Federation Army

The Federation Ground Forces  refers to the combined military ground force that the Interstellar Federation deploys as either attacking or defending force.The goal of the Army is surface superiority during instances of ground warfare, and are often equipped with the means of seizing and defending a planet. As such, the Army encompassed various infantry, armored vehicles, special forces, artillery operators, engineers, scouts, and drivers. This also meant that while they were capable of decisive planetary operations and sustained surface superiority, it also takes longer to deploy their specialized formations and heavy equipment than other militaries.

History
Formed through the reorganization of the Confederacy, the Ground Forces have been created by the Federation to act as an intergalactic intervention force. While each Sector has its own defensive armies, the Federation Ground Forces are the supreme, unquestioned terrestrial force of mankind that draws its funding, men and equipment from all members of the Federation.

In times of peace, they act as reinforcements to local planetary securities. Ever wary for the possibility of a Xeno attack, all Generals do not spread their Regiments too thin, preferring to keep them close and tight should a major deployment be requested.

Recruitment and training
Initially the Army accepted recruits from worlds designated as Regimental worlds: functioning as massive rally points, anyone who wished to join the Federation Regiments required to either show up at one of these Worlds or receive a commendation from their previous army, though this policy was changed in the wake of the interstellar expansion, thus increasing the wide range of optional recruitment. Emphasis was then placed on recruiting from the Colonies, with some from Horizon especially with regards to officer candidates, and those which bordered the Terran Core. Frontier and primitive worlds were also targeted for recruitment drives, due to their uprising, although some care had to be taken to weed out non-Federation sympathizers.

Potential recruits would be screened at their local Federal Recruitment Office, with Screening Officers conducting background checks including looking into the candidate's school reports and home life. While these officers were instructed to watch for any potential Insurgency connections, including family members with sympathies, suspected infiltrators were encouraged to join and the Republic Security Bureau informed immediately. Candidates who passed initial screening would then be sent to Training Centers for medical examinations and intelligence assessments.

Where possible recruits would be placed in the branch of service of their choosing, as dissatisfaction with assignment was a major cause of morale problems. However the initial screening tests were used as a guide to help show where a recruit was better suited, and thus specialized in different roles.

Basic training took place at one of hundred of drop camps situated across all Sectors and their colonies, each one focused on a different area of operation such as infantry, armor, communications, engineering, and so forth. Physical fitness, equipment maintenance, team-building drills and indoctrination were all part of training to become an Army trooper. Survival in a variety of environments, from deserts to swamps to arctic tundra, and under different planetary gravitates was standard in most cases. Some drop camps specialized in training units to deal with a specific terrain and atmospheric types, though in these cases most recruits would be drawn from relevant exotic worlds.

Officer training would take place at a number of different Republic Army Officer Training Academies, although among these New Providence Academy was the most famous for producing the best officers. As N.P.A (New Providence Academy) recruits underwent a year of hard, grueling training of intense physical and military exercises. Emphasis was placed on an officer's ability to command men through the two-fold method of leadership - drawing upon their fear of disobeying orders, which was disciplined into them during training, and gaining their respect by example. Psychological examinations were rigorously performed to test the candidate's mettle while a week spent in the interrogation center simulated the type of treatment they could expect if they fell into enemy hands. Loyalty to the State and the correct balance between self-sacrifice and self-preservation also formed a critical part of officer training.

Organization
The Federation Planetary Forces are separated into several Regiments, which are in turn split into armies and divided into squads. Each regiment's strength varies, from hundreds of thousands to a dozen of squads. A regiment also includes all vehicles - transports, tanks, air fighters, making them effectively independent to a degree.

Headquarters and Administration
While most armies answer the call of their Sector-governors, the Federation Planetary Forces answer exclusively to the Federation Council and their decision. Each Regiment is, thus, bound to the Federation but is not commanded by them: a council of Generals, known as Warmasters, decide together on how to deploy their forces. This council never exceeds five members, but a small regiment can indeed be commanded by a single Warmaster.

Each General commands a splinter of the Regiment - called army. His authority is supreme, but a General usually surrounds himself with commanding officers that offer him insight on various things - from troopers morale to tactical data. Each squad - or vehicle squadron, is commanded by a Squad-Sergeant or Lance Corporal.

There are several Regiments scattered throughout the Federation, and each has been designated with an ordinal number. Numbered to be as strong as all the armies of Huaweng, the required resources to run such a huge force are immense - from salaries to laser batteries.

Each Regiment is an independent force per se, but most Warmasters consider strengthening their relationships and devising strategies together optimal.

Tactics
Each Regiment Warmaster usually dedicates their Regiment to a Combat doctrine, specializing their armies into a specific task:

Offensive doctrines
- Siege Doctrines: The Regiment specializes in sieging enemy fortresses, wearing them out with constant attacks and overwhelming firepower. Slow but sure, the Siege doctrine employs a large number of heavy armor and warsuits, while their infantry is known for bringing in heavy plated Siegeshields. Their artillery strikes with veteran-precision and their tanks pave the way to victory.

- Combined Arms Doctrine: A flexible Regiment, the Combined Arms Doctrine is a Jack of all Trades; it can fulfill any purpose and is renown for its general and their cold, calculation skills. But Regiments adhering to this doctrine are also Masters of none, failing to perform as well as other doctrines in specialized roles. However, underestimating a Combined Arms Regiment has always proven to be a fatal mistake, as no one can predict how will they strike.

- Phalanx Doctrine: Turtling up in castles built in a few hours and fortifications is the bread and butter of the Phalanx Doctrine. Believing that the best assault is an impenetrable defense, Phalanx doctrine regiments make use of sappers and landscapes to build impenetrable fortresses, while striking the enemy from afar with deadly artillery and turning enemy offensives into smoldering dreams.

==== Support doctrines ==== - Deceit Doctrine: The polar opposite of Siege regiments, deceit doctrine are small regiments that prefer stealth and surgical strikes to oppress the enemy. Commando teams lead assassinations and sabotage operations with deadly precision. Air drones plant tracking devices and allow heavier regiments to bring hell. The Deceit doctrine make up their small number for deadly weapons, and their generals are master schemers themselves.

- Aerial Doctrine: Specializing in dogfighting and bombing runs, these regiments dedicate themselves to aerial superiority and domination. But it is not their exclusive dominion: stormtroopers are deployed via aerial transports, alongside the ground forces that are part of the regiment while sonic jets harass the enemy with strafing runs.

- Hit and Run doctrine: Supreme masters of speed and terrain, generals that adhere to this doctrine equip their men with bikes and shockingly lethal but short ranged weapon. Imitating the devastating charge of the Middle Ages, these armored Knights of steel charge headfirst, reap their victims and leave in clouds of smoke before striking from a different angle. Light vehicles provide these fearless warriors with fire support, bringing long ranged anti-armor fire into the fray.

Structure Edit
While each Warmaster Regiment decides how to divide his Regiment, the Galland method is the most applied: most regiments do not number over the 5000 units - so it is safe to assume that each Regiment includes 50 infantry Companies, a dozen of Glaive Vehicle Divisions and several Auxiliaries - as listed below Auxiliaries consist of reinforcements that join Core forces: from engineers, volunteers and field medics and artillery, they are usually reunited in small groups. With the correct combination of tactics, Core forces and Auxiliaries, no power is too strong and no army is unbeatable.

Specializations
Regiment trooper - Regiment Troopers form the mainstay of all regiments - even though how they are equipped and trained varies from Regiment to Regiment. Their training is constant and exhaustive and the Federation demands the best from their troopers. Spearheading all human offensives and holding the line in all defenses, Federation Troopers are usually given an Amnistia Assault Rifle and a Cayrex bodyarmor - equipment that is far better than that of Sector Defense Armies. But there are several known variations:
 * Stormtrooper - Common in Aerial regiments, Stromtroopers receive an additional training program to turn them into dropstrike specialists, able to fight while descending and retaliating with lightning quick reflexes once they touch ground. They usually bring to the battlefield close combat weapons, such as Amnistia shotguns or two Amnistia Repeaters alongside a Grav-pack
 * Siegetrooper - Deployed by Siege Regiments, these troopers are known for carrying Siege shields alongside their equipment. Essentially moving trenchlines, they must undergo several strength and muscular trainings in order to wield these shields.

Scouts - Heralding the coming of a Federation Strike force, Scouts stay at the vanguard and explore the battlefield while relaying information to their Commanders, knowing that the heaviest of burdens lays on their shoulder. These brave souls are given a wide array of detection and , Chameleon cloaks and ''Detonation charges. It is common to see them riding bikes, or deploying via Karna'' aerial transports. It is worth mentioning that Phalanx regiments do not deploy Scouts - and use Drones as surveillance and reconnaisance units.
 * Hoplite - Composing Phalanx infantry regiments, the nickname hoplite was given by other Warmasters: hoplites trade their Cayrex bodyarmor for an Aegis armor, a recently new developed armor that deploys innovative alloys able to absorb energy blows better than their Cayrex cousin.
 * Pinpointers - Scouts cover vital roles in a Siege Regiment: as the war rages on, they have the hard task of pointing out targets with a laser pointer for Artillery emplacements to fire more accurately.
 * Ravens - Ravens are scouts deployed by deceit regiments, expert assassins and saboteurs that daringly infiltrate deep into enemy camps and wreak havoc.

Regiment trooper - Regiment Troopers form the mainstay of all regiments - even though how they are equipped and trained varies from Regiment to Regiment. Their training is constant and exhaustive and the Federation demands the best from their troopers. Spearheading all human offensives and holding the line in all defenses, Federation Troopers are usually given an Amnistia Assault Rifle and a Cayrex bodyarmor - equipment that is far better than that of Sector Defense Armies. But there are several known variations:
 * Stormtrooper - Common in Aerial regiments, Stromtroopers receive an additional training program to turn them into dropstrike specialists, able to fight while descending and retaliating with lightning quick reflexes once they touch ground. They usually bring to the battlefield close combat weapons, such as Amnistia shotguns or two Amnistia Repeaters alongside a Grav-pack
 * Siegetrooper - Deployed by Siege Regiments, these troopers are known for carrying Siege shields alongside their equipment. Essentially moving trenchlines, they must undergo several strength and muscular trainings in order to wield these shields.

Scouts - Heralding the coming of a Federation Strike force, Scouts stay at the vanguard and explore the battlefield while relaying information to their Commanders, knowing that the heaviest of burdens lays on their shoulder. These brave souls are given a wide array of detection and , Chameleon cloaks and ''Detonation charges. It is common to see them riding bikes, or deploying via Karna'' aerial transports. It is worth mentioning that Phalanx regiments do not deploy Scouts - and use Drones as surveillance and reconnaisance units.
 * Hoplite - Composing Phalanx infantry regiments, the nickname hoplite was given by other Warmasters: hoplites trade their Cayrex bodyarmor for an Aegis armor, a recently new developed armor that deploys innovative alloys able to absorb energy blows better than their Cayrex cousin.
 * Pinpointers - Scouts cover vital roles in a Siege Regiment: as the war rages on, they have the hard task of pointing out targets with a laser pointer for Artillery emplacements to fire more accurately.
 * Ravens - Ravens are scouts deployed by deceit regiments, expert assassins and saboteurs that daringly infiltrate deep into enemy camps and wreak havoc.

Conscripts - Due to the thinned amount of forces a Regiment has, all brave souls that wish to play a role are more than welcome: conscripts do not play a fundamental role in the battlefield - serving mainly as long-ranged support with Ballistic Rifles and Heavy weapons. Conscripts that have demonstrated valor can be offered to join the Regiment as full-fledged troopers after all the required training.

Veterans - To join the ranks of a Regimental Veteran squad, one must go through hell and beyond: every Veteran is like no other, as each have their own story and motivation that pushes them forward. Veterans are decades of experience at their back, and get the possibility to choose their own equipment. Incarnating the pride of their Regiment and their Doctrine, each Regiment's veterans are renowned for a different thing. Tactical Operatives - These specially trained men fulfill the role of commanders on the field, and join the fray with their men while also escorting their general should he wish to take it to the field. They are given all the tools they need to manage the battlefield. They are the finest soldiers - even better than Vindicators and are thus given the best available weapons.
 * Vindicator Cohort - Veterans of countless sieges, Vindicators trade their armor for the heaviest available bodysuit: the Colossus turns the wearer into a tank - able to withstand incredible amount of punishment while being able to dish out an equal amount - at the cost of the wearer's speed and agility. Their armaments usually consist of Amnistia cannons, Missile launchers or even Laser projectors, while their armor already includes two built-in coilarquibuses
 * Cataphractii Team - Phalanxes deploy their veterans only when a position MUST NOT fall. Contrary to their brothers the Vindicators, Cataphractii serve as Sappers and deploy a mindboggling amount of heavy weapons to ensure the annihilation of their enemies.
 * SPECTRE Agents - The only way to become a Veteran without going through decades is joining the SPECTRE agents, and devote one's self to the Deceit doctrine: training since a young age, the result are shadows that move unseen with the sole purpose of fulfilling their task. To accomplish their objective, they have a vast array of weapons and tools.

Several members were also specialized for a specific environment. For instance, the swamp trooper (not to be confused with the wetland assault troopers of the Guardian Corps) was often deployed near wetlands, and can be identified by wearing a variant of the Imperial Army uniform designed specifically for operation in wetlands.

The Federation commandos were also the choice group of the Federation Officer Corps, and by extension, the Army. They were distinguished by their tendency of using long-range weapons, due to feeling melee weapons were the arms of their "lessers," as well as helmets similar to that of the Army Engineers. They were considered to be among the Federal Army's special forces groups.

Like other Armies, they were generally led by Field Commanders.

In addition, a segment of soldiers were also deployed for ground assaults, identified as Federal land assault troopers.

Training
Army cadets began their applications at the system level, attending regional military prep schools. The best students of these schools were invited to attend Army Officer Training Academies, where they completed basic training, learned military history and courtesies, and took examinations to determine what naval career would suit them best. Screening Officers at the local Recruitment Center would then review the cadet's application and decide the type and duration of the cadet's training program. There were also Training Programs, which acted as a means to enter the Academy.

The most promising Army recruits would be invited to attend officer training at the Academy at New Providence, in the colonies. The cadets endured a grueling one-year training program, which included simulations and live-fire drills in drop camps on a variety of worlds, and rigorous psychological examinations and indoctrination into the precepts of the Federation.

Most upon completing a year course on Earth ended up transferred to Horizon Academy. Horizon provided additional training to Navy Midshipmen, Army Cadets, flight school pilots, and specialists from all military services, with an emphasis on active training. In some cases, however, in large part because of the Guardian Corps including conscripts to replace the aging veterans, particularly promising students at Providence ended up transferred to the Academy of Tartarus instead. The Academy of Tartarus was a major Guardian Corp training facility, and numerous Army, Navy and flight school cadets also spent semesters there. Tartarus also housed the Officer's Candidate School.

Uniforms
Personnel of the Federation Army wore an assortment of uniforms according to their particular branch of service. Non-Commissioned Army Officers, similar to officers belonging to the Federation Navy, wore a gray-blue uniform with a double-breasted tunic, trousers, and a matching cap displaying an officer's disc. The Federation Army trooper generally wore a gray uniform as well as a helmet with a built in comlink such as the headcomm. They also at times wore body armor. Although those within command structures aren't required to participate on the field, those that do are often identifiable via their having a darker-colored version of the uniform, including body armor that protected the chest. Medics also wore this type of armor, although they were colored cerulean.

The swamp trooper division had their own set of armor, due to the specialized nature of the swamp troopers for marshlands.

Owing to their belonged to the Terran Officer Corps., and by extension, the Federation Army, the Federation commando uniforms had a strong resemblance to that of the Republic Army trooper.

The Vehicle Command Crewers had two different uniforms, depending on the branch. The Heavy Armor division's uniforms were similar in appearance to pilot uniforms, although they wear black by comparison and had white republic crests adorned on the helmet. The Armored division had superficial similarities to the Army trooper uniforms, although comparatively lightly armed.

The Land assault troopers wore extensive armor that had a slight similarity to the Heavy Armor Vehicle Command Crews, although more streamlined.

Weapons
Standard gear for Army troopers consisted of a assault rifle and grenades along with survival gear and a utility belt containing supplies. Troopers could be equipped or operated as part of the crew for an infantry support weapon, including light repeating rifles, Equalizer EMP cannons, Grom portable missile launchers, DEMP guns,ATPS-12 projectile launchers, or heavy repeating machine guns. The special forces also had access to sharpshooting rifles as well as a light repeating rifle.

Vehicles
The Federation Army was composed of various vehicles, many meeting multiple classifications. Some also had joint use within other branches of the Terran Military alongside the Federation Army.

Artillery
The Federation Army utilized several Artillery pieces, whether on vehicles or stand-alone.

Among it's static artillery pieces were the heavy weapons like the tremendous C-136 "Spectrum" Stinger System I and V-188 Penetrator, although the V-188 could also be mounted on the 440 Super-Heavy Armored Chassis to make it more mobile. For lighter targets the Army employed the DF.9 anti-infantry battery and Twin DF.9 anti-infantry battery. Anti-aircraft artillery included the G-001 Tracker, later replaced by the G-003 Tri-Tracker; while the G-003 could technically be made mobile by mounting it on a vehical sled, this was less than ideal.

Self-propelled artillery included a number of walker vehicles. Some were inherited from the Old Confederacy era, including the All Terrain-Attack Pod and Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery, and served as inspiration for later models, including the Medium Artillery, All Terrain-Anti-Aircraft, and All Terrain EMP Cannon, which was essentially an All Terrain Armored Transport with most of the rear removed in place of a massive EMP cannon turret.

The MobileMortar-3 was a light artillery piece used by the Army to provide close fire support.

Armor
The Federation Army utilized a wide array of heavy armored tanks. These vehicles included armored tanks such as the S-1 Fire Hawke Heavy tank and its replacement, the Federal tank 1-H, along with the HAVr A9 Floating Fortress, and the Heavy Assault Vehicle/repulsorlift C10 Siege Tower.

Among the various walkers employed were the famous All Terrain Armored Transports, successor to the All Terrain Tactical Enforcer and All Terrain Heavy Enforcer inherited by the Army. The All Terrain Armored Heavy Transport, based on the original was used by the both the Confederacy of Earth. There were also insect-like armored transports dedicated to mountainous terrain, called Mountain Terrain Armored Transports.

Wheeled assault vehicles included the HAVt B5 Juggernaut, the HAVw A5 Juggernaut, and the HAV A6 Juggernaut.

Heavy cavalry
The Federation Army also made use of heavy cavalry-type vehicles. A number were hold-overs from the AOA, including walkers like the All Terrain-Experimental Transport and All Terrain Personal Transport, and craft including the Infantry Support Platform and TX-130T fighter tank.

Eventually the Army began employing its own models of heavy cavalry-type vehicles. These included walkers like the All Terrain-Advance Raider, the All Terrain-Scout Transport/Assault, along with craft like the 2-MSaber-class tank,Republic tank 1-L, the 008 Heavy Land speeder and the Ultra-Light Assault Vehicle. Wheeled vehicles such as the Compact Assault Vehicle/Wheeled PX-10 were employed on remote worlds, while the unique Swift Assault 5 traveled on a cushion of air.

The Federation Navy also had some involvement in the development of the heavy cavalry vehicles, which resulted in some of their vehicles adopting Fighter Series features. These included the AP-1, nicknamed the Mauler, and the Century tank, nicknamed the Crawler.

Mechanized infantry
The Federation Army is well known for its mechanized infantry, including especially its walkers. The most famous of these were the quadruped walkers known as the All Terrain Armored Transports. They also utilized the HAVw A5 Juggernaut, the HAVw A6 Juggernaut, and the All Terrain Open Transport. Wheeled and repulsorlift vehicles were also used besides these, such as the HAVt B5 Juggernaut and the HAVr A9 Floating Fortress.

Armored Personnel Carriers were also utilized to deliver troops and/or prisoners. The Federal Troop Carrier, 6500 ATVs, GPT-117 Troop Transports, SV-50 Swift-Strike Speeders, Urban Assault Speeders, PX-7 troop transports, and the Reconnaissance Troop Transporters were similar in role to the APCs. In addition, the MTV-7 Multi-Terrain Vehicles were used as scouting vehicles.

Reconnaissance
Vehicles used primarily for reconnaissance duties were also utilized by the Federation Army. They included speeder bikes, such as 74-Z speeder bikes, BARC speeders, and XR-10 Shadowhawk Speeder Bikes; sleds such as Storm Skimmer Patrol Sleds and speeders such as the Federal patrol landspeeders, which included a variant.

Tanks could also be used, such as the T2-B tank.

There were also some for specific environments, such as the Swamp crawler.

Walkers primarily designed for reconnaissance were also utilized, such as the All Terrain Scout Transports and the All Terrain Recon Walker

Aerial assault
The Federation Army utilized various aerial assault vehicles, some of which were also used by the Republic Navy. They were primarily used for air patrol purposes.

Gunships utilized by the Federation Army included the Rapid Deployment Hornet-Mark I, the Tracker-4 military Gunships, the Deathhawk combat drone, the Shadow V Combat Airspeeder, and the HSP-10 pursuit airspeeder. while after awhile the Federation Army employed the Federal Side Gunner vehicles and the Federal Sniper Vehicles. The Hover Combat Carrier was primarily used to keep insurgents in line.

Gunships such as the Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry and the Multi Altitude Assault Transport were also utilized by the Republic.

Fighters, including some from the Federation Navy, were also used by the Federation Army, namely for reconnaissance. For example, the Federation Navy fighter called the INT-4 Interceptor, was used by Scorpion Force to scout out planets to ensure safety for the colonies. Skim fighters and Republic Escort Fighters were also sometimes used.

The Federation Army also made use of aerial artillery, such as the Lancet Aerial Artillery.

Command and combat support
The Federation Army also utilized various vehicles for command and combat support-related duties. They had several jobs, with combat being a minimal requirement. One vehicle that did focus on combat-related duties was the Republic 'Guardian' 1-M. Although vehicles specifically used for combat were rare in command and combat support types, they were equipped with weapons for protection.

Heavy recovery vehicles were utilized to recover damaged or disabled vehicles during combat, and at times worked with barges. The Heavy Transport Vehicles had a similar purpose: transporting resupply units and spare parts to the battlefield.

LAVr QH-7 Chariots were often issued for Commanders for them to enter battlefields with relative protection. Likewise, the PX-4 Mobile Command Bases acted as command centers for Imperial Commanders to issue orders from and relay instructions. They also formerly had a Tracked Mobile Base prototype with similar functions.

Combat service support
The Federation Army also utilized vehicles relating to combat service support duties. Because of these duties, they also were utilized by both the Federation Army and the Federation Navy divisions of the Federation Military.

Several of these were for troop transport, such as the 6500 ATVs and the 8880 limousine, the latter vehicle being used to transport high officials securely.

They were also used to deliver supplies. Armored were also used for delivering troops/prisoners and supplies. In addition, the All Terrain Tactical Enforcers also have a cargo transport variant.

Republic Cargo Traders were utilized to deliver resources to spaceports for export as well as deliver supplies to other outposts. In addition, the All Terrain Construction Transport was created specifically to do construction work, so it doesn't have any conventional weapons systems.

Relatively simple hover-vehicles were also used in environments not suitable for other Republic Armored Units. These included the 93-B Hovercraft, 101-C Hovercraft and 109-Z Hovercraft.

For maritime-based operations, the Federation ground-skimmer are also utilized to deliver troops.

Many of their combat service support vehicles also are spacefaring, including the Republic dropships, the Federal Dropship Transports, the Federation transports, and the Low Altitude Assault Transport/carrier and Low Altitude Assault Transport/vehicles. Because of the amount of spacefaring these vehicles require, several of these vessels are also under the co-jurisdiction of the Navy as well.

Aquatic
The Federation Army, under its maritime branch, also utilized aquatic vehicles. During the establishment of the Confederacy, it utilized Aquatic Destroyers (including a heavily armed variant), Aquatic Terrain Armored Transports, Aquatic Scout Ships, Aquadon CAVa 400s, Explorer Submergibles, submarines, aquatic transports,  fighter boats, and waveskimmers, such as the AQ-5 Waveskimmer and the Single person waveskimmer.