Belfrasian Provincial Defence Force

Provincial Defence Force
File:PDF.png Flag of the Provincial Defence Force
Active	1995 - Present
Country	Belfras (1995-present)
Allegiance	King James I
Type	Army
Part of	Belfrasian Armed Forces
Headquarters	Kallen Spire
Nickname(s)	"Pitchforks"
Patron	HM King James I
Motto(s)	"In our defence, we rise."
Anniversaries	October 5th - Kings Day
Equipment manifest	Full inventory
Commanders
Chief Marshal of the PDF	General George F. Mannering.
General of the East	Maj. General Luis Bronkite
General of the West	Brig. General Natalie Ironhold

The Belfrasian Provincial Defence Force, or the Provincial Defence Force, or simply the PDF, is a part-time volunteer force within the Belfrasian Armed Forces. The PDF vastly outnumbers all the other forces within the Armed Forces combined but often lacks the level of training or consistent equipment quality. PDF Guardsmen regularly volunteer to serve overseas on operations alongside regular units and operate as a civil unit during peacetime. The current commander of the PDF is General George F. Mannering.

Mission

Doctrine

Activation

When a unit or individual inside the PDF is "activated" it simply refers to the fact that the person or unit in question has been placed on orders. The purpose and authority for that activation will determine limitations and duration of the activation. For example, if it is a Parliamentary activation, the unit will be on duty until otherwise stated and will have jurisdiction to move where ordered too. But if they were activated by the Provincial Governor then they have jurisdiction of their province only and limited powers.

Royal Duty

The PDF may be activated on order by either the Monarch or the Parliament of the Kingdom in the event of a national disaster or wartime situation. The deployment can be as long as necessary and has no constrains of jurisdiction.

Provincial Duty

The Provincial governor may active his/her provinces defence force for reasons of civil unrest, a provincial disaster or other reason which requires a military force to be mobilized. In such an event the governor is required to keep Parliament involved and to disband should the King or Prime Minister order it. The Jurisdiction of a Provincial deployment is limited to that province and has no jurisdiction in any other province and would be subject to charges if they should cross a provincial line without valid reason.

Personnel

Training

The Provincial Defence Forces minimum restrictions vary depending on which province you look at. For instance, the Kunarii province has a minimum age of sixteen and maximum age of forty-nine and a maximum serving age of sixty-four in a non-combat role.

Commissioned officers in the PDF are commissioned mainly through one of three sources: PDF Officer refresher training (PORT), Officer Candidates School (OCS), or the Belfrasian Military Academy for PDF duty specifically. Following commissioning, all PDF commissioned officers, regardless of accession route or further training requirements, attend basic training alongside recruits. At this point, second lieutenants, warrant officers and selected foreign officers are integrated into PDF units.

Enlisted guardsmen attend recruit training, or boot camp, at their provincial training center. Due to the significant differences between provinces, this could be a full military facility or a rented room in the town center. Training, regardless of duty, is ten weeks long with fresher training annually and events to further PDF Guardsmens skillsets frequently occurring. Following completion of basic training, Enlisted Guardsmen then attend combat training alongside regular forces, which varies in length. Most guardsmen train for eighteen days in combat training while regular forces continue on for another twenty-nine days. Afterward PDF guardsmen are promoted to full PDF status and assigned to their respective units.

Culture

The PDF has often been at the center of many provincial cultures, such as the Kunarii province which hosts events throughout the year angled toward the PDF. Kunarii province is also one of the only provinces in Belfras in which more than 50% of the population are part of PDF and often partake incourses held.

Equipment

Main article: Equipment of the Belfrasian Armed Forces

The the reforms, the PDF have utilized the same equipment as the normal Belfrasian Army but in larger numbers with more emphasis on supporting the army rather than acting as a serperate force. The standard uniform of the PDF is the MARPAT uniform often seen in usage around the world. PDF guardsmen are given their uniform when they enter duty and in different camouflage depending on their area of location or destined operational zone. The choice of glove and boot is up to the guardsmen in question, however it has to conform to camouflage and endurance policies given to the guardsmen prior to making their choice.

Infantry weapons

The PDF often use the AR5R1 rifle as their main weapon of choice for the vast majority of guardsmen while on active duty and opt to use the AR3R1/mod LA as a squad support weapon.