Proletarian Guard

The Proletarian Guard
La Guardia Proletaria
File:NASCNewMartialFlag.png The Flag of the Proletarian Guard
Founded	15. April. 2031
Service branches	Proletarian Guard Proletarian Guard Reserve
Headquarters	War Ministry Building, Veluna City
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	Nataliya Valinova
Proletarian Guard Secretary	Isiah Santiago Moreno
Chief of Defence	FMGPG Lawrence Aiden Brown
Personnel
Military age	18-50
Conscription	None during Peacetime
Active personnel	1,251,567
Reserve personnel	1,223,434
Expenditure
Budget	$1,250,116,424,020

The Proletarian Guard, or the Guard, is the Ground Arm of The Commonwealth Defense Force, the Professional Military Defense for the of The North American Socialist Commonwealth. It is nominally the first Commonwealth Defense Force branch, though this status is dubious considering that all branches of the Commonwealth Defense Force were formed on the same day. The Proletarian Guard is the inheritor and replacement for the United States Army, and many of the defectors from the US Army during the revolution formed the core of the Proletarian Guard. As a result the Proletarian Guard believes itself to be the inheritor of US Army Legacy along with all of the pros and cons of adopting that mantle.

The primary mission of the Proletarian Guard is "To protect and defend the lands of The North American Socialist Commonwealth from its enemies via dominance of the soil of the Commonwealth and its allies and to protect the rights of all peoples from egregious acts of tyranny as the Parliament of the Commonwealth defines". The Army is headed, government side by the CODFOR Department head, and by extension the War Minister of the Socialist Commonwealth. The highest ranking officer, and Chief of the Generalship holds the rank of Field Marshal General of the Proletarian Guard (which is an ad honorarium promotion from the rank Field Marshal General), whose aide and in absentia representative (assuming that the Chief is still alive) is the Guard Principle Sergeant Major. During fiscal year 2063, the strength of the Proletarian Guard was stated to be 1,200,000 active personnel, and 1,200,000 reserve personnel, along with 150,000 relevant government officials.

Mission

According to the laws that enabled to the formation of the Proletarian Guard the purpose of the Guard is: "To protect and defend the lands of the North American Socialist Commonwealth from its enemies via dominance of the soil of the Commonwealth and its allies and to protect the rights of all peoples from egregious acts of tyranny as the Parliament of the Commonwealth defines". In order to implement this mission the Proletarian Guard has set out a number of strategic objectives that it follows. These tenets are the basis of its operational doctrine. They are as follows:

• Secure the borders of the Commonwealth.
• Defend those who cannot defend themselves through 'guarantees of independence' (as chartered by the Parliament and Congress of Soviets) and if need be through the construction of bases (if allowed by the host nations).
• Maintain alertness and response time in the event of an ally's call for aid.
• End wars quickly and limit destruction if possible.

History

Origins

The origins of the Proletarian Guard can be linked to the Revolution, through the Citizen's Defense Militias. These revolutionary guard were established during the revolution to aid in protecting against counter-revolutionary forces. At the end of the revolution and during the era of the provisional government, there was a fundamental divide in the Citizen's Defense Militias, some, who were mostly former US Army Personnel who joined during or after the revolution believed that forming a professional standing army would be key to the eventual defense of the post-revolutionary state, whereas the other portion, largely civilian in nature opposed the idea of professional militaries viewing them as the basis of tyranny. This debate took place also in the constitutional debates, especially throughout the month of February when the defense concerns of the Provisional Government were being addressed. Eventually, a compromise was reached and the Citizen's Defense Militias were split, with a professional standing force (CODFOR) being formed as a permanent unit and the volunteer militias would be kept to be activated in case of invasion. The Proletarian Guard was formed along with the Commonwealth Navy and Commonwealth Air Force as CODFOR.

Pre-Opening

Before the opening the almost entirely insular Socialist Commonwealth had little need of the professional armies and they languished as a result as equipment became outdated and wasn't replaced, training regimes began to lapse, and spare parts ran short. In short, the Proletarian Guard degenerated into a state lower than many of the CIDFOR units that weren't being called into active duty. This state changed beginning in 2040, as the Socialist Commonwealth began to realize that threats were actually present throughout the world once more. A crash improvement began bringing the Proletarian Guard back up to speed with world threats. By the start of 2045, much of the Guard had been rearmed with 2PR (2nd Post-Revolutionary) Generation Equipment.

The Proletarian Guard was heavily involved in the the Northern War, helping to win it quickly and decisively a month after its opening. However, the Guard took far more casualties than any other arm of the Commonwealth Defense Force as a result of the highly effective hit and run raiding tactics of Enclave Forces, and the relatively inexperience of Guard personnel. As a result much of the fighting was won only with intervention of the Commonwealth Navy or Air Force. After the conflict, the Guard served as the primary occupation force as part of the Annexation and Reintegration Program that the Commonwealth, also during this time the Guard learned from its experience and began adapting much more fluidic tactics a trend that would continue after the opening and into the Phonencian War.

Phonencian War & Coup

Arguably the most controversial war of the Proletarian Guard's service life, in 2057, after a failed arms shipment, the Commonwealth formally backed the remnant of a prior Communist Revolution in Phonencia. Though deployment was initially very small, it grew rapidly and eventually an entire Corps of the Guard was located within a small portion of the Phonencian Highlands. This deployment was short lived however, as the coup that was staged at the same time resulted in Guard infighting, and the results of the coup bringing in a stand down order to the Expeditionary Force effectively ending the conflict.

Meanwhile, back in the Commonwealth, the War Minister used the foreign conflict to draw the most die hardly loyal regiments of the Guard away from the mainland allowing him to use those loyal to him to stage a coup attempt, and force the other units into submission through intimidation of his own troops. This coup was initially successful through the kidnapping of the President (and attempted assassination) as well as the massacre of the Parliament. However, as the assassination failed so too did the coup, with the aid of Phonencian Special Forces, and the timely broadcasting of a speech by the President the rightful government of the Commonwealth took power once again and immediately ended the conflict in Phonencia as it came to light, the true nature of the conflict.

Arthuristan War & After

In 2062, the Guard intervened once more was engaged in a foreign war, this one an active civil war in the nation of Arthurista. Once again the Commonwealth deployed a Corps sized element to foreign soil. Initially Arthuristan loyalists were on the defensive standing against repeated attacks by the rebels. However, after the 2nd Battle of Walsall, the Loyalist captured the initiative and began to roll back the enemy. The rebels, making use of Ralkovian money hired extensive amounts of mercenaries to bolster their own forces and they held out tenaciously, eventually capitulating after weeks of bloody fighting.

This was the last major deployment the Commonwealth has made on foreign soil, and since then the Commonwealth has begun to lick its wounds and learn from the experiences of its wars. Since then, the Commonwealth has remained largely out of foreign affairs barring a few very small peacekeeping deployments, and basing of troops in countries under the protection of the Commonwealth.

Organization

The Proletarian Guard is entirely a volunteer professional force, and is largely maintained at full strength during times of peace and war, though roughly half of the Guard is comprised of reservist troops who are not active and mobilized except in times of war. The reserves are largely composed of Guard personnel who have served a full term of service and want to transfer instead of maintaining active status. Reservists and Full Time personnel are both considered the "Regular Army" to separate them from the Citizens Defense Force. Since the inception of the Guard, the Reserves have not yet been fully mobilized though they have been placed on an alert status three times.

Generally, Organization is hierarchical in the following fashion:

Unit	Commanded By
Engagement or Engineering (E-Team)	Corporal or Sergeant
Squad	Sergeant
Platoon	Lieutenant or 1st Lieutenant
Company	Tenant
Battalion	Major
Regiment	Colonel
Brigade	Brigadier General
Division	Divisioner General
Corps	Corps General
Army	General Proper
Army Command	Field Marshal General

Components & Commands

The Proletarian Guard is broken down into Components, Army Groups, and Armies both of which are collectively referred to as Commands. Commands are usually commanded by a member of the General Staff (Corps Commander or higher), and are the largest formations that the Proletarian Guard contains, functionally going beyond combat formations and into the level of Administrative and and Governmental Organizations in their own right. The main difference between Components and Armies is their primary functions, Components are generally the high level organizations in charge of functions that are largely independent of front line combat, whereas Armies are by definition High Level Combat Commands. The Commands are as follows:

Component Commands

Command	Current Commander	Headquarters
Staff Command (STCOM)	FMGPG Lawrence Aiden Brown	Veluna City, Columbia
Materiel & Transport Command (MATCOM)	FMG Louisa Galvez	Veluna City, Columbia
Training Command (TCOM)	GEN Issac Westerholt	Camp Meyers, Southland
Special Operations Command (SOCOM)	GEN Marjorie Colvin	Fort Victoria, Columbia
Reserve Command (RESCOM)	COR Karen Braun	Veluna City, Columbia
Medical Command (MEDCOM)	GEN Joseph Hand	Veluna City, Columbia
Engineering Corps (ENCOR)	COR Alvin Stewart	Veluna City, Columbia

Army Commands

Army/Group	Current Commander	Headquarters; Wartime Headquarters
Capital Army Command (CAC)	FMG Delora Hooker	Veluna City, Columbia; Fort Victoria,Columbia
Army Command East (ACE)	FMG Carlos Ortiz	New York, New England; Fort Marshall, New England
Army Command Center (ACN)	FMG Gabriella Espada Marquez	Chicago, Lakeland; Fort Whiteman, Plains
Army Command West (ACW)	FMG Jackson Blaine	Denver, Montañas; Fort Armistad, Vesper
Army Commmand Verde (ACM)	FMG Anibál Ortega Quiñones	Castille, Isla Verde; Fort Marenque, Isla Verde
Army of the Veiled Isle (ARMVI)	GEN Lucrezio Altare	Fairhaven, Veiled Isle; Fort Corazone, Veiled Isle
Army of Norland (ARN)	GEN Joseph Brigg	Anchorage, Norland; Fort Frontier, Norland

High Level Structure

The Proletarian Guard is largely organized into its Commands all of which are theoretically subservient to the Staff Command, given its status of a Command of High Ranking Officers. Each command under Staff Command is theoretically equal and interoperable, with the exception of Special Operations Command which operates independently of the rest of the Proletarian Guard. Underneath the Commands are Armies and Corps (which may replace commands under certain circumstances). The lowest Bureaucratic Organizational unit is the Division which is also the highest level maneuver unit. Divisions are the primary organizational level on the day to day basis.

In times of peace, Army Commands are nowhere near full strength as reserves are largely off duty during this time, and many full time units are in garrison. In peacetime, when demobilized, Army Commands tend to have a Corps or two actively on duty. Oftentimes this corps is referred to as the "Rapid Response Corps", the unit that can be rapidly deployed in a reasonable time frame to anywhere it is deemed necessary. Most Army Commands, excepting the Norland Army has one of these Rapid Response Corps on hand.

Special Operations Command

Special Operations Command is formed to operate independently of the main force of the Guard. As such it is theoretically detached from the traditional Guard Command Structure. The Special Operations Command is host to the vast majority of Special Forces units in the whole of CODFOR. In particular, SOCOM plays host to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Light Infantry Regiments as well as the AL2S Organization, the Para Scouts Battalion, SPECFOR Mountaineer, Extreme Latitude, and Black Operations units. Each of these units have their own specialization, but all are to some varying degree "elite of the elite", placing them nominally well above the CAC 1st Corps, which is considered the preeminent Regular Formation in the guard.

SOCOM is also host to the Proletarian Corps of Magi, a small but slowly growing organization of military trained magic wielders. Given their own nature as a "secret weapon" these magi are kept a secret unless their skills are needed. Unlike other SOCOM units the Corps of Magi is not generally set up to operate as a single unit, rather they are broken off into smaller groups and inserted into regular units on an as needed basis.

Personnel

The Proletarian Guard is an all volunteer force, conscription (barring the usual Wartime Draft) has been rendered unconstitutional. During times of war, Class 1 Draftees (those with desirable physical and mental characteristics, or skillsets that the Guard is in short supply of), may be drafted into the Guard, though a draft has never occurred in the Commonwealth's history, and is unlikely to occur barring an invasion of the Commonwealth. Generally, Guard service members make a career out of service in the military and retention rates are high, though there is still a healthy percentage of people who join the Guard for the minimum allowable time (4 years). Average length of service for the Guard is 14.7 years,for Enlisted and 21.2 years for Commissioned personnel.

Enlisted candidates spend 6 months in Basic Indoctrination and Training Camp, being trained in the basic skills of soldiery, as well as being brought up to an appropriate level of physical and mental fitness for duty. This is then followed by a brief vetting and sorting process to place candidates into appropriate fields of advanced training, eventually graduating and moving on to active duty. Advanced training can take anywhere from a couple of additional months for some fields (such as maintenance, transport, and basic clerical) to a year or more (linguistic or high level mechanical work). After completing at least one tour of duty soldiers may apply for further specialized training, which will give them more technical skills, specialized training, or perhaps candidacy for entry into a Special Forces unit.

Officer Candidates must complete University with a degree appropriate to Guard major requirements, and have completed University Officer Pre-Basic Training School while attending University. Candidates that pass this benchmark must then complete Basic Indoctrination and Training Camp, to similarly learn skills of soldiery, though they must only spend a period of three months in camp, as they are expected to already have met physical and mental standards through training at University. Officer Candidates will then be trained in Officer Candidate School, and finally go through advanced officer training programs before going to a post with a Commission.

Generally upon completion of a tour of service, soldiers have the option of signing on for another term in active service, joining a reserve unit, or leaving. Continuation of service for many is a viable option, and most do continue to serve. The Reserves are generally inactive barring monthly training sessions, and being called up in times of international crisis or in the event of a state of emergency. Some members (especially officers) opt to remain in active service due to higher chances of promotion. Leaving service after a single term is not uncommon, with roughly 20% of service members leaving after 4 years.

Commissioned Officers

Commissioned Officers are the Leadership of the Proletarian Guard. They begin their tenure before actually receiving commissioning, training while in university and during basic camp training. Those who are in such training are given the nominal rank of Cadet. While in university they are expected to study in a major that the Guard needs, or one that otherwise fits into appropriate guidelines for a future in military service. Upon graduation they will go to BITC further acquiring basic leadership skills alongside soldiery skills by being placed as "bunk leads", and generally acting as trainee leadership. These skills are further honed in Officer Candidate School, at the end of which successful cadets will be awarded their commissions and promoted to the O-1 rank of Lieutenant (VTOL pilots are given an equivalent rank of Pilot Officer).

Lower Ranking Officers (referred to as Line Officers or "Bar Officers" due to the bars that appear on their rank insignia) are given direct command of low level formations, starting at the Platoon Level and working up to a Battalion Level. If further promotion is desired they will be required to pass staff college, at which point they will be entrusted to greater levels of responsibility eventually ending up as defacto commander of the entire Army with the "Chain Independent" Ad Honorarium Rank of Field Marshal of the Proletarian Guard.

Low salaries for Commissioned Officers start at UTC40,000, and the current FMPG earned UTC125,000 in 2063. Typically promotions occur at 2 year intervals though this rate can be dramatically different depending on the particular focus of the Officer in question. Though it is rare, enlisted personnel may occasionally become officers as the result of performing well in the case of a brevetted promotion. Such individuals will then be put through OCS and graduate with commission. These "Mustangs" are among the most well respected of the officer class given their high levels of practical experience in addition to leadership capabilities. A special case has also been made for Magi, given the difficult nature of their training and the strenuous nature of their job are given Commissions despite their being used as "grunts" in the military.

Commissioned Officers are taught and expected to be leaders first and foremost. Though tactical ability and a fine mind are very much traits that are expected of an officer, a cool head and force of presence in a stressful situation is deemed more important than these in many fields. Officers are also expected to be honorable and to lead by example as well as through command and force of will. One who is needlessly wanton with the lives of those under them, or one who is a coward, a fool, or is otherwise incompetent will be very quickly removed from command, and in many cases from the Guard entirely.

Overall, about 8% of the Guard, or roughly 192,000 members of the Guard are Commissioned Officers.

File:Rank Insignia CommissionedProlGuard.png

Rank Insignia of Proletarian Guard Commissioned Officers

Enlisted Soldiers

Enlisted Soldiers are the bulk of the Proletarian Guard, performing all of the little things that keep the Guard going as well as providing virtually all of its fighting strength. There are no university requirements to join the Guard as an Enlisted Soldier, one simply joins. Before officially becoming Guardsmen, one must go through BITC and advanced training to learn the skills of soldiery as skills relevant to their profession. At the end of this period, they will become Guardsmen and full members of the Guard.

Low ranking enlisted soldiers, oft referred to as Guardsmen (regardless of actual rank). If one wants to go past the rank of E-3, they must attend Non-Commissioned Officer School, learning tenants of leadership as they transition into a future as an NCO. NCOs, as part of the final part of NCO school must work as drill instructors with a class of BITC students, thus seeding a veteran's skills into the minds of raw recruits, and some remain in this position as permanent drill instructors. The one exception to this process are the few soldiers who perform well outside the requirements of their jobs to perform a deed of great heroism and earn the ad honorarium and actually chain independent rank of Color Sergeant and are, regardless of former status referred to as Non-Commissioned Officers, though many opt to train new recruits anyway. These soldiers are a rarity, holding colors, and leading color guards on parade or acting as the seniormost sergeant in a Regiment, oft the Colonels adjutant in service. The highest rank achievable for Enlisted soldiers is Guard Principle Sergeant Major, of which there is only one.

Freshly recruited guardsmen earn a salary of UTC25,000 and the current GPSM earned a salary of UTC55,000 in 2063. Promotions typically occur at 3-4 year intervals dependent on the specific task an Enlisted soldier performs.

Enlisted Soldiers are expected to be candid yet dutiful "sometimes referred to as fighting smart not necessarily hard". In other words, a soldier is allowed, maybe even expected to give advice to the officer commanding them but are also supposed to follow these orders. Soldiers are to exercise a measure of initiative, performing actions to improve their efficiency or survivability while performing their duties. This is especially true of a Non-Commissioned Officer, who, as a veteran of many years has vastly more practical experience than a junior officer, and is therefore meant as a voice of experience for the officer.

Overall 92% or roughly 22,080,000 personnel in the Guard are Enlisted... making them the clear majority of military personnel in the Guard.

File:Rank Insignia EnlistedProlGuard.png

Rank Insignia of Proletarian Guard Enlisted Soldiers

Reserves

The Reserves are a large organization within The Proletarian Guard. The Reserves are comprised of 1,200,000 soldiers, half of the total manpower of The Guard. Reservists are drawn from a pool of soldiers who have already completed at least one full enlistment period, and who have opted to move into the Reserves rather than continue in Active Service. Reservists are generally speaking, kept inactive to be pressed into service only in a true state of emergency, and are therefore free to pursue a civilian career. Reservists, in order to keep their skills up are required to attend monthly weekend training sessions and annual week long exercises.

Reservist formations, if brought into active service are generally organized into Light and Mechanized Infantry Divisions, with a handful of Armored units as well, and serve alongside active forces on the field of battle. The Reserves have not yet been called into active service, but have been put on alert three times in the history of the Commonwealth, the most recent time being during the Arthuristan Civil War.

Operational Doctrine

As previously stated, the Mission of the Proletarian Guard is the basis of doctrine. Doctrine itself is designed predominantly around defensive strategy, as the Commonwealth currently has no major territorial ambitions, with regards to the mission of the guard. Doctrine is largely laid out as follows.

1) Secure the borders of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth, seeking to defend itself will place bases in strategic locations (such as those near important arms industry, nuclear, or similar facilities). From these bases, the Proletarian Guard is sent in detail to protect other important installations from surprise attack or from terroristic acts. Additionally, bases close to the Commonwealth's borders are expected to send out border patrols as well to provide a deterrence against border incursions. In the case of actively being engaged in warfare, units are allowed (and indeed) encouraged to establish smaller field camps from which to engage in sorties against the enemy.

In the event of invasion, Guard formations are intended to be the primary conventional combatants against the invader. Officially, the Guard uses deep defense as its primary source of defensive strategy. Formations are expected to abandon strategically unimportant locations, and perform a fighting withdrawal trading land for invading lives. Generally formations in a defensive situation are split up into two categories depending on the status of reserve forces. If reserves are active, they will act as a "standoff force" i.e. the force the performs holding actions to slow an offensive into the country, while Active Forces would be a "mobile reserve" which would react to prevent encirclement and destruction of a standoff force, and to provide a core force for counter-attack; mobile reserves would additionally be defenses for strategically important locations. If reserves have not been mobilized Motorized, Light, and similar forces would act as the Standoff where as Mechanized, Air Assault & Armored formations would serve as the mobile reserve.

If tactical conditions will allow, the Guard will be the force to launch a counter invasion of an invading country. These actions primarily serve to weaken the attacker's ability to reinforce their own invasion force and to serve as a distraction for the invading nation. If the destruction of enemy invading forces doesn't result in a peace treaty, the Guard will attempt to completely destroy the hostile nation's ability to make war and put an end to their threat.

2) Defend those who cannot defend themselves through 'guarantees of independence' (as chartered by the Parliament and Congress of Soviets) and if need be through the construction of bases (if allowed by the host nations).

For those countries which the Commonwealth favors, and yet are too weak, militarily speaking to be considered strategic allies, the legislature of the Commonwealth will issue a Guarantee of Independence. If one is issued, the Guard will first perform armament and training duties for those nations that need it, supplying nations weapons, and lending trainers to increase the training standards in the host country. If deemed "high risk" and with the permission of the host nation the Guard will place bases in the host nation to act as a deterrent. In the event that the host nation is invaded the Guard will send an Expeditionary Force to defend the host in a similar fashion to that in case of invasion of the NASC itself.

3) Maintain alertness and response time in the event of an ally's call for aid.

Quite simply, the Proletarian Guard is to maintain a high active force, in the form of the 1st Corps, which is meant to respond quickly to help in case a strategic ally is attacked. This force is expected to be perpetually at "100% readiness", which in the definitions of the Guard, means that it can, for the most part be deployed anywhere in the world within a time frame of a week. This provision is however one with largely legal implications rather than military.

4) End wars quickly and limit destruction if possible.

A primary focus of the the Guard is to limit the destruction wrought be war if it is possible. In particular this means limiting civilian casualties and damage to non-war critical civilian infrastructure. This is especially true in the case of defensive operations where destruction would mean the destruction of NASC infrastructure and lives. Given the destructive and chaotic nature of war, this means that the primary objective of the guard in this respect is to end wars as quickly as possible and to engage in maneuver rather than static warfare. Often times this mission goal is in conflict with the others and is oft regarded as the least important, and commanders in the field are to engage in pragmatic acts if those are deemed necessary for the war effort.

In an offensive war, this takes shape in maneuver warfare, ideally with Armor assets forming a spearhead to punch through enemy defenses while utilizing mechanized and air assault assets to exploit these gaps and seize ground. Theoretically an expeditionary force, or one launching a counter-attack is to act surgically destroying a section in a line and encircling a wider enemy force with the objective of severing their supply lines and if possible forcing a surrender rather than an assault. Alternatively, on a smaller scale it would mean engaging in sporadic "hit and run" raids on opposing forces, attacking quickly and leaving quickly rather than getting bogged down in a stand up quagmire battle.

Equipment

Main Article: Equipment of the Commonwealth Defense Force

See Also: List of Commonwealth Defense Force Augmentations

See Also: Artillery 2050 Program

See Also: Commonwealth Defense Force Uniforms

Military Magic

Military magic is a relatively rare sight in The Proletarian Guard, which currently has a monopoly on it within CODFOR. This is due to the very limited number of magically attuned people who are also capable of military service, and competition for those persons with numerous Veiled Isle Agencies. Currently there are a couple thousand people in the military who are part of the Magus Group of the Guard.Military mages are treated like specialists in The Proletarian Guard, and are therefore offered Commissions automatically. Due to the fact that use of magic is often tiring to the practitioner Guard mages are often taught more conventional means of performing to their specializations as well as being sanctioned to use magic.

Mages are generally classified along three lines. The first group, the combat mages are used in a fairly straightforward fashion supporting troops with offensive spells and destroying the enemy both with their magic and by conventional means. The second, healers, are also fairly straightforward, they help Combat medics in the discharging of their duties, and using healing magics and medicine to stabilize and heal injured soldiers. The last group, oft the best from an available pool are known as Guardians, these mages are augmenters of the troops, they can cast wards, and inspire troops through magical and oratory means. Guardians are usually also versed in combat and healing magics as well, and are the most powerful in the Guard.

For a list of spells, and the rules by which The Commonwealth's magic system works please consult Commonwealth Magic.