Byzantine Armed Forces (Byzatium)

Byzantine Armed Forces
Αυτοκρατορικές Ρωμαϊκές Ένοπλες Δυνάμεις
Founded	21 April 1723
Current form	4 May 1948
Service branches	Army, Air Force, Navy
Headquarters	House of the Military, Costantinople
Leadership
Emperor of the Romans	Alexios X
Minister of Defence	Angelos Constantius Stathides
Chief of General Staff to the Roman Emperor	Athanasios Bardanes
Personnel
Military age	18
Conscription	2 years
Active personnel	742,357

The Byzantine Armed Forces, officially the Imperial Roman Armed Forces, are the military forces of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Subsidiary to the Armed Forces, and with military status, but outside of them, are the Imperial Gendarmerie and the Imperial Guard.

The military plays a crucial role in safeguarding the political system, the empire's territorial integrity, upholding Orthodox Christianity, and maintaining regional stability.

The Roman Emperor is the Commander of the Armed Forces.The Chief of the General Staff acts on behalf of the Commander-in-Chief on behalf of the Emperor. Coordinating the military relations of the Byzantine Armed Forces with other friendly states is the responsibility of the General Staff. Military leadership is drawn from a combination of experienced career officers loyal to the monarchy and leaders with strong ties to the Orthodox Church.

General staff

The Chief of the General Staff reports to Minister of Defence. General staff is responsible for:

• Preparing the Armed Forces and its personnel for military operations.
• Gathering military intelligence
• Organization and training of the Armed Forces
• Management of the logistic services

Also, the General Staff is in command of the Special Forces, which is not aligned to any force command within the Byzantine Armed Forces. The Special Forces get their orders directly from the General Staff of the Byzantine Armed Forces.

Chief of General Staff

The Chief of the General Staff is the most senior ranked officer in the Byzantine Armed Forces. The current Chief of the General Staff is Athanasios Bardanes. The Chief of the General Staff reports to the Roman Emperor. In times of war, the Chief of the General Staff assumes the technical-executive authority of Commander in Chief on behalf of the Roman Emperor.

The Chief of General Staff conducts the General Staff and is the main adviser to the Government and to the Minister of Defence on military issues. Through the Chiefs of Staff of the individual Armed Forces, he carries out the operational command of the Byzandtine Armed Forces.

The Chief of General Staff constructs the National Military Strategy after taking into consideration the suggestions of the General Staffs of the Armed Forces and, according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Defence, he manages and proposes the priority of the armament programs and suggests the general policy directions and priorities on every operational objective.

The Chief of the General Staff holds the fifth-highest rank in the state protocol list. It is customary for the Chief of the General Staff to have held the post of Chief or Army Staff prior to their appointment. Although it is not a legal requirement.

Air Force

The Byzantine Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the Byzantine Armed Forces. It is primarily responsible for the protection and sovereignty of Byzantine airspace but also provides air-power to the other service branches.

Army

The Byzantine Army is the land-based and the largest component of the Byzantine Armed Forces consisting of infantry, armoured, artillery, engineering units. It is responsible for defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Byzantine Empire; participating in peacekeeping operations; and providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

Navy

The Byzantine Navy, constitutes the naval warfare service branch of the Byzantine Armed Forces. The Byzantine Navy maintains several Marines and Special Operations units.

Marines

The Byzantine Navy maintains two Marine Brigades:

• 1st Marine Brigade
• 2nd Marine Brigade

Special Operations units

The Byzantine Navy maintains four Naval Special Forces Detachments:

• 11th Naval Special Forces Reconnaissance Detachment
• 32nd Naval Special Forces Reconnaissance Detachment
• 63rd Naval Special Forces Reconnaissance Detachment
• 74th Naval Special Forces Reconnaissance Detachment