The word we translate as "magistrate" was the title of a tribal official, a tribunus ("of the tribes"). Here a basic division of the military and civilian branches applied, as well as the subjection of the military to the civilian. The working organizations of the tribe were called comitia (committees). They elected tribunes of plebs, "tribunes of the people", as well as 24 tribune militaries — 6 per legion — who were careerists with at least 5 or 6 years' service experience. A career would include both military and civilian offices. The 6 military tribunes were to be the senior staff of the legion.