The Role of the Enforcement Mechanism in a Republic

In a republic the enforcement mechanism becomes autonomous from the people itself. Unlike an Athenian thing where like everyone's either on a ship because they're part of the navy or they can go strap on their fucking shield and grab your big-ass spear right? The state is like Jerry and his friend like Patrick Kliss or whatever the fuck but you know what I'm trying to say there are these sort of like warrior democracies that exist in various places around the world.