I will put here two suggestions, that I think will help the players by making the NPC more self-sufficient in terms of getting armor and tools/weapons.

1- Make shift click for with the NPC's, for equipping armor and tools/weapons.

2- Make the combat NPC's take gear (any usable weapon and armor) from their upkeep points, OR make an "armory" block from which the combat NPC will take weapons and armor once spawned and given the upkeep order.

==> These suggestions are made in order to lessen the micromanagement AND make gearing a "little" force of 10-20 soldiers easier.

Thanks for reading