Defense White Paper of 630AB

## **PURPOSE:**

The Purpose of this report is to highlight the current situation of the Republic's military, its major deficiencies, and courses of action to improve the Joint Force.

### **SCOPE:**

The scope of this paper is to be all encompassing with regard to the Armed Forces.   Equipment, training, education, and philosophy.

### **OBJECTIVE:**

The Kodiak Armed Forces are designed for the country’s defense and is not conducive to offensive warfare against neighboring countries. The army is the primary military force, with smaller air force and naval elements. Air defense assets are found in the army.

### **STRATEGIC OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK:**

The strategic operational framework for all countries in the region is similar in construct and application. This is primarily the result of historic influences transcending the region. The Kodiak government exercises command and control (C2) of the armed forces via the Supreme Headquarters (SHQ), which includes the Ministry of Defense (MOD) and a General Staff drawn from all the service components. In peacetime, the MOD and General Staff operate closely but separately. The MOD assumes the responsibility for policy, acquisitions, and financing the armed forces. The General Staff promulgates policy and supervises the service components, while its functional directorates assume responsibility for key aspects of defense planning. In wartime, the MOD and General Staff merge to form the SHQ, which functions as a unified headquarters.

Kodiak configures its military in an administrative force structure (AFS) that manages its military forces in peacetime. This AFS contains the aggregate of various military headquarters, facilities, and installations designed to man, train, and equip the forces. In peacetime, the various militaries group their forces into a regional operational command for administrative purposes. If the SHQ elects to create more than one theater headquarters, it may allocate parts of the AFS to each of the theaters, normally along geographic lines. Typically, these administrative groupings differ from the country’s go-to-war (fighting) force structure. Other parts of the AFS consist of assets centrally controlled at the national level.

### **IMPLIMENTING NATIONAL STRATEGIC GOALS:**

Strategic operations remain a continuous process not limited to wartime or preparation for war. Once war begins, strategic operations continue during regional, transition, and adaptive operations and complement those operations. Each of the latter three types of operations occurs only during war and only under certain conditions. Transition operations can overlap regional and adaptive operations.

In pursuit of its national security strategy, Kodiak finds itself prepared to conduct four basic types of strategic-level courses of action. The four types of operations include:

* **Strategic operations** use all instruments of power in peace and war to achieve a country’s national security strategy goals through attacks against the enemy’s strategic centers of gravity.
* **Regional operations** include conventional, force-on-force military operations against overmatched opponents, such as regional adversaries and internal threats.
* **Transition operations** bridge the gap between regional and adaptive operations and contain some elements of both. The country continues to pursue its regional goals while dealing with developing outside intervention that has the potential to overmatch its military.
* **Adaptive operations** preserve the country’s power and apply it in adaptive ways against opponents that overmatch the country’s military.

Each type of operation aggregates the effects of tactical, operational, and strategic actions in conjunction with instruments of national power to achieve the country’s strategic goals. The types of operations employed at a given time will depend on the types of threats, opportunities, and other conditions present.

Kodiak's strategy typically may start with actions directed at a regional opponent that the government may or may not overmatch in conventional military power, as well as other instruments of power. If possible, Kodiak will attempt to achieve its ends without armed conflict through diplomacy and the other instruments of power. Accordingly, the country does not limit strategic operations to military means and usually do not begin with armed conflict. Kodiak may achieve the desired goal through pressure applied by nonmilitary instruments of power, perhaps by merely threatening to use military power against the opponent. These actions fall under the general framework of “strategic operations.”

Kodiak may resort to armed conflict to achieve its desired end state when nonmilitary means prove insufficient or not expedient. Strategic operations, however, continue even if a particular regional threat or opportunity causes the country to undertake “regional operations” that may include military means.

Prior to the initiation of hostilities and throughout the course of armed conflict with its regional opponent, Kodiak will continue to conduct strategic operations to preclude intervention by outside players hostile to it—either regional neighbors or an extra-regional power that could overmatch its forces. Kodiak will likely request support from the World Assembly. Such operations for the country, however, will always include branches and sequels to deal with the possibility of intervention by an extra-regional power.

## **MILITARY FORCES OVERVIEW:**

### **STRATEGY:**

Kodiak's military strategy currently revolves around the stabilization of its borders since the beginning of the World Assembly intervention. The military doctrine published by the Minister of Defense specifically states that the Kodiak military must protect its country from external threats. The Kodiak military continues to attempt to modernize aging equipment stockpiles of Tier 3 weapon systems.

### **ARMY OVERVIEW:**

The Kodiak army fields approximately 100,000 soldiers, but recruitment and budget shortfalls have resulted in many units manning only 75% of the formations. Kodiak ground forces consist primarily of mechanized infantry units, but there are some armor, airborne, and air mobile units as well. Most ground-based equipment was produced internally by a robust Kodiak military industrial complex or purchased from the international community. Recently, Kodiak ceased new purchases with a slashed budget and has relied on aging systems for decades, falling behind compared to our neighbors. Kodiak currently possesses enough funcitonal tier 2 tanks and IFVs to field four fully manned brigades, three Long Range Recon Brigades and an armored brigade. Each of these brigade reports directly to the regional operational command to which it is assigned, while the separate tank brigade reports directly to the SHQ. The mechanized divisions of each regional command are composed of three mechanized infantry brigades with IFVs and one tank brigade.

### **ARMY STRUCTURE**

The maneuver brigade serves as Kodiak's basic combined arms unit. In the AFS, some maneuver brigades are constituent, or organic, to the base structure, such as divisions. The NCA calls them *divisional brigades*. Kodiak, however, organize some units as *separate brigades*, designed to possess greater ability to accomplish independent missions without further allocation of forces from a higher tactical-level headquarters. Separate brigades possess some subordinate units with the same force structure as a divisional brigade of the same type (for example, the headquarters); some units that are especially tailored to the needs of a separate brigade, marked “(Sep)” in the organizational directories; and some that are the same as units of this type found at division level, marked “(Div.).”

The Kodiak army designs its maneuver brigades to serve as the basis to form a brigade tactical group (BTG) if necessary. A brigade, separate or as part of a BTG, can fight as part of a division or division tactical group (DTG), a separate unit in an operational-strategic command (OSC), an organization of the AFS (such as army, corps, or military district), or as part of a field group (FG)

The Kodiak army has an estimated 100,000 ground troops divided into three operational commands— Eastern, Northern, and Southern. Each operational command controls a division and at least one separate brigade. Some of the maneuver brigades are assigned to the division in each operational command while the separate brigades report directly to the operational command. The Supreme High Command has three separate brigades under its direct command and located close to the capital city for internal security purposes. The separate tank brigade operates the newest equipment and these brigades are composed of the best-trained soldiers in the ground forces.

### **ARMY DOCTRINE AND TACTICS:**

The Kodiak military is in the midst massive shortfall in readiness from decades of under funding and lack of equiping and maintaining. The military, with advice from the World Assembly, is changing its doctrine and tactics from a top-down directed leadership style to one of emphasizing initiative at the lowest leader level possible. Since the arrival of World Assembly advisers, more Kodiak junior officers have trained in outside military academies, this influence is seen throughout the military from the use of more focus on mission command. The most experienced officers, however, were trained in domestically, and sometimes this diverse experience creates a rift between the senior Kodiak officers and those at the field grade level and below.

Kodiak maintains a small, but reasonably competent, special-operations force (SOF) of one Regiment that cross-trains with World Assembly units. The Kodiak SOF reports directly to the Supreme High Command for national-level missions. The intelligence organizations will prioritize support for SOF, and most maneuver elements will construct “special purpose”-type units from their conventional reconnaissance forces or sniper units, primarily for reconnaissance purposes. The Kodiak army also fields seperate reconnaissance brigades to act as corps level assets.

## **Naval Forces Overview**

### **Major Kodiak Naval Bases and Repair Facilities**

The Kodiak navy operates approximately 20 major ships, but nothing larger than a corvette or a frigate. In addition to multiple patrol vessels, the navy possess some amphibious landing craft, auxiliaries, and training craft. The Kodiaker navy operates almost exclusively in litorral waters.

### **Navy Size and Structure**

The Kodiak navy contains approximately 14,000 sailors of all ranks. The country divides control of its navy between the Northern and Southern Naval Territories, with the overall headquarters in Rykkburgh. The former operates out of San Chico and the latter out of Robingrad.

FIGURE 6: Uniforms of the Naval Force

Left to right: Enlisted, Petty Officer, Chief Petty Officer, Officer, Flag Officer

### **Navy Doctrine and Tactics**

Kodiak's maritime forces primarily protect coastal borders and patrol the rivers for illegal activities. The security of the Northen and Southern coasts are paramount to the security of the country. As secondary missions, Kodiak maritime forces conduct search and rescue (SAR) and port security operations. The Southern Naval forces are a combination of blue water and brown water units that operate in the southern Seas and in the adjacent rivers. The Northern Naval forces are exclusively brown water and patrol the interior rivers of the country. The navy operate three submarines from its port in Robingrad.

Kodiak's naval missions might include:

**·        Defensive patrolling of coastal areas**

**·        Anti-smuggling operations**

**·        Mine sweeping**

**·        Amphibious operations**

**·        Defensive minelaying operations**

### **Naval Forces Training and Readiness**

The Kodiak navy conducts most of its training on the southern sea and continues to look to international navies and the WA to conduct joint naval operations.

### **Navy Equipment and Weapons**

The Kodiak navy operates weapons and equipment with primarily tier 3 capabilities.  Kodiak's naval forces can operate in most waters in and around the country, with the ability to conduct both day and limited night operations. Most Kodiak ships serve as patrol boats, but the country does possess some limited fast attack and landing craft capability.

## **Air Force Overview**

### **Major Kodiak Air Force Bases**

The Kodiak air force’s missions include the protection of the country’s borders, troop transport, close air support for ground forces, and protection of key infrastructure, mainly political and economic targets. The Kodiaker air force operates primarily tier 3 equipment and planes. Kodiaker pilots, with assistance from WA trainers, have demonstrated the capacity to quickly improve their flying skills if given enough training time.

### **Air Force Size and Structure**

Kodiak operates a fairly robust air force of 45,000 personnel that consists of a headquarters in Rykkburgh, three air commands covering the same ground territory as the army commands (North, East, and South, located at Taiping, Mentian, and Astroberg respectively), five fighter squadrons, one ground attack squdron, one bomber squadron, one reconnaissance squadron, three transport squadrons, and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) squadron. Assets that the Kodiak air force can use on the battlefield to provide close air support (CAS) to ground forces include the one ground attack squadron. In addition to its maintenance units, the Kodiak air force fields an aviation transport squadron.

FIGURE 7: Uniforms of the Air Force

Left to right: Airman, Non-commissioned officer, Junior Officer, Senior Officer, General Officer

### **Air Force Doctrine and Tactics**

Recently the Kodiak air force has turned to the WA and the other international militaries for additional training. With this new influence, the air force continues to move away from domestic tactics and embrace those of its new training partners. Despite the change in doctrinal influences, the Kodiak air force still demonstrates the ability to adapt its tactics based on the constraints of a ill maintained-force and limited new equipment procurement. The air force will not hesitate to subdivide its units and move a smaller element to a civilian runway and use it as long as the runway’s location continues to support the mission.

### **Air Force Training and Readiness**

Kodiak continues to improve its personnel readiness and recent reports indicate an announced 71% operational readiness rate. The quality of its pilots continues to improve as they receive additional stick time and continue to interact more with other international air forces through exchange programs.

While the headquarters of the various air force units are at discrete locations, the Kodiak air force has priority for the use of any runway in the country for its operations. The air force will deploy smaller elements of its various  squadrons to forward operating bases in support of a particular mission. In times of conflict, the military will take control of civilian runways for military use until the emergency is over.

### **Air Force Equipment and Weapons**

Kodiak air force equipment and weapons comes primarily from exisiting stockpiles.  The country is looking to purchase new airplanes from modern manufacturers, depending on funding. Spare parts shortages are not abnormal and cannibalization to make operational planes does occur in some commands. The most recent reports suggest the operational readiness equipment rate for the Kodiaker air force is now over 67%.