Central Galactic Union Army

The Central Galactic Union Army is the land component of the Union military, and is the largest branch of the armed forces. The Army is responsible for conducting most land military operations and establishing "land dominance" at a strategic, operational, and tactical level. Its roots lay with the oldest armed services in human history, and traces its lineage to ancient Earth armies extending into Bronze Age antiquity. Its strongest traditions are tied to the Terran Imperial Army, which gathered most of its structure, system, and history from the militaries of North America, Western Europe, Japan, and China.
As a uniformed military service, the Union Army is administered by the Department of the Army, which is one of the four military departments of the Ministry of Defense. The Union Army is administered jointly by an appointed civil servant, the Secretary of the Army, and a chief military officer, the Chief of Staff of the Army, who is also a member of the Defense Staff. The reported manpower strength of the Army included around 155 billion active-duty expeditionary soldiers, 55 billion ready reserve soldiers, and 14 billion inactive reservists.
== History ==
The Union Army has its roots in the military traditions of the member nations of the Interstellar Treaty Organization, especially that of the Terran Empire. The structure of the Terran Imperial Army served as the basis for operational and tactical organization. The Imperial Army was under the administrative oversight of the Army Office within the Imperial Ministry of Defense. This followed from Earth traditions in which the military was governed by civilian authorities. The largest empires of the ISTO, including the Empire of Orion, the Empire of Sagittarius, and the Federation of Cygnus, operated their armies under similar principles. A few states, most notably the Despotate of Perseus, had an independent General Staff managing their military with the only civilian oversight being the monarch directly.
The Terran Imperial Army largely drew its traditions from the ancient Earth armies of Britain, Russia, Western Europe, Germany, China, Japan, and the United States. These armies had formed, at various stages, the Allied forces of the 20th century World Wars, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United Nations Security Council, and the United Nations Armed Forces. These cultural traditions informed to a great extent the armies of the allied forces in the Interstellar Treaty Organization.
The Allied Command Staff of the ISTO had operational control over the joint forces of the member states in times of jointly-conducted war. The Great War saw the greatest depth of coordination between the participating armies. The Galactic Confederation, replacing the ISTO in November 2670, vested the conduct of common military policy in the War Committee, which directed the military resources of the member nations, and provided civilian oversight for the greatly-empowered Allied Command Staff. As a practical matter, the Terran Imperial military managed most the Confederate armed forces as it was the largest military in the confederation.
After the dissolution of the member states in March 2675, the Confederate armed forces were in a state of limbo. This was resolved with the transition to the Republic in April. The provisional Congress of the Republic made for a temporary War Office to manage the military forces. The Ministry of Defense, Department of the Army, and the Army proper were formed on 2 February 2676 with the National Security Act passed by the first Central Galactic Congress.
The majority of Army forces were organized as defensive troops to garrison the many worlds administered by the Republic. After the war, many soldiers in the various former national armies were deactivated and discharged, and between April 2675 and February 2676, around 75% of army divisions were demobilized. The public perception was that, having completed the conflict and won the Final Victory, the Army could be shrunk to a size of strict necessity. A relatively small cadre of soldiers were retained, largely from the Terran provinces, to form an expeditionary force under the Army Forces Command to combat colonial and regionalist insurrections. Many soldiers from across the Galaxy re-enlisted to serve in the active reserve forces, on garrison duty on their home worlds but not expected to be called up for war. However, the revolt in the Far Rim and the Occupied Territories in 2679 sparked the re-evaluation of military policy. The Army Forces Command was vastly expanded in the 2680 budget, and the activation of reservists and new recruitment programs expanded the Army. The Army was deployed in ground-fighting operations throughout the galaxy against Remnant forces, colonial insurrectionists, pirates, and gangs between 2679 and 2686.
The course of the Army changed in April 2688. The ambush of exploratory spacecraft in the Outer Rim by armed forces of the Zaaroft Imperium instigated the Rim War. The Special High Command for the Outer Rim was formed to coordinate all joint operations in that theater of operations. This command was held by the Chief of the Allied Command Staff in a "dual hat" role to manage the multinational expeditionary forces. The Army provided a significant amount of expeditionary troops for this command. The 2689 budget expanded the Army Forces Command in order to provide a constant flow of troops.
== Organization ==
=== Administrative ===
The Union Army is headed administratively by the Army Chief of Staff, an active-duty general officer who is the chief adviser on Army matters and chief advocate on the Army's professional, technological, and operational development, and the Army General Staff. The Chief of Staff is statutorily an officer of the rank of Grand Marshal. The Chief of Staff also serves on the Defense Staff, an agency of the Ministry of Defense composed of the service chiefs and joint high commanders who, under the guidance of the Chief of the Defense Staff, deliberate on military matters and direct the combatant commanders. The Army General Staff and its operational components are headquartered in Berlin, Brandenburg.
=== Strategic ===
The Army is divided functionally into Major Commands, typically headed by an Army officer of Grand Marshal rank, and High Commands, headed by an Army officer of Chief Marshal rank. Four Major Commands are based around particular tasks or purposes. Army Forces Command is tasked with the training and disposition of expeditionary troops. It is the largest single Major Command and controls the active-duty soldiers who are assigned to various expeditionary forces, providing a constant flow of trained and ready soldiers to combatant commanders. The other Army MAJCOMs include the Army Reserve Command, Army Special Operations Command, Army Training and Doctrine Command, and Army Logistical Command. Army HIGHCOMs include the Army Academy and College System, Army Acquisitions and Systems Command, Army Corps of Engineers, Army Cyberwarfare Center, Army Intelligence Command, Army Medical Command, Army Personnel Command, Army Test and Evaluation Command.
In addition to these major commands, Army general officers are authorized serve as combatant commanders for any Sector-level astrographical High Command. Each of these control a different amount of personnel, with the "operational building block" being an Army Group. Each High Command possesses several Army Groups, and correspond to one of the Sector-level administrative units of the Union. Some have more, if they are deemed particularly strategically significant or contain active combat zones. A few additional Army Commands handle special areas of responsibility, such as the ground defense of the capital city held by the Capital District Command, the Army Educational Command, the Test and Evaluation Command, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Army Corps of Chaplains.
=== Operational ===
The operational basis of the Army, whether in expeditionary or defensive forces, is the Army Group. An Army Group is a self-sufficient combined-arms force commanded by a General Field Marshal or a Colonel General and consists of two or more Field Armies, and can contain up to 10 million soldiers. A Field Army, commanded by a Colonel General or full General, consists of several Corps, themselves commanded by a General or a Lieutenant General, and can vary greatly in its size depending on operational needs. A Corps is the smallest combat unit capable of independent planetary operations; as demonstrated in the Great War, these units of up to 160,000 soldiers can deploy onto a planet and perform encirclement and strike operations to suppress planetary defenses and seize strategic objectives. However, more developed or better-defended worlds can require much more, sometimes a full field Army.
Corps are composed of a variable number of Divisions, commanded usually by a Major General (OF-8) and consisting of between twenty-seven and thirty-three thousand soldiers, with 31,000 being typical for "maneuver" divisions like Infantry and Armored. A Division is usually based around a particular set of operational specialties, and is composed of a number of modular brigades of a more specialized nature. The Union Army is composed of around 7,000,000 active and reserve divisions.
=== Tactical ===
Army tactical units are of Divisional scale and smaller. Divisions are composed of a varying number of specialized Brigades, the smallest self-sufficient combined-arms tactical unit. Divisions are broadly grouped into two "weight classes", based on its manpower and equipment, which balances maneuverability against deployability. Heavy Divisions include Infantry divisions, Armored divisions, and Grenadier divisions, which have either all infantry, all armored, or an even mix of infantry and armored brigades. Light Divisions have three infantry brigades with generally lighter vehicle and armored equipment, and include Light Infantry divisions, Airborne divisions, and Mountain divisions. Heavy-type divisions have more armor and firepower, and are capable of greater maneuverability in combat, but are less readily deployable due to their heavier equipment. Light divisions have less maneuverability, being equipped with lighter vehicles, but are more able to be deployed anywhere on their garrison worlds due to less load being carried by aircraft or orbital launch.
Usually a Division has three to four maneuver brigades, an artillery brigade, an aviation brigade, a protection brigade, an engineer brigade, and a support brigade, as well as a command and support headquarters unit, the Divisional HQ Battalion. Brigades are typically commanded by Colonel (OF-6), though brigade-sized formations independent of the division are commanded by a Brigadier General (OF-7). Maneuver brigades are usually composed of a headquarters company as a command and support unit, three maneuver battalions, a cavalry squadron, and several battalions attached from the supporting element brigades: a combat engineer battalion, an artillery battalion, and a combat support battalion. A brigade is designed to be modular and capable of independent combined-arms operations at the tactical level, with the division often acting as more of an administrative command. As such, while the aviation brigade is a separate formation within the Division, it is not uncommon for its assets to be divided and assigned as aerial support for the maneuver brigades.
Battalions are composed of between two and six Companies, and are commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel (OF-5) or a Major (OF-4) along with a command staff. Battalions and Companies are usually very specialized; artillery companies are referred to as a Battery and cavalry companies are referred to as a Troop. Each Company is headed by a company officer, usually a Captain though a First Lieutenant or a Major may be found in command, and is composed of around 140 to 225 soldiers, divided into three to five platoons with support elements.
At the platoon level, numbers may vary. Infantry platoons, which are the most numerous in the Army, consist of 41 soldiers divided into 9-person squads plus a headquarter section, usually three rifle squads and a heavy weapons squad. Armored vehicle platoons have typically fewer soldiers, but are built around teams of armored vehicles with considerable firepower. Tank platoons comprise six main battle tanks divided between the Platoon HQ and its four Tank Sections.
In the field, tactical units are often detached from their formal units of organization and employed in "battle groups" or "task forces" based around a balance of specialties and armaments. The strategic doctrine in Army expeditionary and defensive forces differ widely, as both have very different responsibilities. However, operationally and tactically, they are similar in that they are based on mission-based tactics and fast-moving encirclements and pincer maneuvers. The experiences of the Great War have greatly affected the planning and doctrine of the Army.
== Personnel ==
=== Ranks ===
=== Recruitment ===
A significant proportion of active-duty and reserve soldiers in the Army are professional volunteers, enlisting or commissioning into the Army as a career. Recruitment for such volunteers is done through the numerous recruiting stations on member worlds of the Republic, and through mass media. Visual arts, performing arts, radio and television broadcast, telephone calls, social media presence, and email lists are all used as a medium for recruitment messages. Incentives for voluntary enlistment include preferential placement into branch and arm of service and greater career potential and opportunity for advancement in comparison to conscription, as well as the ordinary benefits of military personnel: above-average pay, comprehensive healthcare, and government-subsidized housing, nutrition, insurance, and higher-level education.
All human citizens aged 18 to 25 are eligible for conscription into National Service, which includes military service. Not all citizens are automatically inducted into service; induction is determined by the Selection Board, a panel of civilian artificial intelligences that collate data on all registered citizens and determine induction based on age, fitness, and personnel needs. Induction is deferred until the end of secondary school for those who come of age while attending secondary school. Eligible citizens are required to take an aptitude test, physical examination, and a background examination upon induction to determine qualification for enlistment into the Armed Forces. Army service constitutes the majority of conscription placements. The majority of conscripted soldiers are assigned to active reserve units, though some are rotated into expeditionary duty.
=== Training ===
Upon induction, Army soldiers are sent to a Military Training Depot on a "hub world". Typically, each Sector has at least one depot world. Each depot has a complex of training facilities for all branches and arms of service. Army training starts with Basic Training, consisting of a 60-day course which crafts discipline as well as physical and mental adjustment to military service. It is followed by Advanced Training, the duration of which differs based on arm of service or occupational specialty. For instance, Infantry School consists of a four-week course in basic and advanced techniques for close combat, followed by a two-week Harsh Environment Training course. Advanced Training may last between four weeks to eighteen months, depending on the training course.
== Equipment ==
=== Weapons ===
==== Individual weapons ====
The Army uses a wide array of personal or individual weapons to provide light firepower at short ranges. The experiences in various past wars of the Terran Empire and its allies, but most especially of the Great War, have demonstrated the need for both short-ranged, intermediate-caliber weapons and for longer-ranged, full rifle-caliber weapons available for different tactical situations. The most common weapons in use are the M-150 Battle Rifle, the 7.92x57mm service rifle; and the AR-78 Assault Rifle, a closer-ranged, compact rifle chambered in 7.92x33mm. Many reserve units are equipped with older stock weaponry from the Great War era, and have yet to receive the newest infantry weapons, which are stocked first with the expeditionary troops. Such weapons include the M1 Battle Rifle (chambered in 7.92x57mm) and the FG-101 Para Rifle (chambered in 7.92x33mm). The standard sidearm of all Army units is the P64A Pistol, which has been in service since the 2660s.
Many units make use of a variety of other, more specialized weapons as a supplement for standard arms or in replacement due to their particular uses, like the ubiquitous use of carbines among commando units. Suppressive fire is often provided through the MG-131 Squad Automatic Weapon at the team- or squad-level. Indirect fire usually comes from one of a variety of standard grenade launchers, including the drum-fed, revolver-style L-19 Grenade Launcher (firing 40x46mm grenade rounds), the magazine-fed, semi-automatic GrW-86 Individual Counter-Defilade Weapon (firing smaller 25x40mm grenade rounds), or the under-barrel GG-11 Rifle Grenade Module (firing 40x46mm grenades) ordinarily affixed to service rifles but which can be detached and used on its own. The semi-automatic M-23B Combat Shotgun and the M77 Automatic Shotgun are used for door-breaching and close quarters combat. Squad-level marksmen make use of the SR-38 Designated Marksmen Rifle (a modified and scoped M1 rifle) and the M991 Sniper Weapon System (a modified M-150 rifle) for long-range fire support, while sniper specialists at platoon-level teams train for use with antique but reliable and powerful bolt-action precision rifles. Hand grenades are used, including the Model 1 Fragmentation Grenade, the Model 4 Incendiary Grenade, the Model 84 Stun Grenade, and the Model 20 Smoke Grenade.
Vehicle crews typically make use of smaller primary firearms than other soldiers, called "personal defense weapons". These include submachine guns, machine pistols, and some carbines. The most common of such weapons used are the top-loading, "bullpup" MPK-81 Personal Defense Weapon (chambered in 5x30mm), the old but reliable Mk-9K Submachine Gun or the FMP-5 Folding Machine Pistol (both chambered in 9x19mm), and the CS-5 Compact Submachine Gun (chambered in 10x20mm).
==== Crew served weapons ====
=== Vehicles ===
=== Uniforms ===
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Category:Military of the Central Galactic Union
Category:Ground warfare
Category:Central Galactic Union Army