Themiclesian Air Force Regiment

The Themiclesian Air Force Regiment (Shinasthana: 航校, gang-krawh, lit. "fleet-regiment"; abbr. TAFR) is the ground-based force of the Themiclesian Air Force, composed of a number of companies of riflemen and, later, special forces. Though called a "regiment", its size is not defined by that term and has fluctuated in response to the Air Force's need for security and other ground operations. The TAFR was founded in 1923 on the same grounds as the Tyrannian Royal Air Force's analogue, but its structure or training did not resemble that of the RAF. Currently, its duties include search and rescue operation for downed aircraft, protecting and capturing airfields, and special operations.

The TAFR was founded in 1923 by act of Parliament Hên 2 III C. c. 104, An act for the provision of land forces to the Themiclesian Air Force and other purposes. Prevoius to this arrangement, the TAF relied on local militias to protect its airfields and ambulances leased from hospitals to rescue downed aircraft, but the local authorities that were responsible for marshalling militiamen were not always reliable, and aircraft were, in a few instances, vandalized. For social reasons, some middle-class members of the Air Force also did not wish to rely on militiamen for their protection. Through the Air Secretary, who also managed civilian aviation and was concerned for the strategic security of both civil and military aviation infrastructure, permission was obtained to raise one company of professional soldiers for each air field the TAF used, that is five in 1923. The size of the TAFR increased during the Pan-Septentrion War, when intense aerial warfare was fought over Dzhungestan, eastern Themiclesia, and later northern Menghe. For the purpose of destroying enemy air fields, the TAFR trained its first commando squads in 1940.

See also

• Themiclesia