Hoterallia Ground Self-Defense Force

Hoterallia Ground Self-Defense Force
ほてらじあ地上自衛軍
Emblem of the Hoterallia Ground Self-Defense Force
Founded	29 July 1950 (1950-07-29)
Country	Hoterallia
Type	Army
Role	Land warfare
Size	119,000 active personnel
Part of	Hoterallia Self-Defense Forces
Garrison/HQ	Gekoree, Magateza, Orajioe, Hoterallia
Colours	Red, Blue and Gold
March	Oath of Peace (Self-Defence Force's Anthem) The Speciality of Infantry (Official)
Commanders
Head of Ministers of Hoterallia	Takehiro Nishikawa
Minister of Defence	Takeshi Takaida
Chief of Staff, Joint Staff	General Kōji Yoshikawa
Chief of the Ground Staff	General Hosō Takaida
Insignia
Flag

The Hoterallia Ground Self-Defense Force (ほてらじあ地上自衛軍, HGSDF) is the land warfare branch of the Hoterallia Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 29, 1950, it is the largest of the three service branches.

The HGSDF operates under the command of the chief of the ground staff, based in the city of Gekoree, Magateza, Orajioe. The present chief of staff is General Hosō Takaida. The HGSDF numbered around 130,000 soldiers, with 119,000 active and 11,000 in reserve as of 2020.

Current deployment

Personnel

In 1975, basic training for lower-secondary and upper-secondary academy graduates began in the training brigade and lasted approximately three months. Specialized enlisted and non-commissioned officer (NCO) candidate courses were available in branch schools and qualified NCOs could enter an eight-to-twelve-week officer candidate program. Senior NCOs and graduates of an eighty-week NCO pilot course were eligible to enter officer candidate schools, as were graduates of the National Defence Academy at Magateza and graduates of all four-year universities. Advanced technical, flight, medical, command, and staff officer courses were also run by the HGSDF. Like the naval and air forces, the HGSDF ran a youth cadet program offering technical training to lower-secondary school graduates below military age in return for a promise of enlistment.

Because of Hoterallian diplomatic nature and geographical location, only limited areas are available for large-scale training to avoid disturbing the populace, and due to the Hoterallian diplomatic strategy of a neutral state, the HGSDF rarely takes up any major training.

Outside of training, the HGSDF's mission was to defend against any ground invasion and threats to internal security, be able to deploy to any part of the nation and protect the bases of all three services of the Self-Defense Forces. But many surveys have shown that the HGSDF has not been used in police actions, nor is it likely to be assigned any internal security tasks in the future. But the HGSDF and the other two branches were given responsibilities and missions whenever a natural disaster struck, giving them the disaster relief role.

Equipment

Infantry weapons

Name	Type	Caliber	Origin	Notes	Image
PPX4	Semi-automatic pistol	9×19mm Parabellum	Riamo	Made under license by Shousha Corporation, high lethality with medium stopping power.
T-1 Pistol	Semi-automatic pistol	9×19mm Parabellum	Hoterallia	Made by Hiromori Corporation. Standard issue pistol.
Imae 9mm Machine Pistol	Submachine gun	9×19mm Parabellum	Hoterallia	Made by Imae Corporation. Introduced in 2001, it is the only domestically produced submachine gun of the Hoterallia Ground Self-Defense Force. It is derived from the Uzi.
Hojo Type 10	Assault rifle	5.56×45mm NATO	Hoterallia	Made by Obyashaki Heavy Industries. Replacement for Type 09, beginning in 2019.
T-2 Assault Rifle	Assault rifle	5.56×45mm NATO	Hoterallia	Made by Kaito-Sichi Manufacturing. Standard issue assault rifle.	File:현용 K2 소총.png
A227	Assault rifle	5.56×45mm NATO	Riamo	Made under license by Hojo Manufacturing. A common bullpup rifle in some infantry battalions.
CA-20	Assault rifle	5.56×45mm NATO	Riamo	Made under license by Otachi Electric Industry. Common medium caliber rifle used across all branches of the military.
VulAmara R762	Designated marksman rifle	7.62×51mm NATO	Vultesia	Imported from the Vultesian.
ML12-E	General-purpose machine gun	7.62×51mm NATO	Vultesia	Made under license by Hiromori Corporation, but most are imported.
MkIII AGLH	Automatic grenade launcher	40 mm grenade	Vultesia	Imported from the Vultesian.
Pansätahatva 89	Recoilless rifle	84 mm	Bakyern	Imported from the Bakyern. The Pansätahatva 89 is an 84-mm man-portable reusable anti-tank weapon.
Guntō	Ceremonial sword		Hoterallia	The Guntō is a ceremonial sword produced for the HGSDF. Usually given to the Major general and the Master sergeant

Artillery and missile systems

Name	Type	Caliber	Origin	Notes	Image
Mortars
WMShal-81	Mortar (weapon)	82 mm caliber	Vultesia	Built under license by Imae. The WMShal-81 is a Vultesian 82 mm mortar, used as a light indirect fire weapon for the use of airborne and other light infantry forces.
MLhal-120	Heavy mortar	120 mm caliber	Vultesia	Imported from the Vultesian. The MLhal-120 is a heavy mortar of Vultesian origin, it is mostly used with the accompany of a mortar carrier.
Howitzer
Kaiju-Jia 105 mm Towed Howitzer	Howitzer	105 mm caliber	Hoterallia	Built by Imae. Kaiju-Jia 105 mm Towed Howitzer is designed as division artillery for counter-battery role with agile positioning benefited from its lightweight.
Anti-Landing craft and Anti-Tank Missile
Jia-90 Multi-Purpose Missile System	Anti-tank guided missile	160mm	Hoterallia	Built by Imae. The Jia-90 missile has a large warhead which can destroy tanks with a direct hit from the top, but it can also be used in an anti-helicopter role.
Surface-to-air missile
M.A.A.R.S	Man-portable air-defense system	82 mm caliber	Vultesia	Made under license by Imae. The M.A.A.R.S is a Vultesian light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile (or MANPADS) system.

Vehicles

Name	Type	Quantity	Notes	Image
Armoured vehicles
Type Jia-2	Main battle tank	120	Built by Imae, current MBT in Hoterallian service. Replaced the Type Kai-1
Imae Type 88 IFV	Infantry fighting vehicle	188	Built by Imae.
H-15	Infantry fighting vehicle	179	Built by Hojo Manufacturing in 2015. It is designed to effectively defeat other IFVs.
VACCLV	Infantry mobility vehicle	110	Bought from Vultesia. VACCLV is a 4WD tactical vehicle developed by Vultesia
RVW Comet & Meteor	Armoured fighting vehicle	184	Bought from Vultesia. Used for deep battlespace reconnaissance, rapid assault, and fire support - roles where mobility, endurance, and maneuverability are important - and it has also been used for convoy protection.
Type 91 APC (Thunder)	Armoured personnel carrier	293	Built by Imae Heavy Industries.
A-12 Swordfish	Infantry fighting vehicle	98	Built under license by Hojo Manufacturing from Riamo.
Tanskenfotvetdagen 316	Infantry fighting vehicle	49	Bought from the Bakyernian Defense Force. The vehicle has very good mobility in snow and wetlands while carrying and supporting eight, fully equipped dismounted soldiers.
Self-propelled artillery
MLS-01 Model E	Multiple rocket launcher	75	Bought from Vultesia. The MLS-01 is a self-propelled multiple rocket launcher, it features a modular design and employs rockets with calibers ranging from 127 mm to 450 mm ( 5-17.72 inches).
Jiakoku-99 155 mm Self-propelled Howitzer	Self-propelled artillery	102	Built by Hojo Manufacturing/Hoterasseki. They are employed to provide mobile heavy fire support to army units in the field.
Flygasthatvadagen 16	Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon	31	Purchased from Bakyernian Defense Force.
Armoured recovery/engineering vehicle
Type Kai-1 AVLB	Armoured vehicle-launched bridge	19	Joint Vultesian/Hoterallian developments. Made based on the Type Kai-1 model.
Type Kai-1 CEV	Military engineering vehicle	~12	Joint Vultesian/Hoterallian developments. Made based on the Type Kai-1 model.
Type Kai-1 ARV	Armoured recovery vehicle	47	Joint Vultesian/Hoterallian developments. Made based on the Type Kai-1 model.
AVE(LX) Scarab	Armoured combat engineering vehicle	25	Bought from Vultesia. The AVE(LX) Scarab is an air-transportable armored combat engineer vehicle.
Great Cobra	Recovery vehicle	17	Purchased from Riamo.
TGD 15	Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle	101	Purchased from Bakyernian Defense Force. The vehicle crew is protected against 5.56×45mm ball ammunition, grenades, firebombs, anti-personnel mines and side blasts.

Organization

HGSDF divisions and brigades are combined arms units with infantry, armored, and artillery units, combat support units, and logistical support units. They are regionally independent and permanent entities. The division's strength varies from 7,000 to 10,000 personnel. The brigades are smaller with 3,500 to 5,000 personnel.

Other units

Special Mission Team

Logo of the Special Mission Team, with the symbol of a white tiger

Special Mission Team (特別任務分隊, Tokubetsuninmubuntai), or better known as the Iron Tigers (鉄虎, Tetsu-Tora), is the Hoterallia Ground Self-Defense Force's special forces unit established on March 27, 2004, by the then Defence Agency to counter terrorist activities and deter guerrilla-style attacks on Hoterallian soil and to conduct military operations against guerrillas or enemy commandos.

The SMTm has been referred to as Hoterallia's EZA and Blackwatch (Vultesia's counterpart), due to their specialized role in the Hoterallia Ground Self-Defense Force. The civilian counterpart of the SMTm is the Special Operations Squad of the prefectural police departments (Eastern Hoterallia) and the provincial police departments (Western Hoterallia) under the Hoterallian National Police Agency.

Potential recruits to the SMTm are drawn from Ranger-qualified HGSDF soldiers and paratroopers of the 1st Airborne Brigade. The unit's passing rate is said to be at 3%, sometimes as low as 2%, due to demanding physical fitness qualifications aside from a recruit's ranger or airborne qualifications.

SMTm operators are required to study Common in order to be bilingual, although they are trained to learn other languages like Vultesian, Spanish and Portuguese.

As part of regulating and protecting the identities of the various soldiers serving in the SMTm, their faces are hidden in balaclavas and cannot be revealed except with authorization from their commanding officers. SMtm officers are exempted from the rule.