Could you also give a "this is my vision of what my military will be like, how do I achieve this?" list?
I want my dwarves to be able to train and at least kill goblins without being slaughtered like rhesus monkeys in weapon traps.
Training:
- Set up squads (I assume you got equipment figured out)
- Make and place/build a weapon rack (or other suitable furniture)
- Define barracks from that weapon rack
- Set that barracks to 'T'rain mode for your squad(s)
- Set the alert state of your squads to Active/Training
That should get them going, possibly with a short delay while they realise they've been ordered to train. We can discuss smaller details after you get them training.
Killing goblins:
- Make sure your dwarves are armoured properly.
- That means checking their inventory to see they're actually equipping anything they've been assigned.
- If not, give them a move order inside your fort and they'll go get geared up first.
- All armour must be either bronze, steel or adamantine to be useful. Anything less and you bring risk of injury.
- Equip all dwarves in steel/bronze axes/swords. Yes there are other options, but let's keep things simple for now. Do not tell them to pick whatever they want, be specific about those axes and the allowed material they are made out of.
- When goblins come, just use move orders. Forget kill orders or defend burrow orders. They can be used, but let's keep things simple for now - move orders, aka 'station'.