Grand Imperial Military

## Introduction

The **Grand Imperial Military** (GIM) are the armed forces of the New Frenco Empire. It consists of three main branches; the Grand Imperial Army (GIA), the Grand Imperial Navy (GIN), and the Grand Imperial Space Force (GISF), with one specialized paramilitary reserve branch, the Cadets' Guards. The Emperor serves as commander-in-chief of the GIM, while a hand-picked Supreme Commander oversees the service. The Imperial War Office serves as the bureaucratic and political arm, and that is overseen by a Chief Secretary.

Made up of eight million active personnel, it is the second largest armed force in the solar system by active personnel (second only to the GCR). However, when counting reserves, paramilitary, and CG conscripts among others, it is by far the largest war machine not only in the solar system, but in all of human history. The sheer size of the GIM, combined with the NFE's impressive hegemony and an extremely large budget of nearly ten trillion Victory Credits (about $5 trillion USD) with a healthy industrial and technological base make it the most powerful armed service in the solar system according to most sources.

Though conscription directly into the GIM was intrinsic to its structure since its founding, the GIM has since shifted into a purely volunteer/professional force. However, conscription still continues with the Cadets' Guards, where many youth aspiring for uniformed service (of which there is no lack of) voluntarily enter the GIM after their service, already well-trained and groomed for the military life.

## History

The Grand Imperial Military, in some ways even before it's inception (preceded by PAFNR), is intrinsically linked to Imperial history and society, the power and prestige of the armed forces being necessary to the survival of the Empire in its early years and one of its key factors in its overwhelming domination later on.

On November 11th, 2062, the PAFNR was reformed and reorganized in the GIM practically overnight, matching the sheer abruptness in which the revolutionary New Roman state became the authoritarian and militant entity now known as the New Frenco Empire. Being made up of Winter War veterans, who often saw combat stagnate back to trench warfare and brutal close-quarters battle in the post-war world, the early GIM was just as ragtag and disorganized as the PAFNR, with almost no standard issue equipment (beyond their radiation-shielded combat suits and 416 rifles) and barely a coherent command structure with any sound idea of grand strategy.

The GIM's first engagements were in the fabled Pacification Wars, where the new Imperial forces vied for territorial supremacy against raider gangs, "hermit states", U.S government remnants, and disenchanted rebel groups across the North American continent for almost two decades (though some analysts consider the Pacification Wars a continuation of the Winter War, with the former coming into play during the period of overwhelming New Roman advantage). Though most engagements fought by the GIM were, quick, decisive, and overwhelmingly victorious, the task of holding and successfully keeping the peace in held territory made it an extremely bloody and long affair, and manpower shortages prompted both the **Open** **Army Act of 2066** and **Conscription Act of 2066**, the former "opened up" the GIM to all able-bodied adults younger than 45 and removed the often-hampering requirement of "political education" for all soldiers (which, prior to the act, required entrance to New Rome and a somewhat hefty fee). The latter act mandated that all wards of the state aged 18-25 were to serve two-to-four years in the GIM.

Despite the extreme abruptness and far-reaching implications of the latter legislation, there was little in the way of resistance to the act - the GIM was a way out of the refugee camps for the disenfranchised young orphans, and many turned up in droves to enlist before their conscription notices could even be delivered. The huge influx of uniformed men and women also prompted a wide range of unofficial reforms within the armed forces, turning it from an almost "militia-like" and deeply ideological force into a proper military. Equipment was standardized, and more gear was made from scratch in factories rather than being scavenged from the battlefield. The NFE's first domestic mass-produced firearm, the M48 Revolver, was first deployed in late 2066 after just a few months of development time, and the now-ubiquitous M19 Battle Rifle came in 2070. Though the GIM continued to rely on United States leftovers well into the 2080s, a healthy industrial system was growing, backed up with growing private contractors and an experimental national arsenal system supervised by RAIDA.