Acadian Defense Forces

The Acadian Defense Forces (French: Forces de défense acadiennes) are the military forces of the Republic of Acadia. Founded in 2000, shortly after the Antarctic Revolution, the Acadian Defense Forces were originally a small and somewhat weak force, but with government funding and battle experience, the ADF began to expand and gain more experience. As of 2018, the military budget of Acadia is at about 2.5% of its GDP, or about 163.5 billion Fish, which is a large amount of money in proportion to the size of the Acadian military.

By the time of its involvement in the Antarctic War on Terrorism, the first major of the Acadian Defense Forces since the War of 2002, the ADF were much more skilled than before, and helped their Snowinian allies secure quick victories against the terrorists. For their skill in urban warfare, Acadian soldiers were often used to fight in urban battles during the war. The Acadian Defense Forces has been known for being extremely interventionist, with the force having taken part in dozens of wars, and the Acadian Defense Forces are stationed in six countries around Antarctica.

However, the Acadian Defense Forces has been accused of committing multiple penguin rights abuses, notably during the Bow Tie War in Macradonia in 2015, but also during the Acadian Defense Forces' crackdown on the Delphi protests in 2018, when Acadian soldiers fired on unarmed protesters. Evidence of Acadian penguin rights abuses in Macradonia came to light in 2018 during the Achadia Crisis, with the Western Union pushing for Acadia to prosecute the members of the military involved in Macradonia and Delphi, but it is unknown if Acadia will do so.

Founding
During the period of Puffish rule from 1650 - 1999, Puffle'and, aside from Puffish regulars, also operated a Puffish led colonial force made up of men from the Province of Acadia, known as the Acadian Colonial Forces, in order to protect the colony. The ACF participated in many wars of Puffle'and, and were deployed in may Puffish colonies. Many of the elite soldiers in the ACF became part of a decorated group in the ACF known as the King's Soldiers. Eventually, in 1999, at the breakout of the Acadian Revolution, the ACF and King's Soldiers were disbanded, and its units incorporated into the Puffish forces.

The "successor" of the ACF were the Acadian Patriots, made up mostly of former ACF soldiers who aligned with the rebels, along with new recruits from the rebels who had joined the rebel side. With the proclamation of the Republic of Acadia in 1999, the Acadian Patriots became the official fighting force of the Republic. The Acadian Patriots fought with the Revolutionists on the Antarctic mainland in most fronts of the Antarctic Revolution, along with fighting against the Puffish forces at home, before their victory at the Battle of Delphi in 2000, de facto ending the Acadian Revolution.

After the recognition of the Republic of Acadia in 2000, and the signing of the Constitution of the Republic of Acadia that same year, the Acadian Patriots remained the unofficial fighting force of the fledgling republic, as an official, professional military force had not been established yet. However, in late 2000, the newly elected Acadian Parliament began the process of creating an Acadian Defense Forces. Shortly before the end of the year, Parliament passed the Military Act, which founded the Acadian Defense Forces as the official military force of Acadia.

The ADF received over 10,000 recruits in the first month, many of which were former soldiers in the Acadian Patriots. Additionally, many former officers in the Acadian Colonial Forces or Acadian Patriots were allowed to retain their previous ranks in the new Acadian Defense Forces if they managed to pass a few tests. By mid 2001, the Acadian Defense Forces consisted of over 35,000 soldiers. The ADF first saw action in the Snowinn Civil War in 2002, where many of its soldiers were able to gain more experience and combat skills fighting against Nationalist Snowiny.

War of 2002 and aftermath
The Acadian Defense Forces also saw action in the War of 2002 that same year, fighting in an alliance with Freezeland and Puffle'and against the United States of Antarctica. An Acadian fleet aided a larger Puffish fleet in the Siege of Penguin Town, and the Acadian army fought in the Antarctic Peninsula campaign as well. The War of 2002 was what forced the more powerful Antarctic nations to recognize that Acadia's military might was much more powerful as it seemed, seeing it could hold its own against the much larger USA, and boosted Acadia's prestige for years to come.

In the years after the War of 2002, the Acadian Defense Forces stayed out of most major Antarctic conflicts, including, but not limited to, the six Great Snowzerland Wars, and other conflicts. After the Puffalian attack on the Acadian colony of New Caseusopolis during the Frosian War, which was repulsed by a combined Acadian and Caseusopolisian force, Acadia chose not to declare war on Puffalia, but instead began providing the Western Union countries fighting Puffalia in Snowiny with funding, supplies, and weapons, and sent a minor peacekeeping force after the war.

Building an alliance with Snowiny, Acadia sent 10,000 soldiers to Penland during the Antarctic War on Terrorism to aid the Snowinian and Margatian soldiers already fighting there in February of 2015. By May 2015, however, that number had risen to 15,000 soldiers. Acadia also assisted Snowiny in the Bow Tie War, providing 10,000 soldiers for the Macradonian front of the war, which resulted in Acadia and Snowiny briefly occupying their own sectors of Macradonia, but the war was a failure, resulting in a defeat for Acadia and Snowiny and their withdrawal from Macradonia.

By 2017, the Antarctic War on Terror was reduced to minor skirmishes, and Acadia pulled out most of its soldiers, leaving around 5,000 to continue to aid the United Provinces forces in local peacekeeping missions. The last of the Acadian soldiers in the United Provinces left in August 2018, two months after the Long Friday Agreement was signed between the government of the United Provinces and the terrorist group Little Penland. After leaving the country, Acadia was thanked by many United Provinces politicians for their role in the peacekeeping mission in Penland during the war.

Crackdown on the Delphi protests
In May 2018, numerous protests broke out across Acadia against the current regime, with the largest of the protests being in the Acadian capital of Delphi. Despite both the National and Delphi Police's best efforts to quell the riots, the police found themselves increasingly outnumbered by the protesters, and President Brant Esser's military advisers urged him to order the Acadian military to suppress the riots. However, Esser refused to sign the order, not wanting to have Acadian troops fire on their own people, but the military command ordered the military into Delphi anyways.

In the fifth day of the protests, around 15,000 Acadian soldiers began moving into Delphi in a convoy of armored vehicles, with rumor being of tank divisions following close behind. When the protesters disobeyed the military's orders to disperse, the first instance of the military firing on protesters occurred a few minutes after the military entered Delphi. By the end of the day, most of the protesters had dispersed in the presence of the military, but about 57 protesters had been killed, 12 of which were students, while many more were injured.

Air Force
The Acadian Air Force is the air defense branch of the Acadian Defense Forces, and is responsible for defending the skies of the Republic of Acadia. With around 50,000 members, the Air Force also has around 500 aircraft, and hundreds of missiles and missile launchers, missile defense systems, and rockets. Out of all the branches, the Air Force has been the most involved in war, mostly during the Antarctic War on Terrorism, often carrying out airstrikes on enemy positions, and has participated in wars that the army and other branches have not been deployed to.

Recently, the government has given more funding to the air force to boost its strength, significantly increasing the capabilities of the air force. Under the 2017 Acadian Rearmament Program, in which the air force was seen to be one of the weaker branches in the military due to its smaller size and less funding, a larger amount of the military budget was allocated to the air force to help it strengthen. With more funding, the air force was able to build many new aircraft and purchase many from its allies, with the largest purchase being a deal with the United Provinces.

Army
The army is the largest branch in the military, with around 180,000 active members, and is responsible for defending the ground, but also has been used to maintain order during crises both in and out of the country. With hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery pieces, the army is by far the most powerful branch in the military, and gets the most funding from the government. The army has been involved in the War of 2002, the Snowinn Civil War, the Ed-Snowinn War, and the Antarctic War on Terrorism, with the most involvement in the War on Terror.

Additionally, the army has also participated in many peacekeeping missions around Antarctica, recently in violent regions such as Penland and Slumolia. From early 2015 until mid 2018, Acadia participated in a security and peacekeeping mission in Penland against the terrorist organizations of Little Penland and the Nexonan Nationalist Movement, with the country providing as many as 15,000 soldiers for the mission. Acadia began to be heavily involved in Penland shortly after the March 2015 Delphi Attacks, and officially withdrew from the country shortly after the Long Friday Agreement.

The Republican Guard (French: Garde républicaine), which consists of 2,400 soldiers, is a unit in the army that is charged with guarding important government landmarks, such as the Parliament building, Supreme Court, Presidential Palace, and other historic sites and government buildings, and is also charged with protecting the President, a duty shared with other soldiers. The Republican Guard has carried out special operations in the past and is considered one of the most elite units in the army, with only the most elite soldiers being given the honor to guard major government landmarks.

Special Forces
The Acadian Special Forces (French: Forces spéciales acadiennes) is the branch of the Acadian Army that specializes in conducting covert operations and espionage, and discreetly gathering information. They are some of the most elite soldiers in the Acadian military, more so than the Republican Guard, with most of the soldiers in the special forces being recruited from some of the best soldiers in the other branches. As a branch focusing on espionage, most of their operations are kept secret and remained undisclosed from the rest of the Acadian public.

Navy
The Acadian Navy is the naval branch of the military, and is responsible for defending the seas around Acadia. Since Acadia is located in the Sub-Antarctic, which belongs to the United States of Antarctica, the Acadian Navy often cooperates with the Antarctican Navy in defense of the surrounding seas, and still continues despite Acadia leaving the Free Republic Union, though the threat of war has decreased that somewhat. The navy has around 60,000 members, along with around 180 watercraft, including 4 aircraft carriers, and some aircraft of their own.

The navy also has a smaller branch, known as the Acadian Coast Guard, which specializes in rescue missions, but is also used to conduct raids on ships from time to time. The Acadian Coast Guard has around 1,600 members and 600 watercraft, most of which are small boats, and also has seven aircraft to use on rescue missions. Since 2015 the Acadian Coast Guard has also been conducting operations near the Snowinian coast in cooperation with the Snowinian navy to rescue refugees escaping by boat from Penland, and also rescues refugees who venture close to the Acadian mainland.

National Police
The Acadian Gendarmerie is a separate branch of the military and serves as the law enforcement organization for Metropolitan Acadia and its colonies. They are also the military police branch of the Acadian Defense Forces, with there being a separate Gendarmerie branch for the Acadian Air Force, Army, and Navy to conduct policing services to those branches. Although a part of the military, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, the Gendarmerie is instead under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior due to their law enforcement duties.

Being one of the only law enforcement agencies in Acadia with jurisdiction anywhere in the Republic of Acadia, the Gendarmerie often has heavy involvement in the more remote colonies of Acadia, aiding and cooperating with the local police agencies in law enforcement when help is needed. The Gendarmerie usually gets involved when a crime occurs across city and colonial borders, outside the reach of local police. They have heavy involvement in the Acadian colony of Tyrosh due to the large amount of open land and rural area which the Gendarmerie needs to patrol.

Acadia's brief but turbulent rule over Macradonia was the Gendarmerie's largest involvement since its founding, involving over 2,000 Gendarmerie officers operating in the country at once and carrying out various law enforcement duties as the army began to lessen its involvement in the country. The Gendarmerie became unpopular and was often criticized for its mishandling of law enforcement in Macradonia, and investigations were launched onto the alleged executions of dozens of Macradonian citizens who were accused of treason during the war, although no one was ever convicted.

Reserve Forces
The Acadian Reserve Forces isn't an actual branch of the military, with the reserve forces being divided into the Acadian Air Force Reserve, Acadian Army Reserve, and Acadian Navy Reserve, and are the reserve component of the military, and are only called into war when the rest of the military has been mobilized and there is a need for more soldiers. When the three reserve forces are combined, the Acadian Reserve Forces has a total of about 100,000 soldiers, with 60,000 being in the army, 25,000 being in the navy, and 15,000 being in the air force.

The Reserve Forces have never seen combat, but have been mobilized three times however, during the War of 2002, when Acadia allied with Puffle'and and Freezeland against the United States of Antarctica, during the Frosian War, when a Puffalian invasion seemed imminent, and during the Crisis of 2017. However, the Acadian Reserve Forces has occasionally been deployed to certain places around Antarctica after a natural disaster to help keep order and rebuild, and has occasionally taken part in another humanitarian missions around Antarctica as well.

Equipment
The Acadian Defense Forces used outdated equipment from the Colonial Antarctica War or purchased used equipment from the United States of Antarctica before, but after they joined the Western Union in 2015, they were provided with the most advanced equipment used by Snowiny and Margate's military forces. During the 2017 Acadian Rearmament Program, Acadia began to build some of their own weapons to be less dependent on other nations, which expanded the Acadian arms industry, and Acadia also made a purchase of used high tech equipment from the United Provinces in 2019.

With scientists hired from other countries, Acadia began building missiles and other weapons of mass destruction to stockpile. Acadia also began building an aerial defense system under the Cleanington administration to neutralize any threats from the air, including enemy planes or missiles, to protect the country. They have also been attempting to build ICBMs and other special types of missiles in order to keep their enemies at bay. Acadia attempted to build a nuclear weapon before the UAN ban, but was never able to and scrapped their efforts after the ban.

Military Bases
Acadia maintains multiple air force, navy, army or mixed bases, in their colonies where small amounts of troops are stationed to protect their colonies in case they are ever invaded. As the mainland is far from many of the colonies, the Acadian soldiers in the colonies are supposed to hold off any invading force until reinforcements arrive. Acadia also maintains some secret military bases on small, isolated islands throughout Antarctica, including many forts, known as the ABC Forts, an example being Fort Tango, that are classified from even many government officials.

Additionally, the country also maintains many air force, navy, and army bases in many of its allied countries, mostly that of Western Union countries such as Caseusopolis and the United Provinces. Acadia also has around 2,000 soldiers stationed in Fort Joseon, a fort in the Asiapelago that's controlled by the United Provinces, who has 4,000 soldiers stationed there. The country also has many troops stationed in the member states of the Delphi Pact, such as Poshia, Southern Ocean City, Furshire, and Okan, to help defend those countries.

Defenses
Greg Cleanington, the first President of Acadia, was fully aware of his country's small size and new country status, and knew that it could possibly be the target of several imperialist ambitions, so he sought to build defenses to protect the country from any foreign attack. Under his orders, dozens of defenses and bunkers were built in Acadia to protect the citizens and government officials in case of attack. It is said that the whole country has enough bunkers with enough supplies to support all of the populace should the country ever get bombed or invaded by an enemy country.

Additionally, the Acadian Defense Forces also maintains multiple, army, air force, and navy bases in Acadia and the colonies to defend against foreign attack, along with hundreds of defenses, both out in the open and discreet. Many of the colonial defenses were built by the successors of Cleanington, though it was him who set the precedent. Metropolitan Acadia is considered the most heavily defended, with dozens of defenses, from artillery pieces to missile defense systems, which have been installed, expanded, or upgraded ever since tensions rose with the United States of Antarctica.