They're not unlike law enforcement, in that regard.
Unrelated (probably), but i just researched this and want to tell people:
- The US Army & National Guard has a combined troop strength of around 1 Million soldiers. source They are typically under federal control or can be "activated" (in the case of the National Guard) to be put under federal control.
- The US has a total number of police officers & law enforcement of, also, around 1 Million. source Most of them are under state & local control.
I'm saying this because i have been wondering, in case states try to secede and trump sends all troops he commands to the states to stop them from doing so, what would be the likely outcome.
Sorry, it's a bit off-topic here, but the US situation is on my mind a lot these days.