Realm Defense Forces of Syara
In the Commonality of Syara, each Realm maintains its own separate military force that operates under the authority of the Realm Government. All four of Syara's Realms, Makedon, Galania, Scitaria, and Hayreniky, are responsible for the raising and maintaing of their own military force per the Commonality Constitution. The Realm Guards are a distinct legal entity from the Syaran Commonality Armed Forces, or its reserve components of the Syaran National Forces or the Syaran Strategic Forces. The Realm Defense Forces answer to their respective Viceroys (ilKhan in Hayreniky) as their highest authority.
While the Realm Defense Forces are not members of the Syaran armed forces nor can the Government of Syara utilize their forces, the individual members of the Realm Defense Forces are not exempt from military service in the form of national conscription into the SCAF. Service in the Realm Defense Forces may be chosen as an exemption for conscription into the SCAF, and introductory training into both the SCAF and the Realm Defense Forces is conducted via the same training program. Realm Defense Forces may not be activated or employed by the national government without the explicit authorization of their Realm Governments.
In practice, the Realm Defense Forces operate as a local militia or gendarmerie. While the Realm Defense Forces are considered a military force under the Commonality Constitution, their practical application is more varied and often involves support for law enforcement, natural disaster response, and civil protection services. While the Realm Defense Forces may police their own internal borders, the Realm Defense Forces are not authorized to carry out border guard services for Syara's international boundaries, namely its land border with Ruvelka, jurisdiction of which falls under the Ministry of Security.
The size of the Realm Defense Forces vary from Realm to Realm; Makedon possesses the largest Realm Guard with 32,000 personnel, followed by Scitaria with 27,000, Galania with 25,000, and Hayreniky with 18,000. Many formations and organizations within the Realm Defense Forces codify themselves as successors to the national armies of the Syaran states prior to the Unification of Syara.
The four Realm Defense Forces are