Packilvanian Armed Forces
| Packilvanian Armed Forces LeHagan leKharish aluBakhilfaniya (Packilvanian) | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms of the Packilvanian Armed Forces | |
| Service branches | |
| Headquarters | Bingol, Packilvania |
| Leadership | |
| Sultan | Namdun III |
| Minister of Defence | Prince Kiran |
| Manpower | |
| Military age | 18 |
| Available for military service | 340,750,000, age 15–49 |
| Reaching military age annually | 95,670,000 |
| Active personnel | 2,482,750 |
| Reserve personnel | 14,890,250 |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | 210,895,000,000 |
| Percent of GDP | 2.1% |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers |
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| Foreign suppliers | |
| Related articles | |
| History | Packilvanian War Of Unification Great War |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Packilvania |
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The Packilvanian Armed Forces (Packilvanian: LeHagan LeKharish aluBakhilfaniya, PAF or LeHAKHABA) is the military of Packilvania. It was founded first as the military of the Demirite dynasty through the absorption of the militaries of the Central Yasterian Kingdoms into the Legion of the Kingdom of Fidakar by Saidun the Conqueror. It was taken over by the Packilvanian Communist Party in 1917 and merged with the Packilvanian Liberation Army (the paramilitary wing of the PCP). The Carriers of Mercy, a charity organization for the rescue and repatriation of humans being persecuted by the Communist regime, had a military component known as the Warriors of Mercy which was merged into the Packilvanian Armed Forces in the 1980s upon the defeat of the Communists by Amhoud I.
It is one of the largest militaries in the world by budget, nuclear weapons, manpower, vehicles, vessels and air craft. Coupled with its chemical and biological weapons programs, it is one of the most powerful militaries in the world. Having fought in war continuously for the better part of the 20th century, it is one of the most battle hardened and formidable militaries in the world.
History
The Packilvanian Armed Forces was conceived from centuries of military tradition in central Yasteria. When Iktan the Devout attacked Bingol, deposed King Obed III and united Packilvania in 675 CE, he did so with the military of the Kingdom of Bakil. The military of Bingol was not a formal organisation but consisted of the armies of local rulers under Iktan's sovereignty. Thus, many of the members of that body were actually tenants on the lands of nobles. As the needs of the Kingdom to defend its borders and ensure obedience to its laws spread, the system used by the Kingdom of Bakil was used throughout the nation. Local rulers maintained the power to raise militias on behalf of the High King to fight his wars, protect the borders and enforce the law.
The invasion of the Corsairs of Codex in 1115 CE which deposed the Kingdom of Bakil, led to the introduction of horses in Packilvania and their use in combat. Traditionally, the Packilvanians relied on camels because they could travel long distances and fight conflicts far from their home base. This was especially relevant because most of the country comprised deserts. But the introduction of horses allowed for reconnaissance and quick battles in much more temperate and wet climates in the south where food was available to feed horses.
Catapults were used in the past as the first artillery as they flung a large object toward enemies and were useful in breaking a siege of a walled city. The invention of gunpowder heralded the beginning of the use of explosives in combat. This first began in the form of small explosives used to ambush an enemy. Due to the weakness and primitiveness of the devices, they were mostly used to stun opponents and confused their animals. However, as the processes for making and using gunpowder became more refined, bombs were used as explosive devices. After some centuries, cannons were developed which used gunpowder to project a heavy metal orb at enemies. This device was refined and a smaller, handheld weapon for infantry was created: the first mullets. Originally intended to confuse and disorient the enemy, mullets evolved into rifles and pistols to be used in long and short range combat respectively. Furthermore, the cannon developed into more diverse forms of artillery like mortars.
Warning and communication systems developed slowly. They first began with signal towers places at a high elevation which were used to send signals. They were instrumental in providing warnings to major cities of invasions long before they arrived within hours and were used well into the 16th century. With time the invention of paper made it possible to keep records and communicate messages across distances enabling closer links and more consistent orders across the military. However, the transmission of information was limited by the speed of horseback. The invention of the telegram in the 1800s enabled communications to be more efficient. This allowed messages to be transmitted from military installations and fortifications quickly and efficiently.
The invention of the steam engine, specifically railways liberated the military from the constraints of horseback and camelback. Men and materiel could be moved across greater distances. Trains have remained instrumental in moving men and materiel quickly across the harsh deserts. The invention of the internal combustion engine was exploited for military purposes through the use of self-propelled land vehicles such as trucks to transport troops and weapons. These vehicles were slow but when mounted with guns, proved effective at strengthening infantry forces. This technology was perfected such that self-propelled artillery was created. But is was not until the Great War that tanks first entered the battlefield and enacted incredible destruction on enemy forces.
After the Great War, the Imperial Packilvanian Armed Forces was taken over by the Packilvanian Communist Party and integrated into the Packilvanian Liberation Army. The PLA was a significant force in politics and the economy during the reign of the Communist Party and its role included spearheading research and development. It was from the work of the PLA that nuclear weapons, satellites and the internet arose in Packilvania in the 20th century such that today Packilvania has the highest number of nuclear warheads in the world. The PLA was defeated by the Warriors of Mercy, the military wing of the Carriers of Mercy and by extension the Bedonite dynasty. When the PCP was defeated the Bedonites merged the Warriors of Mercy and the PLA to form the Packilvanian Armed Forces, hearkening back to the Imperial Packilvanian Armed Forces of the Demirites.
Structure
The Sultan of Packilvania currently Thumim V is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. All members of the force swear their allegiance to the Sultan. He has the power to declare war and make peace and to raise armies and assume supreme command of all military forces. The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers develop and advise the Sultan on military policy. The Minister of Defence, currently Prince Kiran a-Idesh Bedon is in charge of the Department of Defence which handles the daily administration of the armed forces. General Prince Nukan a-Ludan Bedon is the Chief of Defence Staff, the highest ranking military official. The Office of Defence Staff oversees all the military matters of the armed forces. The military is divided into 3 arms: the Packilvanian Air Force, Packilvanian Army and the Packilvanian Navy led by General Prince Thawak a-Eren Bedon, General Prince Fakil a-Mawad Bedon and Admiral Prince Sahel a-Jubal Bedon.
Equipment
Packilvania has two key strengths in its military procurement: highly competitive costs for equipment and long-term military spending. Budgets for projects are allocated over years rather than on an annual basis allowing funding for expenditure on procurement and research and development to be available throughout the product development lifecycle. This has enabled arms manufacturers to have a secure client and to keep laboratories and production lines operational for long periods of time, enabling the development of extremely robust and scalable production lines. With the vast orders that the government makes, the country's arms manufacturers enjoy cost saving capabilities due to the massive economies of scale.
Packilvanian military equipment especially in small arms, artillery and naval vessels is at the standard of Great Morstaybishlia and South Hills. Although the country is half to a third of a generation behind these two powers in the production of fixed wing combat air craft, the country benefits from having a relatively high level of autonomy in the supply of critical parts and components for repairs and upgrades. In the area of military software, Packilvanian military assets are largely if not entirely independent of foreign sources.
Combatant commands
Geographic
The Geographic Combatant Commands (GCCs) are responsible for coordinating the action of the three branches of the armed forces within 6 geographic regions:
- Novaris GCC under General Prince Wudul a-Mawad Bedon
- Arcturian GCC under General Prince Yawed a-Fidal Bedon. It is based in Iphelstad, Iphelklori
- Yasteria GCC under General Prince Ionine a-Hestal Bedon. It is based in Kala City, Kalatya
- Borea GCC under General Prince Umid a-Sawal Bedon. It is based in Newport, Nystatiszna
- Packilvanian Ocean GCC under Admiral Prince Vidan a-Eren Bedon. It is based in Bingol, Packilvania
- Pacific Ocean GCC under Admiral Prince Kistal a-Yoqarak Bedon
Functional
The functional commands are responsible for operations that span the three branches but which fall outside of their strictly delineated combat roles as follows:
- Cyber Command is responsible for cybersecurity, cyberwarfare and cyber espionage.
- Special Operations Command is responsible for military special operations
- Strategic Command is in charge of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons
- Trasportation Command is responsible for military mobility and transport
Budget
The Packilvanian Armed Forces has a budget of 2.520 trillion PXD which is approximately 2% of GDP, among the lowest of the major world powers yet it has the fourth highest budget in the world. The budget is broken down as follows:
| Budgetary area | Allocation (in PXD) | Approximate in KRB | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remuneration | 705.6 billion | 58.8 billion | 28% |
| Procurement | 529.2 billion | 44.1 billion | 21% |
| Research and development | 201.6 billion | 33.6 billion | 16% |
| Operations | 428.4 billion | 35.7 billion | 17% |
| Maintenance | 403.2 billion | 16.8 billion | 8% |
| Military infrastructure | 201.6 billion | 16.8 billion | 8% |
Personnel
The PAF has 2,482,750 active volunteer professional soldiers. The military pays an average wage of 3,360,000 PXD per year which is over 294.4% higher than the GDP per capita. Furthermore, the lowest rung of soldiers earn 105% of the national GDP. This has enabled the military to attract some of the most talented and well educated people in the country. The minimum entrance requirements for a career in the military is a Bachelor of Science degree.
Over 45% of active personnel have a Bachelor of Science degree, 35% have a Master of Science degree, 25% have a Doctoral degree and 5% have a high school diploma. This makes Packilvanian soldiers among the most educated active-duty service-men in the world. the average number of applicants for full-time military posts on an annual basis for the past 10 years has been 1,000,000 applicants per year with an average year-on-year increase of 10%. The military only accepts 30% into its training program and accepts only 7% into its body of active duty service-men annually with the remainder being given the option of service as reserve personnel.
According to the Wallace & Simmonds Center for Defence Research at Shiro Academy suggest that countries such as South Hills have to spent over five times the amount that Packilvania spends in salaries with a budget of only double the amount to attract comparable talent. The Center further noted in its 2015 research study that other countries' militaries must compete with the private sector for candidates while in Packilvania the reverse is true. However this of course means that the military is gaining in talent what other firms in the country are losing.
The population to active personnel ratio in Packilvania is among the lowest of the top 40 countries in active duty personnel. Personnel in Packilvania receive 1 year of pre-military training and another 1 year of military training. The military pays for its personnel to do career development training and further education to improve their skills not merely in combat but in tactical and strategic thinking. Packilvania provides its pilots with over 915 hours on average of flight hours, making Packilvanian pilots highly skilled airmen. Packilvanian pilots are so highly sought after, that commercial airliners often compete for retired airmen with the average starting salary at over 125% of the offers to civilian-trained airmen.
Tactics and military doctrine
Nuclear warfare
The military of Packilvania possesses nearly 2,000 nuclear warheads. However, these nuclear warheads fall into 2 groups, namely strategic and non-strategic nuclear warheads. Strategic nuclear warheads are high yield devices mounted on long range delivery systems such as Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), and heavy bomber aircraft delivery systems. Due to their "grotesque lethality" (as quoted from Sultan Amhoud in 1987), these may only be used when Packilvania has only been struck by another nation. The Constitution of Packilvania explicitly forbids the Sultan from striking a peaceful nation or a nation without nuclear warheads first. Further safe guards are put in place such as requiring that a majority of the Council of the Armed Forces (which consists of the Generals and Admirals) must approve this decision.
Sultan Amhoud I was highly appalled by nuclear weapons and thus, he signed a Decree barring future development and proliferation of nuclear weapons. His successor, Sultan Amhoud II, shared these ideas. Sultan Namdun III did not agree and has thus undertaken limited nuclear testing activities. But Packilvania has not shared nuclear weapons technology and expertise with other nations. It was thus extremely disturbing when Vekaiyu stole military weapons plans in the early 2000s. It was regarded as the biggest catastrophe of the Packilvanian military industrial complex and has been a source of continued distrust between Vekaiyu and Packilvania.
Chemical and biological warfare
Having suffered with bouts of disease, Packilvania is deeply traumatised by plagues. As such, Sultan Amhoud I was very reluctant to pursue biological warfare. Nevertheless, research into such was undertaken primarily to understand how they worked and what methods would be best suited to combat them. As such, biological warfare tools are available. There are rumours that some limited form of biological warfare has been used. This includes sending anthrax laced letters to senior enemy leaders. Nonetheless, Packilvania does not use biological weapons against ordinary combatants and civilians. Chemical weapons are guided by the same philosophies. The use of chemicals in combat is not allowed in Packilvania, however, its limited use on a single target has been reported at least once. Further, Packilvania has very small chemical weapons stockpiles for research purposes.
Information warfare
Information warfare is an asymmetric warfare style that entails leveraging and controlling information to achieve military objectives. Information warfare is a key part of the Packilvanian military doctrine. The use of surveillance and censorship in Packilvania to ensure that Packilvanian military action is portrayed in a positive light domestically has been leveraged to ensure maximum public support and/or assuage the public from criticising military actions undertaken by the state. Furthermore, Packilvanian can leverage various modern means such as social media and the Internet to recruit soldiers, foment feelings or ideologies against enemies and for allies, spread misinformation or information to the enemy's population etc.
Cyberwarfare
Cyber warfare relates to the use of cybersystems to combat another nations armed forces. This includes intercepting, decoding and leveraging transmissions via the Internet, cable or physical letters between enemy forces. This take the form of wiretapping and deep packet inspection. Additionally, Packilvania has also worked on and successfully intercepted, corrupted, modified or replaced transmissions between enemy forces in combat situations such as signal jamming. Furthermore, Packilvania has used hacking to penetrate and debilitate enemy information systems such as implanting malware and using Denial-of-Service attacks. Furthermore, Packilvania has developed a robust system to prevent other nations from intercepting its own transmissions and/or disabling its information systems. Packilvania benefits from the fact that it has never had an open Internet. Thus it has had years to develop cyberwarfare expertise and to put in place a comprehensive system of safeguards to protect itself from foreign cyber attacks.
Space warfare
Packilvania is in the process of developing and testing anti-satellite weapons systems. It has successfully tested the use of robots and missiles to bring down old and decaying satellites which can be theoretically used to destroy enemy satellites. Other methods such as using lasers or other satellites to manipulate the functions of enemy satellites have been explored but tests have hitherto proven successful. Beyond targeting enemy satellites, Packilvania is staunchly opposed to other forms of space based warfare such as kinetic weapons. These are weapons dropped from space whereby gravity enables a projectile to cause nuclear-scale destruction. Packilvania remains highly opposed to this and has thus far avoided developing such systems. Furthermore, Packilvania is strongly opposed to using military force against civilian research and commercial space activities. Packilvania has started research on protecting the planet from solar flares, gamma Ray bursts and comets but research is limited due to funding, scientific and technological constraints.
Urban warfare
Urban refers to fighting in densely populated highly built up environments. This proves difficult for Packilvania to undertake while sticking to its moral code in part due to the fact that in urban areas it is much easier for civilian facilities and infrastructure to be used for military purposes and military and civilian infrastructure are much closer together. On top of the moral difficulties of fighting in such spaces, practical constraints impede a military like Packilvania's (which is dedicated to conventional warfare).
Packilvanian also faces technical difficulties in this area. For instance, its soldiers have heavy long range hand held weapons that struggle in close quarter combat. Packilvania has a massive tank fleet but tanks often struggle with navigating small alleyways and streets. Packilvania is very adept at siege warfare however. They are well equipped to surround an urban area for extended periods, but making meaningful advances in urban areas proves difficult. Thus, often Packilvania deploys a "war of attrition" style of combat whereby they aim to grind down and tire enemy forces.
Guerilla warfare
Packilvania's military is built primarily to fight other countries militaries in conventional scenarios. It is not focused on fighting guerilla warfare. Thus, small localised bands on people operating with relatively low-tech devices, paramilitary training and low-yield weapons can last for a long time against a Packilvanian military occupation. Packilvania also struggles to leverage information warfare outside of its borders in most countries. Packilvania has begun experimenting with using mercenaries, co-opting local forces or encouraging intra-guerilla conflict to combat their shortfalls against these forces. But naturally such tactics have their limitations.
Moral codes
Packilvanian soldiers must abide by strict rules in combat scenarios. They may not plunder the resources of the nation they are trying to capture. Packilvania strictly attempts to avoid killing non-combatants or damaging civilian infrastructure. This is particularly difficult given the challenges of distinguishing between military and civilian infrastructure. Nevertheless, critics have often felt that these safeguards are weak and the Minister of Defence has tacitly agreed and the government is in the process of doing more research on and developing methods to reduce civilian casualties. Prisoners of war captured by Packilvanian forces must be treated humanely. Civilians may not be used as shields, or intermediaries in combat situations. Unless civilians willfully obstruct and/or use violent force against Packilvanian soldiers, Packilvanian soldiers are required to leave them alone and treat them as humanely as reasonably possible. Intimate relations between Packilvanian soldiers and enemy citizens or combatants are explicitly forbidden. Furthermore, coercive relations of that nature are explicitly forbidden as a means of accomplishing military objectives. Soldiers who break these rules are subjected to the military court system which has much wider list of war crimes eligible for execution. Complaints against Packilvanian conbatants can be brought by all civilians including of enemy states to Packilvanian commanders. Furthermore, at the strategic level, Packilvania is highly opposed to violence of any kind against civilians for military objectives. Peacekeepers have a special dispensation whereby they are treated like non-combatants.
Logistics
Packilvania has many weaknesses and strengths with regard to logistics in combat situations. It benefits from high tech satellite communication. This might be great in getting a picture of Foreign nations and passing communications, but they struggle in low tech situations where signals might be difficult to receive or transmit due to dense cloud and canopy cover. Packilvania has a reasonably flexible system of requesting and sending supplies to its soldiers abroad. Commanders request resources for their units on an as needed basis. This is great for ensuring that resources are sent where they are needed, however, this system struggles when communication lines are limited or commanders act in the interest of themselves or their own crew making it difficult for resources to reach where they are needed.
Packilvania has bases in foreign nations as well as Air craft carrier strike groups that allow it to project power far from home. However, there are areas of the world where it is significantly more difficult to send forces due to the lack of bases such as Gondwana. Through leveraging bases in Nystatiszna, Iphelklori and Kalatya it is easier for it to project power in Borea, Arcturia and Itur respectively than in Novaris, Gondwana or Aurora. Packilvania is well suited to land invasions of surrounding nations because it has a massive logistics force which includes over 100,000 trucks and 400 cargo aircraft allowing food, medical supplies, ammunition, parts and fuel to reach combat zones hundreds of miles away. Packilvania benefits from maintaining ties with non-state actors as in the event of a war, these actors can not only provide additional combat strength but they can provide logistical support in the form of food and intelligence.
Ranks
| Paygrade | O0 | O1 | O2 | O3 | O4 | O5 | O6 | O7 | O8 | O9 | O10 | O11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Private (Muwad) | Sergeant
(Sahed) |
Lieutenant
(Tashraq) |
Captain
(Dawaheen) |
Major
(Jubran) |
Lieutenant Colonel (Tashraq Ihan) | Colonel
(Ihan) |
Brigadier General (Hubaleed Qamid) | Major General
(Jubran Qamid) |
Lieutenant General (Tashraq Qamid) | General
(Qamid) |
Field Marshal (Duwal Mavadun) |
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| Navy | Midshipmen
(Hebelad) |
Ensign (Tuwak) | Lieutenant Junior (Tashraqili) | Lieutenant (Tashraq) | Lieutenant Commander (Tashraq Qamidili) | Commander (Qamidili) | Captain (Dawaheen) | Rear Admiral Lower (Behal Wahadun Etil) | Rear Admiral
(Behal Wahadun) |
Vice Admiral (Kataya Wahadun) | Admiral (Wahadun) | Admiral of the Fleet (buWahadun aluArmada) |
| Air Force | Private | Sergeanr | Lieutenant | Captain | Major | Lieutenant Colonel | Colonel | Brigadier General | Major General | Lieutenant General | General | Air Commodore (Yiqa Qamadun) |