Grand Order of Idealists (Spires)

The Grand Order of Idealists
ɔɑldron jɑrdɛn
The Mephistean Orderites
Founded	20,000 GLA est.
Service branches	The Order of Idealists The Spirean Ranger Corps The Resplendent Wings The Spirean Navy
Headquarters	The Fortress of Elyion, Mephiste, Kronas
Leadership
High Chancellor	Maven Auryn
Minister of National Defense	Krichen Nylion
Judgemaster	Mortov Mordein
Personnel
Military age	15-65
Reaching military age annually	(4,500,000 2012 est.)
Active personnel	2,475,000
Reserve personnel	2,025,000
Expenditure
Percent of GDP	27%
Industry
Domestic suppliers	Aldron Internationale, The Grand Collegium
Foreign suppliers	Lyran Arms (Lyras),KAE Systems (Kouralia), Riemakora AB (Riemaia), Ironhoof Solutions (Greater Pony Herd/GPH), Moosecow Industries (GPH), Serpent Shipyards (GPH), Borealis Offshore & Shipbuilding (GPH), Rising Sun Aerospace (GPH), Northstar Aerodynamics (GPH), The Royal Merchants Guild (Imeriata), Licanan Defense Industries (Licana)

The Grand Order of Idealists are the military forces of Crystal Spires. They consist of the Order of Idealists, The Resplendent Wings, The Spirean Ranger Corps, and the Spirean Navy. The Beastling States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military. The High Chancellor, The Judgemaster, or the Knight Templar (in either's Absence) are the overall head of the military, and helps form military policy with the Spirean Ministry of National Defense, a federal executive department, acting as the principal organ by which military policy is carried out. The Ministry of National Defense is headed by the Minister of Defense, who is a civilian and a member of the High Ministries. The Minister of Defense is fourth in the military's chain of command, just below the Judgemaster, and serves as the principal assistant to the High Chancellor in all matters related to the Ministry of National Defense. To coordinate military action with diplomacy, the High Chancellor has an advisory Security Council headed by a High Emissary. Both the High Chancellor and Minister of Defense are advised by a seven-member Council of Merit-based elected positions, which includes the head of each Ministry of National Defense service branches as well as the Chairman of the Domestic High Guard. Leadership is provided by the Chairman of the Judges of the Council of the Seven and the Vice Chairman of the National Defense Ministry.

All of the branches of the Military work together during operations and joint missions, under the unified combatant commands, under the authority of the Minister of Defense with the exception of the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard falls under the administration of the Ministry of Domestic Defense and receives its operational orders from the Minister of Domestic Defense. The Coast Guard may be transferred to the Department of the Navy by the High Chancellor or the High Council during a time of war. All four armed services are among the seven uniformed services of the Beastling States; the others are the Spirean Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps.

From the time of its inception the military played a decisive role in the history of the Beastling States. A sense of national unity and Religious Unity was forged out of the wanderers of the wildlands, and later among those of the Southern Cities. Even so, the Spirean were suspicious of a permanent military force and not until the outbreak the Fell Crusade did a large standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1896, adopted following the Fell Crusades and during the recovery, created the modern Orderite Framework; the Act merged previously Religious Divisions of the Ministry of War and the Council of the Navy into the National Military Establishment (renamed the Ministry of Defense in 1949), headed by the Minister of National Defense; and created the Resplendent Wings and National Security Council. The Spirean Military draws its manpower from a large pool of paid volunteers; although conscription has been used in the past in various times of both war and peace, it has not been used since 1981. Put together, the Beastling States constitutes roughly 27% percent of the budget into military expenditures. The Grand Order of Idealists as a whole possess large quantities of advanced and powerful equipment, but limited spread of forces around the world, giving them significant capabilities in defense but insignificant power projection which is more fundamental to Spirean War doctrine of Defense.

History

The First Documented account of the Orderite Military has its origins traced back to 12,000 Golden Leaf Age with a documented aged carving lifted from the remnants of turtle shell underside that detailed logistical planning of an assault on a Serionite Camp in Order to allow greater protection of the Ancient city of Arden. At the time it was a fully volunteer army made solely of templars and knights of the Forntian religion. The ritual of becoming a Knight was a religious ceremony that any caste and was often a way to promote social mobility, but becoming a soldier required rigorous training and quite a bit of money, so the temple often collected taxes from the local land baronies to pay for the training of new Knights and Templars. The result was that there was a strong drive culturally and socio-economically for civilians and lower castelings to become knights, and the militaristic culture became more ingrained into the Spirean Social Conscience. The Order of Idealists, The Navy, and Rangers were created in close succession by the Convention of Forntian Templars in order to defend the Forntian from incursions by the different denominations of Serionites and the Voldokians. The Convention also unified the different sects of Forntianism into the Unified Council of Forntian Idealism, and the result was Interdenominational cooperation to strengthen the Northern Riders and also build the Haven of Mephiste and the Fortess of Elyion, said to be an impregnable fortress at the time. With the Building of what came to be called "Dewdrop" Cities, which disappeared after various monster raids and massacres, the Forntians pressed on, securing Lothar, Mephiste and Caltris. The Research and Development Teams were able to develop the Spire, and as the Cities were built, they generously expanded using more and more Spires to protect the Cities from air raids. The problem of Air Raids continued to be a problem which led to the study of flight in the College of the Grand Collegium, a secular institution of Magecraft which was later engulfed by the Forntian Movement. The Temple and the Cloisters became the symbol of Mage/Templar relations, and with the generous cooperation of one another, they were able to agree to more secular reforms of the Order. The Magi also presented much of their discoveries to the Templars for testing and use.

The Spirean Air force itself originated from the Cloisters of the Grand Collegium. The Collegium had been experimenting on use of unmanned air balloons to deliver lethal force to large concentrations of Monsters and allowing for a mounted Spire atop the balloon to allow for greater spread into the Wildlands. The use was a success, and it kindled the interest of using air travel as a potential scouting tool to weed out concentrations of monsters with the advent of gunpowder weapons. The Spirean Grand Collegium used Templars to test the new devices, and seeing various potential for its use, they had the expansion for a dedicated force for air travel which was first zeppelins, and then more had been developed with the advance of technology. Possession of a more advanced technology played a decisive role in the outcome of battles in the Age of the Shining Army. It was also a rare period of time when conscription had to be employed to increase the number of soldiers that were available for combat. This was ended with the Treaty of Suld. In modern times, war has evolved from an activity steeped in tradition and religious ceremony to a scientific enterprise where success is valued above methods. The Order has developed technological advances rivaling the scientific accomplishments of any other field of study. However, it should be noted that the Spirean people benefit in this development of technologies under the funding of the public, as it has expanded in its use by common people, and the cooperation with large civilian groups.

Doctrine

Code 9 of The National Security Act of 1896 imbues the High Council to requisition the Order with the powers to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the Beastling States and to raise and support armies. Title 10 of the Act states what the High Council expects the Army, in conjunction with the other Services, to accomplish. This includes: Preserve the peace and security and provide for the defense of the Spirean People, its territories and possessions, and any areas it occupies; Support national policies; Implement national objective; Overcome persons responsible for aggressive acts that imperil the peace and security of the Spirean people.

They concentrate on full spectrum operations which combine offensive, defensive, and civil support operations simultaneously as part of an interdependent joint or combined force to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative against her enemies. Orderites are expected to employ synchronized action—lethal and nonlethal—proportional to the mission and informed by a thorough understanding of all dimensions of the operational environment, and in circumstances and situations when full spectrum knowledge is not available, they are expected to exercise greater caution which leads to the Spirean adage of 'taking time' to perform an action.

Offensive operations are supposed to include all manners to defeat and destroy enemy forces, and seize terrain, resources, and population centers. They impose the High Council's will on the enemy which include full Spirean Constitutional Rights.

Defensive operations are to defeat an enemy attack, gain time, economize forces, and develop conditions favorable for offensive or Civil operations.

Civil operations encompass various military missions, tasks, and activities conducted in enemy/occupied nations to maintain or reestablish a safe and secure environment, provide essential governmental services, emergency infrastructure reconstruction, and humanitarian relief. Civil support operations include support tasks and missions to homeland civil authorities for domestic emergencies, and for designated law enforcement and other activities. This includes operations dealing with the consequences of natural or manmade disasters, accidents, and incidents within the homeland.

Command Structure

The High Chancellor is the Commander in Chief and is defacto is officially in charge of Requisition of the Orderites for military operations. The order itself is legally answerable to the Judgemaster, or the Knight Templar in absence of the High Chancellor. However the High Chancellor is the overall head of the military, and helps form military policy with cooperation of the Spirean Ministry of National Defense, a federal executive department, acting as the principal organ by which military policy is carried out. The Ministry of National Defense is headed by the Minister of Defense, who is a civilian and a member of the High Ministries. The Minister of Defense is fourth in the military's chain of command, just below the Judgemaster, and serves as the principal assistant to the High Chancellor in all matters related to the Ministry of National Defense. To coordinate military action with diplomacy, the High Chancellor has an advisory Security Council headed by a High Emissary. Both the High Chancellor and Minister of Defense are advised by a seven-member Council of Merit-based elected positions, which includes the head of each Ministry of National Defense service branches as well as the Chairman of the Domestic High Guard. Leadership is provided by the Chairman of the Judges of the Council of the Seven and the Vice Chairman of the National Defense Ministry.

Branches of the Grand Order of Idealists

The Order of Idealists

The Order of Idealists used to be a Holy Order of religious knights dedicated to protections of the believers of Fornt, the Just God. They began as soldiers, scouts, and rangers dedicated to protecting the Faith of Forntian believers and their duties extend to learning the manners of Apotheosis and self perfection, healing the sick, ministering and teaching the ignorant, and punishing the wrongdoers who violate the Law and the virtues of Justice and fairness. Forntian Knights are also responsible for upholding the Law and ensuring the Government does as well, so while the High Council can requisition its service, if the High Council is deemed Illegitimate and disordered it is the duty of the Knights of the Order to take the government down by force. If a Knight of Fornt is deemed corrupt, the punishment for Corruption is ceremonial execution. This makes the knights at odds with the High Council while also part of it. Keeping the Knights of the Order closely tied to the High Council is a sign of a good Government and the Order of Idealists are deeply revered for their selfless service as they do work in harmony with the Guardsmen and protect the citizens with Martial Arts and they serve the common man with intense devotion. They do charitable works as part of their duties and uphold the Forntian Code which was laid down by Lord Fornt in the founding of the nation which was said to have been a small subsection, and then expanded to include an ever-changing governmental system of religious belief. The Contemporary Order is Highly Secularized with an exception for the statements of the Order's Integrity.

How The Forntian Code is Applied

While on the outside the Order looks Religious, there's only one section of Forntian Religious Value applied in the Order which is more of a statement of Spirean integrity rather than professed religious belief:

"We the people of the Just God for the promotion of good and the common welfare thereby affirm Rights to all Reasoned Beings to foster the spread of loving-kindness, compassion, and above all else fairness.

Reasoned beings are endowed with reason and conscience, should act kindly towards one another in a spirit of goodness, and promote the furtherance of goodness and happiness for all sentient beings.

A True believer will not use harmful words and actions based on ignorance, hatred, or greed. The True believer sees greedy, hateful, and ignorant acts as a scourge leading to chaos which shall return all reasoned beings to the hell of the Abyss.

Do not falter in the face of injustice, stand tall with courage and integrity. Speak with Knowledge and Seek the Law in times of strife and comfort. Aid the weak and the needy, Raise the Humble and downtrodden, Exalt the Humble and Humble the Exalted. For only in balance can one be true.

Blessed be those who govern and serve the good and welfare of the all,

Cursed be those who govern and serve only themselves.

The Lord deems them Corrupted and with the Rod of Judgement Smite their Greed, Stupidity, and Hate. "

As a result The Orthodox Order of Idealists sees Forntian Reigion as a Nationalist and Patriotic religion and the national Spirean Military often considers the religious adherence to be a unifying factor, but not required for service. .

Spireans wage war as a last resort when the good and welfare of all are threatened by the abandonment of the Law, or a complete upset of the natural order. This can mean if a politician fails to serve the people. This often means that Spireans are quick to go to war for reasons that most other nations may not fully understand but it comes from the religious beliefs of the Law, and returning to the abyss.

Spireans are well known for their healthy provisions of formal spying and intelligence gathering of governments, and done by the military. And some guilds and tradesmen also do so on their own. The organization of Spirean National Intelligence is the biggest national Spy organization, but spying is also done by diplomats and freelance agents.

Organization

A person can enter the Order of Idealists at age 17 or its equivalent of their own volition at age 15 with permission of their guardian or parent. They then receive a full free military education and are taught basic Forntian Law and military tactics by Templars. They receive their apprenticeship as a scribe where their duty is to study history of tactics and strategem and then after their apprenticeship their formal martial training begins.
They start as the rank of Knight.

Knight: Every man in the order spend at least 2 years as a knight learning martial training, and legal training.
Knight Sergeant: Commands a patrol of men numbering in 12 men.
Knight Lieutenant: Commands a squad consisting in 2 patrols totaling with up to to 24 men
Knight Captain: Commands a company consisting of 4 squads totaling with up to to 96 men
Knight Major: Commands a Centurion Consisting of 10 squads totaling with up to to 240 men
Knight Colonel: Commands a Legion consisting of 10 centurion totaling with up to to 2,400 men
Knight Brigadier General: Commands a Knight Brigade consisting of 3 Legions totaling with up to to 7,200 men
Knight Commander: Commands a Guard which consists of 2 Brigades totaling with up to to 14,400 men
Grand Commander: Commands an Order which consists of 5 guards totaling with up to to 72,000 men
Knight Templar* or Grand Commander: Commands the Grand Order which consists of multiple orders of men.

Overseer: an administrative rank, responsible for overseeing the supplies, quarters, training etc. in an area as well coordinating with local religious and political leaders
Champion Overseer: responsible for overseeing the supplies, quarters, training etc. in an area as well coordinating with local religious and political leaders of the whole kingdom
Grand Commander: Commands more than one Order On specialized tasks, and is the default knight templar when one is not existent
Judgemaster: An elected position of the greatest Grand Commanders, and there are only seven in a council of the Seven
Knight Templar*: Commands the whole of the Army of the Forntian Knights and is used as a Symbol for all Forntian Knights to follow, but is only a Forntian of exceptional merit, and may or may not be in existence in various years. Is primarily a ceremonial role, while the High Chancellor is officially this Role in Government practice

Personnel

The Order is made up of professional career soldiers between ages 15-69. Working and training to be soldiers take from 2-4 years with support often taking the longest to train. Many soldiers have second jobs and conscription is incredibly rare, though Military Education is part of the Spirean Curriculum, and technically the entire population is considered to be Emergency reserves, should there be a full state of emergency. Enlisting percentages are high, however. The High Council can call up full military conscription for men for an army,and this happened once in the Times of Darkness during the Fell Crusade when the Beastling States faced the threat of full eradication.

Standard Equipment

MBT:Leopard 2
Other Tanks Used: T-90S
Primary Rifle: HK416, AKM
Primary Sidearm: SIG Sauer 229
Primary LMG: M60E4
Primary HMG: M2 Browning
Primary Scout Vehicle: Humvee
Primary Personnel Carrier: 7 ton MTBR, M2 Bradley, Stryker
Primary Artillery:

-Gun: M109A1

-Gun: M777

-Mortar: M120

-Chain Gun: M242 Bushmaster

Primary Transport Helicopter: Boeing CH47, UH-60
Primary Sniper Rifle: 308 or .338 and Gepard(14.5mm +)

The Resplendent Wings

History

The Airforce of Crystal Spires was devised after the first levitation craft was created that was heavier than air. The Owell Knight Commander Raltheir Cronikan demanded the exploration in the use of Aviation troops be considered. This tinkering caused a spark in Spirean interest in use of air combat as a tactical advantage that would exploit ground troops. First use of Air Combat troops was after the recovery in the Fell Crusade, when the Spireans were barely recovering from the Market Depression from the war, and after the testing phase, the first Engineering Corps of the Resplendent Wings in the Order of Idealists were created which was the Spirean air force. The use was at first limited to Reconaissance, but then Spirean ingenuity picked up where the application was concerned and the focus became using planes and airships to damage infrastructure.

Ranks and Organization

A Flyer is a single pilot responsible for one aircraft.
A Whisper are 2 pilots working cooperatively on 2 aircrafts.
An Officer is responsible for a flock which is made up of 6 aircrafts. (3 Whispers)
A Lieutenant is in charge of Espers which is made of up of 18 aircraft (3 flocks)
A Wisp Caller is in charge of Sky Stalkers which are made up of 54 aircraft (3 Espers)
A Truth seeker is in charge of a Seeker Squad made up of 90 aircraft (5 flocks)
A Wind caller is in charge of a Calling which is made up of two or more seeker squads.
A Sky Slicer is in charge of more than one calling by region.
A General of the Resplendent Skies and is in charge of the whole Spirean air force.
General of Resplendent Wings: Geran McCleary

Equipment

Primary Fighter: Sukhoi PAK FA, Sukhoi Su-34
Primary Interceptors: Chengdu J-20
Primary Bomber: Tupolev Tu-22M, Tu-160,Sukhoi Su-25.
Primary AA Weapon (also applies to army): MIM-104 Patriot
Primary Attack Chopper: Mil Mi-24 (AKA: Hind)
Primary Support Chopper: Blackhawk
Primary Paratrooper Weapon: LLR 81mm

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