The military of Callidia, officially known as the Callidian Defence Forces, is a institution somewhere between a militia and a regular army. It is equipped with modern, sophisticated, and well-maintained weapons systems and equipment. The defence budget equals about 1.4 % of the GDP.

The Callidia Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the Federal President (who is the commander in chief) in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral Elatan Andros.

Military doctrine: Self-defensive; independent defence of all of domestic territory.

History

The Callidian army originated from the provincial troops of the Old Callidian Confederacy, called upon in cases of external threats by the Confederate Diet (and after the 1906 reform the Senate) or by the province in distress. Paragraph 13 of the Articles of Confederation (Constitution) explicitly prohibited the confederacy from sustaining a standing army. Hence, there were no generally accepted police and army forces to keep order in Callidia after the dissolution of the Confederation in December 1917, and the opposing political factions (reds and whites) made many failed attempts of their own to create a new order and prevent social breakdown in .

The events of the general strike in November deepened the suspicion and mistrust in Callidia and finally put the possibility of compromise out of reach. The left and right began building security groups of their own, leading to the emergence of two independent armed military troops, the White (Civil) and Red (Worker’s Protection) Guards. An atmosphere of political violence and fear grew among the Callidians. Fighting broke out in late January 1918 after the Senate named the White Guards as the official army of Callidia and the Red Guards rose against them. The Whites were victorious in the ensuing civil war, and in the Common Charter (Federal Constitution) of 1918, which officially formed the United Federation, the White Army, Navy and Air force were reorganised in to the Callidian Defence Forces.

Organization

The Callidian Defence Forces consist of the General Staff and three defence branches:

• Callidian Army

• Callidian Navy

• Callidian Air Force

The Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated fully or in part into the defence forces when required by defence readiness.

Army Organization

The Army is divided into three commands (Western, Eastern and Northern) which bear the command responsibility for all brigade-level units. In addition, the commands direct the local military administration organization consisting of four operative military provinces, 3 territorial military provinces and 18 military districts. The operative military provinces form the operative reqional headquarters, each consisting of several brigades, while the territorial military provinces and military districts conduct conscription, train and manage the reserve, found the bulk of crisis-time units, and take care of the local defence. Each military district has its civilian counterpart among the regions, which facilitates the civilian-military cooperation in total defence.

Order of Battle

The army is split into separate Orders of Battle (ORBATs). The order of battle is the formal organization of troops within the Callidian military, the combination of formations on different levels which come together to form the fighting machine. The term is particularly associated with ground troops.

Command structure of the army:

• Callidian Army — 5 army groups, with the President as commander-in-chief.

• Army Group — 2 Armies, led by a general or field marshal

• Army — 4 corps, led by a general or field marshal

• Corps — 4 legions/brigades, led by a lieutenant general

• Legion/Brigade — 4 regiments, led by a brigadier general, brigadier, colonel or major general.

• Regiment — 4 battalions, led by a colonel.

• Battalion — 4 companies, led by a major.

• Company — 4 platoons, led by a captain.

• Platoon — 4 squads, led by a lieutenant.

• Squad — 9 troops, led by a sergeant.

Navy Organization

The Navy consists of headquarters, supporting elements and two maritime commands: Archipelago Sea and Gulf of Iliac maritime commands. These commands are brigade-level units responsible for conscript training and the integrity of Callidia's territorial waters. They include both ship and coastal units.

Air Force Organization

The Airforce consists of headquarters, supporting elements and three air commands, Arnesia and Valitria Air Commands. They are responsible for securing the integrity of the Callidian airspace during peace and for conducting aerial warfare independently during a crisis.

Military ranks

The Callidian military ranks follow the Western usage in the officer ranks. As a Callidian peculiarity, the rank of lieutenant has three grades: 2nd lieutenant, lieutenant and senior lieutenant. The 2nd lieutenant is a reserve officer rank, active personnel beginning their service as 1st lieutenants.

The basic structure of the NCO ranks is a variant of the German rank structure, but the rank system has some peculiarities due to different personnel groups. The duties carried out by NCOs in most Western armed forces are carried out by

• warrant officers serving in the ranks from lieutenant to captain
• career NCOs serving in the ranks from enlistee, sergeant, staff sergeant, warrant officer, senior warrant officer and chief warrant officer
• contractual military personnel serving in the ranks of lance corporal, corporal, sergeant and second lieutenant
• conscripts in the ranks of corporal, officer student, sergeant and officer cadet.

In a case of war, most of the NCO duties would be carried out by reserve NCOs who have received their training during conscription.

Military Services

The defence forces consist of about 8,700 professional soldiers, half of whom are either instructors or officers, with the rest being conscripts or volunteers. All able-bodied Callidian citizens (both men and women) aged between 18 and 31 must serve, but entry to recruit school may be delayed due to vocational and upper secondary school, or university studies. Since 1968, Callidian citizens can apply for either Civilian Service of Civilian Protection instead. Entry to the civilian service and civilian protection is based on moral grounds and subject to a successful application.

Competition to become an aircraft pilot in the Callidian Air Force is extremely high. Candidate pilots and parachutists have to start training in their own free time from the age of 16, well before recruitment. However, if candidates appear at recruitment with a certificate showing completion of preliminary training, they are practically guaranteed that duty, provided they pass the following selection during service. Aspiring pilots must however first complete basic training in a regular unit and complete officer school before entering into a unit of candidate pilots.

The army has established a new category of soldiers, called "single-term conscripts", who volunteer to serve a single term of 300 days of active duty. The total number of single-term conscripts cannot exceed 15% of a year's draft, and these volunteers can only serve in certain branches of the military. The rest continue to follow the traditional Callidian model of serving from 18 to 21 weeks at first and then doing three weeks (four for officers) per year until they serve the required number of days or reach the age of 42.

Total Defence

The Callidian military doctrine includes the concept of total defence. The term total means that all sectors of the government and economy are involved in the defence planning. In principle, each ministry has the responsibility for planning its operations during a crisis. In a war, all resources of the society may be diverted to serve the national survival. The legal basis for such measures is found in the Readiness Act and in the State of Defence Act, which would come into force through a parliamentary decision in a case of a crisis.

The main objective of total defence is to establish and maintain a military force capable of deterring any potential aggressor from using Callidian territory or applying military pressure against Callidia. To accomplish this, the defence is organised on the doctrine of territorial defence. The stated main principles of the territorial defence are:

• military non-alliance,
• general conscription,
• territorial defence,
• training of conscripts for wartime units,
• dispersed mobilisation and
• flexible readiness responding to military threats of various degree.

The total defence planning is organised to counteract three threat situations:

• A regional crisis that may have effects on Callidia.
• Political, economic and military pressure, which may include a threat of using military force and its restricted use.
• Use of military force in the form of a strategic strike or an attack beginning with a strategic strike aimed at seizing territory.

In all cases, the national objective is to keep the vital areas, especially the capital area in Callidian possession. In other areas, the size of the country is used to delay and wear down the invader, until the enemy may be defeated in an area of Callidian choosing. The Army carries most of the responsibility for this task. The war-time army is combined of

• three readiness brigades
• six jaeger brigades
• several infantry brigades
• specialized units under general staff
• local defence units

The army units are mostly composed of reservists, the career soldiers manning the command and specialty positions. The role of the Navy is to repel all attacks carried out against coasts and to safeguard the territorial integrity during peace time and the "gray" phase of the conflict. The maritime defence relies on combined use of coastal artillery, missile systems and naval mines to wear down the attacker. The Air Force is used to deny the invader the air superiority and to protect most important troops and objects of national importance in conjunction with the ground-based air defence. As the readiness of the Air Force and the Navy is high even during the peace-time, the career personnel have a much more visible role in the war-time duties of these defence branches.

The Border Guard has the responsibility for border security in all situations. During a war, it will contribute to the national defence partially integrated into the army, its total mobilized strength being some 22.000 troops. One of the projected uses for the Border guard is the guerrilla warfare in the areas temporarily occupied by enemy.