and the city in Arkansas you are located in. During the application process we ask quesitons pertaining to your experience, skills, and interests. We go to extraordinary measures to protect the information of our members and respect the desires of those that wish to maintain their anonymity as much as possible.

If you are prior service military, law enforcement, an amateur radio operator, have a medical training certification or license, or similar skills please make sure to bring it up during the interview process. Once you are accepted you'll be registered on the forums and given further instructions to welcome you into the ADF.

Many people are afraid to join because of the concept that all militias conduct illegal activities. The ADF ABSOLUTELY  does not condone nor tolerate any illegal activity within the organization. If you're afraid of getting on a list chances are we're all already on a list of some sort.

Others are hesitant to join because they aren't prior service military or don't think they have any skills.  We value all members and if you have no skills that's fine. That's what training is for. There is a part you can play within the organization. All we ask if you bring motivation and a genuine willingness to participate to the table. We will train you. If you have any questions or concerns we'd like to address them for you.  You can contact us with the information on the contact link located on the menu bar.

What Do You Need?

We understand not everyone has a lot of money to go out and buy equipment. That's not a problem- you don't need anything more than your motivation and willingness to participate as an active member to start. Even if you don't have anything you should come to training anyway and you can borrow one from another member. As time goes on you'll need to acquire at least a basic set of operations and sustainment gear. At a minimum this should include:

• A semi-automatic rifle with at least 100 rounds and associated magazines along with the gear to maintain it.
• Some form of load bearing equipment to carry your fighting load. That includes ammunition, first aid and water.
• An Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK) - see below
• A basic set of camouflage. We prefer the US woodland pattern however anything will work as long as it's not a current standard pattern for the armed forces or law enforcement.
• A good set of combat style boots.
• A rucksack or pack to carry your gear.
• A sleeping bag or system rated to below zero.
• Materials to start a fire and cook with along with the capability to purify water.
• A good basic hygiene kit.

For an IFAK we reccomend at a minimum you have a tourniquet, sterile gauze to pack a wound (kerlix will work), a good wound dressing bandage (the Israeli 4" dressing is an excellent choice), a set of surgical gloves, and a small role of cloth medical tape. A lot of these items can be found in local drugstores however we recommend Chinook Medical Gear for all of your medical equipment needs. A note about tourniquets : There are airsoft grade Combat Action Tourniquets (C-A-T) out there that are NOT suitable for emergency use. Avoid these in any instance as they will not work properly.

The above lists are by no means comprehensive and there are a lot of things not listed that you'll want or need. If money is an issue we do help folks that are truly in need with loans and donor equipment. Note that if you leave the organization you will probably be asked to return any items loaned so we can distribute them to other members.

Training is one of the cornerstones of the Arkansas Defense Force. We conduct a lot of varied training in the ADF including hands on in the field and classroom and we encourage folks to get individual training through other sources as well. Upon joining you'll be provided with a copy of the individual critical skills list and assigned a mentor to assist you in learning these skills. You should use the references that are provided as a guide to the execution of those individual skills.  Depending on your background you may be given credit for some of those tasks on the skills list.

The school of thought concerning training in the ADF is this: We don't expect everyone to be an expert. We don't expect new folks to know anything. We'll show you what you need to know and if you already have a well developed skill set you may be invited to serve as an instructor.  This is where our former military folks serve as valuable teachers, coaches, and mentors.

Some of the individual skills you'll need to learn involve shooting, movement, communication, security, and survival. We use those skills as building blocks for our collective tasks in which we perform operations as teams, squads, and platoons.  Training for folks that are primarily communications, medical, or logistics centers around their individual competencies along with medical, communications, and self defense training.

We do expect members to attend training. For those folks that are remote we will bring a trainer to you as long as you can assemble a small group and have a location to train.