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[Tevish Szat]

Early on, I draft "promising" dwarves (otherwise useless or use-impaired immigrants with either military skills, good stats, or both) into standard-uniform squads (metal or archer, bugger leather armor), and set up a barracks where they can train while inactive.  Once an entire squad has novice, assuming it's not a marksdwarf squad, it gets activated to train faster, and bugger the patrol duty thoughts: my fortresses (usually) have private bedrooms and good production values.

Active or no, squads are thrown at early dangers (read: any wildlife that dares interrupt a job), or used to mop up what cage traps leave behind until either magma industries or goblinite has fully geared them.  proper (weapon)dwarves get put in new (weapon) squads, while junk recruits now become specific weapondwarves, especially Lashers.

Finally, I've caved in and start throwing melee squads into danger rooms: I may have sieges under control by thinning them with cage traps, but if I'm going to unseal the caverns and start to work on the FBs, I need dwarves who don't fail at training.

Incidentally, I'm planning to assuage my guilt over using a danger room in my latest fort by making it the ground floor of a kickass arena with grandstand seating and gem windows up top, including reserved seats for nobles, rather than a 1x4 box.  Downside is that's gonna take a LOT of logs, mechanisms, and attachment-spears-to-lever time, so it might not be a practical danger room.

[MrC]

An update on that siege

2 dead, one hammer dorf, and the swordmaster that killed the FB and got the artifact sword

[Roraborialisforealis]

Yeah. I just had one where my infantry charged a 32 goblin archer group, died, and then the 32 archers got beaten UP by a single (Now elite) marks-dwarf (He also was grand master of beating people with his crossbow, and not dieing.)

[Varnifane]

I don't use danger rooms as i heard they mangle babies.

That's a feature, not a bug.

[Roraborialisforealis]

I don't use danger rooms as i heard they mangle babies.

That's a feature, not a bug.

WHY WOULD YOU MAKE YOUR BABIES INTERESTED IN SPEARS. lol.

[dirkzen]

If you're not a Miner, bookkeeper or broker,  you get drafted in randomly.

Miners are the hardest working dwarfs in my fortress,  and hard to replace.  The pencil pushers keep track of the money and trade,  so I can't have them getting killed off.
Everyone else is expendable.

Individual choice melee/ranged.  No uniform.  Usually leather and chain for armor.  Just a quick and dirty militia to get the job done.
..though I sort of wish there was an 'individual choice armor'  thing.

To keep everyone on their toes,  i'll randomly release a caged goblin or animal person into the fort here and there.

[Roraborialisforealis]

If you're not a Miner, bookkeeper or broker,  you get drafted in randomly.

Miners are the hardest working dwarfs in my fortress,  and hard to replace.  The pencil pushers keep track of the money and trade,  so I can't have them getting killed off.
Everyone else is expendable.

Individual choice melee/ranged.  No uniform.  Usually leather and chain for armor.  Just a quick and dirty militia to get the job done.
..though I sort of wish there was an 'individual choice armor'  thing.

To keep everyone on their toes,  i'll randomly release a caged goblin or animal person into the fort here and there.

Lol. I find that training too many legendary miners is the way to go, then making them go pump operator back in forth till 7 are legendary. Sending the 7 heavily armored into intensive danger room training, then adding in 3 legendary hunters and then putting them the intensive danger room training. Untouchable good-stated dwarfs come out of it.

[Doughnut189]

I generally don't have a military, so much as a task squad to take care of the odd troll that gets past the traps.

The task squad consists of conscripted useless migrants with no friends.
The size of the task squad is 5-10 dorfs, depending on urgency.
They are equipped with a candy short sword and whatever armour was peeled off the goblins in the last ambush/siege.

[Varnifane]

WHY WOULD YOU MAKE YOUR BABIES INTERESTED IN SPEARS. lol.

Are you a spambot?

[Roraborialisforealis]

WHY WOULD YOU MAKE YOUR BABIES INTERESTED IN SPEARS. lol.

Are you a spambot?

[Doughnut189]

WHY WOULD YOU MAKE YOUR BABIES INTERESTED IN SPEARS. lol.

Are you a spambot?

They're on to us, Rora!

[Roraborialisforealis]

Beep. I have no mind. Buy my product.

[Saint]

Within my caste system.
Elite Guard: The ledgendary fighters, they have been trained for years, currently I have only ever trained two, generaly they use whatever weapons they want, specificaly picked and trained from the end of dwarven childhood, they are the best of the best.

Royal Guard: The top of the security force, usualy part of the upperclass children and sometimes slum militia that have managed to get this far. The best of the non specially trained units. Used to guard the administrative sector and royalty only.

High Guard: Higher spectrum of the security force, guards the sky-base, aka the upper class area of the fort.

Mid Guard: Guards the farm and peasant area below the sky-fort, keeps the lower fort safe from the slums.

Slum Militia: The hardly organized lump of poorly trained, poorly equiped dwarves who have tasked themselves with protecting the slums.

Combat engineers: Group of specialized fortification and defense operators, generaly used for seige engines and complex defense systems.

Defense engineers: Useless slum rats who've dedicated their time to being expendable and building trenches, fortifications and walls.

Generaly elite guardsmen are put through incredably destructive, dangerous and combat intensive training, most don't survive even with the advanced medical help my dwarves can produce. Danger rooms are for panzys.

later I shall also build an under guard to protect the cave colony.

[Lexx]

Mine hinges around a single military dwarf in my starting group with levels in fighter, dodger, a weapon skill, teacher and leader. The one with best toughness and healing attributes. Then the best migrants with military experience form the backbone of my military. Drilling with the militia leader or making crafts/engineering jobs when not training. Usually within the first 2 years this creates a squad that can hold back most early threats alone. Then as population and candidates allow I promote some of the best in the first squad to start training their own units. Usually filled with the less experienced military immigrants or spare dwarfs that have skills not essential for the fort. If attrition wears down the first squad the best of these newer squads get reassigned to bring the militia commanders squad back to strength. I also do the same with marksdwarves. But just start the first with the first crossbow experienced dwarf that arrives and build it from there.

[ohgoditburns]

The highest skilled dwarf in a craft gets to stay a civilian. All other males become soldiers. All other females become haulers.