Acrean Armed Forces

Royal Acrean Armed Forces
Reichsväret Reichswehr
Founded	1432
Service branches	Royal Acrean Army Royal Acrean Air Force Royal Acrean Navy
Headquarters	Trier
Leadership
King	Friedrich Leopold III
Minister of Defence	Manfred Kierkegaard
Field Marshal	Jürgen von Edel
Personnel
Military age	17
Conscription	Unenforced, 18
Available for military service	72.8 million males, age 16-40, 71.5 million females, age 16-40
Fit for military service	66.9 million males, age 16-40, 66.8 million females, age 16-40
Reaching military age annually	13.3 million males, 13.1 million females
Active personnel	1,291,000 personnel
Reserve personnel	720,000 personnel
Expenditure
Budget	406,055,410,424₤ ($487,242,130,402) in FY2020
Percent of GDP	3.8%

The Royal Acrean Armed Forces (Acrean: Reichsväret) encompass the Army, Navy, Air Force, and to an extent the national gendarmerie of the Kingdom of Acrea which collectively are responsible for the defence of the Acrean state and its overseas territories and dependencies. They also serve to promote Acrea's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts, and support humanitarian operations. They are headed officially by the King or Queen acting as commander-in-chief, but the constitution has delegated de facto authority over the military to the Chancellor. Acrea has the largest defence budget in Tyran by total amount, though not by percentage of its GDP, and constitutes the fourth largest military by number of personnel.

The military has played a central role in Acrean affairs since the creation of the modern Acrean state's first standing army in 1432, which is also considered to be the founding date of the Armed Forces. It has seen numerous conflicts involving the region's great powers since its founding, including numerous wars with Acrea's neighbouring Eracuran states over the course of nearly six centuries.

Personnel

Conscription

While the Acrean Armed Forces are an all-volunteer military, the Ministry of Defence still maintains an inactive conscription system. Acrean youth, upon turning 18, are required to be examined both physically and psychologically for military eligibility. If they are found eligible, then they are automatically registered by the Ministry of Defence and may be conscripted whenever the system is activated. There are numerous reasons for which someone may not be considered eligible; physical disability, lack of physical fitness, cognitive deficiencies, or mental health concerns are all reasons as to why an individual may be rejected. In addition, family circumstances may also make an individual ineligible- single parents are automatically ineligible to be conscripted. Religious concerns do not prevent someone from being registered or conscripted, and there is no right to conscientious objection. Conscription is not limited by gender. In 2009, the Reichstag voted to allow the extension of conscription to women, and the extension was put in place in 2010.

Women in the armed forces

The service of women in the Acrean military has historically been most prominent in the medical field, with women serving as nurses in medical corps since the 15th century. While these women were eligible for military pay and honours since 1506, women were not actually allowed to enlist or hold military rank until 1937, with Ministry of Defence orders establishing the Acrean Auxiliary Corps during the Eracuran Great War which simultaneously opened a number of roles to women. While few women were participated in combat for the duration of the conflict- primarily in specialist roles such as snipers- they served heavily in logistical, medical, and administrative roles. These units remained integrated following the war. By the 1960s, female participation into technician and other such roles expanding greatly, with the Acrean Air Force and Acrean Navy recognising granting its first distinguished graduate female aviators in 1970.

In 1980, the Ministry of Defence made recruitment of women to a wider array of roles within all branches an objective, and for the first time began recruitment campaigns specifically targeting women. The Air Force and Navy were notable in their efforts to diversify their personnel pools; aviation remains one of the most gender diverse areas within the Acrean military. Full gender equality in the Acrean military was instituted in 1989, with all roles in the military being fully open to women including special operations. In 2018, women made up 17% of the Acrean military, though certain areas such as aviation and medical care have a substantially higher percentage of female personnel than other areas such as the infantry, which remains male-dominant.