the local/state police departments and the plethora of armed Federal Agencies are a much, much greater threat to your liberty than the US Army
For modern readers to understand the context of this debate, it is important to note that in the 18th century, there was no uniformed police force in either the US or the UK. In case of major disturbances, it was either the army or nothing.
The police have become a standing army and the results are exactly the same as feared by our founders. So much is wrong with modern law enforcement it's hard to imagine how the situation can be fixed. We need a complete redo of "law enforcement" starting with correctly calling the police "peace officers" and dropping any reference to "law enforcement". Force is something that should be associated with the military not public servants.
Some will argue that those who think the police are out of control are anti-police and this would be totally false. I think most who would agree with me are very pro police. The problem is what we have are not police at all but rather local military forces or "standing armies".
My understanding is the militias were totally inept and ineffective. The New York militia had its ass handed to it on an attempt to engage with armies in Canada.