 At the creation of the Irish Volunteers in November 1913, Hunter was immediately made Vice-Commandant of the 2nd Battalion Dublin Brigade, under Thomas MacDonagh.The good soldier, he would serve as either Commandant, Vice-Commandant or Captain as the situation required.While this was an endless source of confusion for the rank-and-file Volunteers, they all knew that they only needed to find Hunter and he would lead them on.