United Communes Defense Forces

Messidorian Armed Forces
Forces Armées du Messidor Iɣskrbiln n Mgrawi
File:Messidorian Armed Forces Emblem.svg Emblem of the Messidorian Armed Forces
File:Messidor Army Emblem.png File:Messidor Naval Jack.png File:Messidor Roundel.png Roundels of the Messidorian Army Corps, Navy Corps, and Air Corps
Founded	1839 (1839)
Service branches	File:Messidor Army Emblem.png Army Corps File:Messidor Naval Jack.png Navy Corps File:Messidor Roundel.png Air Corps Black Guards (inactive)
Leadership
President of the Union	Yolande-Minerve Saverne
Commissioned Chairperson	General Rezki Tinifsan
Personnel
Military age	18-55
Conscription	Voluntary service only
Active personnel	102,800 total: Army Corps: 55,200 Navy Corps: 31,500 Air Corps: 16,100

The Messidorian Armed Forces (Audonic: Forces Armées du Messidor, Tamaziɣt: Iɣskrbiln n Mgrawi) is the unified military forces of the Messidor Union. Each element of land, sea, and air forces are incorporated as a corps, the Army Corps, Navy Corps, and Air Corps, respectively. Service is voluntary and the Army Corps and Navy Corps do not have active reserves. The Air Corps retains a reserve fleet which is theoretically filled by commercial pilots who have signed on as reservists.

The Messidorian Armed Forces are headed by the Directorate of Defence and the Armed Forces Executive Committee. The Director of Defence is appointed by the President of the Union and is accountable to the Workers' Congress and the civilian population of the Messidor Union more broadly. The Armed Forces Executive Committee is a council of elected officers and the enlisted Corps Sergeant Majors or Corps Chief of each corps.

History

The Messidorian Army and Navy Corps were founded in 1839, 8 years after the founding of the Messidor Union. The formation of a standing military was a contentious issue among the various syndicates who had originally called to rely upon civil militias organized at a local level rather than a central military. After the loss of northern Kirthan in 1833, the notion that such a force could effectively protect the Union was effectively dispelled, though it took a further 6 years before the exact details of the Messidorian Armed Forces would be determined. From the outset, the Army and Navy Corps were small, professional, volunteer forces which were organized under a federal union. Merovian and later Aɣmatian factories ensured that they were well-equipped and supplied, though the forces established an enduring reputation of poor discipline. Despite their reputation, the first major deployment of the Messidorian Army Corps in the Annexation of the Timna Strip in 1919 was a great success. The Messidorian Navy Corps served nearly the entirety of its first century and a half of existence as a patrol and deterrence fleet for ships making the transit across the Periclean Sea. During the Liberation of Northern Kirthan in 1950-51, the Navy Corps ran blockades around the coast of Kirthan and prevented any seaborne assault. They also saw major surface combat during the Fourth West Scipian War. The Messidorian Air Corps was founded in 1920 and rounded out the three branches. Elements of the Messidorian intelligence services are also incorporated into the armed forces, specifically, the Special Intelligence Regiment of the Army Corps, which conducts military and signals intelligence.

Structure

The structure of the Messidorian Armed Forces is unusual for most nations but ultimately consistent with the Union's own logic. While elsewhere officers are trained and awarded a commission, and a strict military hierarchy is followed, each unit level of the Messidorian Armed Forces elect their commanders, i.e.: an infantry section elects its sergeant, a ship elects its captain, and the general staff is elected by its branch of service. Eligibility for commissioned roles is often subject to criteria of education or seniority. It is this particular element of the armed forces' structure that bewilders more disciplined military forces in the world. For their part, officers and enlisted members of the Messidorian Armed Forces hold that the system creates a greater sense of camaraderie and investment in the service.

The combined armed forces are overseen by the Directorate of Defence Armed Forces Committee. The committee is chaired by the most senior of the elected members who are commanders of each of the three branches. The Director of Defence is also a member of the committee. The present chairperson of the committee is General Rezki Tinifsan. Below the committee, each branch has its own general staff composed of the commanders of its subgroups and their staff.

The Army Corps is composed of twenty regiments and an air component divided among two divisions: one based in Aɣmatia and the other in East Merovia. At an operational level, the regiments are organized into 10 brigades, six in Aɣmatia and four in East Merovia. While conscription is unconstitutional in the Messidor Union, the Black Guards were previously raised as a mass volunteer force, though they are presently inactive. There is no standing reservist force in the Army Corps.

The Navy Corps operates under a single unified fleet - the Periclean Fleet. The formal organization of the fleet is much looser than the Army Corps and most of the officers maintain the rank of "Captain", taking on command of larger formations only for the duration of a particular deployment. Presently, the Navy Corps has a few active deployments in the Periclean protecting the corridor between Merovia and Aɣmatia.

The Air Corps has two air divisions that are not strictly organized along geographic lines. Each division has 5 wings which may have as many as 72 aircraft each or as few as 15 according to the wing's role. Unlike both the Army Corps and the Navy Corps, the Air Corps has 6 air reserve squadrons that fly the dated but not yet obsolete AAB-F32/B3 Tiara fighter aircraft.

Messidorian Army Corps

The Messidorian Army Corps counts over 55,200 members across two divisions; one based in Merovia and the other in Aɣmatia. The Army Corps is also supported by a number of employees and government workers. Founded in 1839, the Army Corps began as an organizing body for many armed militias across the Union. By the 1850s, the Army Corps developed into a professional fighting force. The last militia forces were disbanded or organized into professional reserves by the early 20th century.

Despite the population gap between Aɣmatia and Merovia, Army Corps personnel are distributed relatively equally between the two nations. The majority of training is conducted in southern Aɣmatia, but soldiers are trained in multiple environments. The forces of the Army Corps count twenty-two regiments. Regiments are divided into brigade groups at an operational level. Messidorian brigades are relatively large, formed typically of an armoured regiment paired with an infantry regiment plus supporting elements.

Equipment

Model	Image	Origin	Type	Notes
CC-T84/B2		Messidor	Helmet
CC-XO59/A2		Ostrozava	Gas mask
JC-T85/B1		Messidor	Combat vest
PC-T66/A		Messidor	Camouflage	Arid digital camouflage
PC-T66/B		Messidor	Camouflage	Temperate digital camouflage

Small arms

Model	Image	Origin	Type	Calibre	Notes
Small arms
FA-M45/D2 Rzawl		Messidor	Assault rifle	8×35mm	Standard service rifle
FR-X(O-NO)23/B3 Asmawi		North Ottonia Ostrozava	Battle rifle	8×57mm	Former service rifle, in reserve
PA-M35/A2 Isque		Messidor	Pistol	9×20mm	Standard service pistol
PR-M62/A3		Messidor	Revolver	9×33mmR 9×20mm	Provided after a decade of service, in limited use with special forces
FR-M05/C1 Lafliš		Messidor	Precision rifle	8×57mm	Standard precision rifle
PM-M32/B1 Imik		Messidor	Submachine gun	9×20mm
FM-M21/A3 Stulskabus 8		Messidor	Medium machine gun	8×57mm	Section support weapon and vehicle-mounted machine gun
FM-M03/A3 Stulskabus 13		Messidor	Heavy machine gun	13×99mm	Vehicle-mounted machine gun
FRCM-M70/A1		Messidor	Anti-matériel rifle	13×99mm	In limited use with special forces
Mle 5/8		Messidor	Bolt-action rifle	7.5×57mm	Former service rifle, in ceremonial use, conversion to precision rifles
LG-M58/A1 Issoufir		Messidor	Grenade mortar	50mm
G-XNO20/A1 Dikra		North Ottonia	Hand grenade

Vehicles

Model	Image	Origin	Type	Armament	Notes
Armoured vehicles
CB-A77/A2 Mirage		Messidor Ostrozava North Ottonia Tsurushima	Third generation main battle tank	1 × 120mm cannon 2 × 8mm machine gun	Co-developed with the Ostrozavan BTv.78 series, the North Ottonian M15/VII series, and the Tsurushiman Type 90
CB-A20/C3 Lancier		Messidor	Second generation main battle tank	1 × 105mm cannon 1 × 25mm autocannon 1 × 8mm machine gun
CS-A20/F2 Arbaléte		Messidor	Fire support vehicle	2 × 25mm autocannons 4 × ATGM launchers 2 × 50mm grenade launchers 1 × 13mm machine gun 1 × 8mm machine gun
VCI-A42/A3 Baɣu		Messidor	Infantry fighting vehicle	1 × 25mm autocannon 1 × 8mm machine gun
VCI-A79/A1 Ušan		Messidor	Infantry fighting vehicle	1 × 25mm autocannon 1 × 8mm machine gun
VRR-A42/B1 Basset		Messidor	Reconnaissance vehicle	1 × 105mm cannon 1 × 13mm machine gun 1 × 8mm machine gun	VRR wheeled variant, VRC tracked variant
TB-A45/A1 Forteresse		Messidor	Armoured personnel carrier	1 × 13mm machine gun	Ambulance, command vehicle, and engineering variants
Artillery
CA-A20/D1 Martel		Messidor	Self-propelled howitzer	1 × 155mm howitzer 1 × 13mm machine gun
CA-A20/E2 Zizouar		Messidor	Self-propelled SAM platform	2 × SAM launchers
CA-A56/A2 Bernache		Messidor	Self-propelled rocket artillery	12 × 262mm rocket tubes
CA-A45/B2 Trébuchet		Messidor	Self-propelled ATGM launcher	4 × long-range ATGMs 1 × 8mm machine gun	Light ATGM launcher and 120mm mortar carrier variants
Light vehicles
CU-C56/A1 Dromadaire		Messidor	Utility, transport, and cargo vehicles
CU-XT53/A1 Linx		Tsurushima	Utility and transport vehicle		Converted civilian vehicle
Aircraft
HU-F34/A3 Félin		Messidor	Utility helicopter
HL-F35/A2 Frelon		Messidor	Heavy airlift helicopter
AU-F51/A1 Cachalot		Messidor	Airlift/refueling plane		Converted civilian aircraft

Field artillery and missiles

Model	Image	Origin	Type	Armament	Notes
Artillery
OC-M21/B1 Bélier		Messidor	Towed howitzer	1 × 155mm howitzer
MI-M30/C1 Colvert		Messidor	Heavy mortar	1 × 120mm mortar
Missiles
MP-M54/B1		Messidor	Short-range anti-tank guided missile
MLT-XO41/A3		Ostrozava	Long-range anti-tank guided missile
MCL-XW43/A2		Wazheganon	Light infrared homing missile		Licensed design produced in the Messidor Union
MAA-XW40/A1		Wazheganon	Short-range anti-air missile		Licensed design produced in the Messidor Union
MAA-M65/A1 Mika		Messidor	Medium-range anti-air missile

Messidorian Navy Corps

The Messidorian Navy Corps was formally established in 1839 and, unlike the Army Corps, had no effective predecessor. The first warships in 50 years were laid down in Aɣmatia shortly after. At present, the Navy Corps has 75 active warships in addition to several support vessels. The Periclean Fleet, the largest organizational unit of the corps, is headquartered in Port Isadore in Merovia, but the Union's shipbuilding industry is still largely based on Aɣmatia's coasts. Despite being generally restricted to the Periclean, the Navy Corps is effectively a blue water navy.

Vessels in active service

Class	Image	Role	Displacement (standard)	Armament	Number in service	Notes
Yu'tanuɣi-class amphibious assault ship		Amphibious assault ship	16,500 tons	4 × 25mm autocannons 4 × 13mm machine guns 2 × 8mm machine guns 2 × 6-cell CIWS 6 × helipads	3	Carries up to 16 helicopters, 42 armoured vehicles, 900 infantry, and 2 Jran-class landing craft
Tamdda-class destroyer		Guided-missile destroyer	7,500 tons	1 × 100mm naval gun 2 × 25mm autocannons 8 × Exocet MM40 Block 3C 1 × 64-cell VLS battery 2 × 6-cell CIWS 4 × 325mm torpedo tubes 2 × helipads	4	Carries two HAS-F55/B1 Dauphin helicopters
Tmassa II-class frigate		Anti-submarine frigate	3,200 tons	1 × 100mm naval gun 2 × 25mm autocannons 8 × Exocet MM40 Block 3C 1 × 16-cell VLS battery 1 × 4-cell CIWS 4 × 533mm torpedo tubes 1 × helipad	12	Carries an HAS-F55/B1 Dauphin helicopter
Tmassa I-class frigate		General-purpose frigate	3,200 tons	1 × 100mm naval gun 2 × 25mm autocannons 8 × Exocet MM40 Block 2 2 × 6-cell CIWS 4 × 533mm torpedo tubes 1 × helipad	4	Carries an HAS-F55/B1 Dauphin helicopter
Bri-class corvette		Corvette	1,100 tons	1 × 100mm naval gun 2 × 25mm autocannons 2 × Exocet MM38 1 × 6-cell CIWS 2 × 25mm autocannons 4 × 13mm machine guns 4 × 325mm torpedo catapults	16
Tillas-class submarine		Attack submarine	1,800 tons	6 × 533mm torpedo tubes 8 × Exocet SM39	8
Tuhan-class patrol vessel		Patrol vessel	230 tons	1 × 100mm naval gun 1 × 25mm autocannons 4 × Exocet MM38	14
Mintirzi-class minehunter		Minehunter	570 tons	1 × 25mm autocannon 2 × 13mm machine guns 2 × 8mm machine guns	8
Awɣaman-class replenishment ship		Replenishment ship	7,700 tons	1 × 25mm autocannon 4 × 13mm machine guns 3 × 6-cell CIWS 1 helipad	4
Zrskradaln-class surveillance ship		Spy ship	3,100 tons	2 × 13mm machine guns	2
Jran-class landing craft		Landing craft	290 tons	2 × 25mm autocannons	6

Aircraft in active service

Model	Image	Type	Armament	Number in service	Notes
HU-F34/B1 Félin		Utility helicopter		30	Based on the HU-F34/A3 helicopter
HL-F35/A2 Frelon		Heavy airlift helicopter		8
HAS-F55/B1 Dauphin		Anti-submarine helicopter	1 × 13mm machine gun 4 × 325mm torpedo catapults	36
APM-F30/C1 Périclésienne		Maritime patrol aircraft	2 × Exocet AM39 6 × 325mm torpedo catapults	11

Messidorian Air Corps

The most recent branch of the Messidorian Armed Forces is the Messidorian Air Corps. Founded in 1920 after the Annexation of the Timna Strip, the Air Corps primarily provided aerial reconnaissance. Over the next few decades, the role and capabilities of military aircraft rapidly evolved. At present, the Air Corps is the only branch of service to maintain an active reserve force, owing in part to the amount of training required to operate and maintain a fleet of aircraft. The Air Corps is organized across two wings and includes several hundred aircraft. Any aircraft seconded to the Army or Navy Corps are provided and operated by the Air Corps. In addition to its military roles, the Air Corps also provides search and rescue and emergency airlift services. Many of these additional functions are performed by reservist members.

Aircraft in active service

Model	Image	Origin	Type	Notes
Ava 70		Messidor	Multi-role fighter
AAB-F47/B3 Tiara		Messidor	Multi-role fighter	In use for training and reserve squadrons
ABT-F47/A3 Ašibi		Messidor	Tactical bomber	In use for training and reserve squadrons
HA-XT51/A2 Kitakazé		Tsurushima	Attack helicopter gunship
HA-F66/D2 Azwu		Messidor	Amphibious assault helicopter gunship	Modified HA-XT51/A2 Kitakazé helicopter
HU-F34/A3 Félin		Messidor	Utility helicopter
HL-F35/A2 Frelon		Messidor	Heavy airlift helicopter
AU-F51/A1 Cachalot		Messidor	Airlift/refueling plane	Converted civilian aircraft, airborne early warning, electronic warfare and medevac variants

Ranks and insignia

All three branches of service make use of the same rank insignia, though titles vary.

Officer ranks

	OF-10	OF-9	OF-8	OF-7	OF-6	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1
Insignia
Army Corps Rank	Marshal of the Corps	General	Lieutenant General	Division Commander	Brigadier	Colonel	Lieutenant Colonel	Battalion Commander	Company Commander	Platoon Commander
Navy Corps Rank	Marshal of the Corps	Admiral	Vice Admiral	Rear Admiral	Commodore	Senior Captain	Captain	Junior Captain	Senior Lieutenant	Lieutenant
Air Corps Rank	Marshal of the Corps	General	Lieutenant General	Division Commander	Wing Commander	Squadron Commander	Flight Captain	Junior Captain	Senior Lieutenant	Lieutenant

Enlisted ranks

	OR-10	OR-9	OR-8	OR-7	OR-6	OR-5	OR-4	OR-3	OR-2	OR-1
Insignia	File:Messidor OR-10.png
Army Corps Rank	Corps Sergeant Major	Regimental Sergeant Major	Battalion Sergeant Major	Company Sergeant Major	Platoon Sergeant Major	Section Sergeant	Section Adjutant	Senior Soldier	Soldier	Recruit
Navy Corps Rank	Corps Chief	Enlisted Chief	Bridge Chief	Deck Chief	Watch Chief	Watch Sergeant	Senior Sailor	Sailor	Junior Sailor	Recruit
Air Corps Rank	Corps Sergeant Major	Wing Sergeant Major	Squadron Sergeant Major	Flight Sergeant Major	Watch Chief	Watch Sergeant	Senior Airperson	Airperson	Junior Airperson	Recruit