Volkian Defense Forces: Difference between revisions

The Volkian Army is made up of three components: the active component, the Regular Army; and two reserve components, the Army NationalHome Guard and the Army Reserve. Both reserve components are primarily composed of part-time soldiers who train once a month, known as battle assemblies or unit training assemblies, and conduct two to three weeks of annual training each year. The Volkian Army's main combat forces are grouped in brigades which are further grouped into divisions. Each division falls under a geographically based unified defensive commands. The Army's main tactical formations are combined arms task forces made up of elements drawn from different units.

At first, servicewomen were barred from combat positions and other "dangerous" jobs. In 1984 these restrictions began to be lifted, and by late 1985 all positions in the VDF were available to women. Despite this open policy, women still only make up 3834% of active, reserve, and nationalhome guard positions. In comparison, women make up nearly 52% of the Volkian population as a whole. Even though this number is not totally representative, the VDF today currently has more female members than any point in its history.

There are still concerns over incidents of gender-based discrimination and sexual abuse in the VDF. In 2013 the Defense Abuse Response Task Force estimated that around 2,200 currently-serving personnel had abused other members of the military, and recommended that a presidential commission be conducted to investigate long-running allegations of sexual abuse and assault of servicewomen at the Volkgoroda Military College. In 2014, GeneralArmy Chief of theStaff ArmyGeneral [[Erik Balashov]] warned against sexual abuse and gender discrimination, stating that he would dismiss any member of the Army that engaged in such activity. Both sexual abuse and gender discrimination are grounds for being dishonorably discharged from the VDF, and the former often results in criminal prosecution.