The Lakeside Division is primarily made up of units from the Reclamation Army, which is the NEU's primary armed forces. There are few reservists units that have been activated from the Homeland Corps as well, which have recently seen deployment in the South and the Wasteland.
A number of units fighting for the Lakeside Division are apart of the Foreign Legion, a branch of the NEU's armed forces that is made up of international citizens, mainly from other nations such as Texas, the South, Appalachia, Canada, or the Coalition. The Frontier Defense Forces are wasteland-raised militias that now fight for NEU interests.
It is an open secret that the NEU contracts private groups to protect its interests domestically and abroad, and the Lakeside Division does not shy away from this practice either. PMC "Hilltop" has a contract with the NEU to deploy to the Great Lakes, which has brought on its share of trouble.