Ed Island Military

The Ed Island Military (German: Edsland Reichswehr) is the organized military force of Ed Island. The modern incarnation of the military dates back to the early 19th century with the formation of a unified national army, however many units are able to further trace their ancestry back to the original levees and regional units that were employed by Ed Islandian noblemen during the 1600s.

The Ed Island Military has a budget totaling over ৳513 billion, and it typically registers over 350,000 active duty personnel with an additional nearly 400,000 ready reservists across all branches. On paper, the military has over 5 million inactive reserve troops available for reactivation in the event of a general mobilization, who are divided into primary, secondary, and tertiary components based on age brackets.

The military answers directly to the civilian Ministry of Defense, and its command structure is completely subservient to the country's civilian leadership with the monarch acting as commander-in-chief. The military is primarily principally focused on the defense of Ed Island's territorial integrity and sovereignty, however they are used to aggressively defend the nation's interests and holdings throughout the Southern Ocean.

Manpower and Service
The Ed Island Military employs compulsory military service for all subjects aged 18 and above. For those that conscientiously object to armed service, alternative non-combat forms of service are offered through civilian ministries. Recruits are dispersed to the branches of service according to a semi-random sorting method based on their national ID numbers, however recruits who agree to sign on for an extended voluntary term or who show interested in pursuing military service as a career are permitted to select their service branch so long as they score highly enough on aptitude tests.

National service takes place over either a one-year or two-year term starting approximately six months after the conscript's 18th birthday. The majority of troops are sent to the Army, however some make their way to the Naval Infantry, Navy, or clerical service. A select few who score highly enough on vocational tests are sent for additional training for more specialized roles, and are typically offered a higher pay grade and educational benefits in exchange for an extension of their service.

Conscripts who volunteer for active duty, which comprises about 33% of the Army's active component, serve for two years as active duty soldiers. All other conscripts are relegated to the ready reserve for one year, and comprise the majority of the Army's strength in the event of general mobilization. Ready Reservist conscripts are based locally near their home areas, and are only required to attend training exercises on weekends after the completion of their basic training. All conscripts who volunteer for active duty service are also given the option of taking up contracted voluntary status, which carries a 6-year service contract. Active duty volunteers have the added benefit of educational or social benefits upon discharge, and are also eligible to become officers if they agree to further service extensions.

Upon completion of service, all conscripts and volunteers are discharged and placed into an inactive reserve status until their 40th birthdays. In the event of a general mobilization, inactive reservists can be called up to re-enter service according to youngest age, with deferments available for those pursuing a degree at the time of mobilization or working in a critical field in the civilian sector. Inactive reservists do not participate in any training or exercises after being discharged, however they may change vocations throughout the time of their reserve status based on skills acquired in civilian life. For instance, if a conscript trained as a basic infantryman during national service were to pursue an engineering or mechanical degree, they would be eligible to be reassigned as a combat engineer or technician in reserve status.

Branches
The Ed Island Military is divided into three main components, that are further sub-divided into specialized autonomous commands. Separately from the three branches, but composed of units drawn from them, is the Ed Island Special Forces. The SF is a joint command organization for overall special operations that falls directly under the jurisdiction of the General Staff and Ministry of Defense.

Army

 * Main article: Ed Island Army

The Ed Island Army (German: Edsland Heer) is the primary land-based component of the Ed Islandian Armed Forces. The ground forces were officially incorporated as a state institution by an act of the National Assembly in 1812, but they trace their roots to the Royal Army of the Kingdom of Acher which was an amalgamation of regional units that served the king when levees were raised. While still formally under the command of the monarchy, the Army answers directly to civilian authorities and ministries, and its budget is determined by the National Assembly each year.

The Army typically comprises approximately 215,000 active personnel, with about 33% of its active strength being conscripted. Its Ready Reserve component is about 275,000 personnel, who participate in training on weekends for the duration of a year and are able to be activated in a matter of two or three days. In the event of a general mobilization, the Army can call upon the inactive reserves composed of all citizens who are under the age of 40 and were discharged from either active service or the ready reserve. The inactive reserves are organized into three tiers, and in practical terms only the first tier containing the 18-26 age bracket has ever been called up for service. Ground forces make extensive use of domestically sourced and manufactured equipment, with international partnerships leading to the adoption of a small amount of foreign equipment.

The Ed Island Army is capable of overseas deployment, as seen during the STINC War and Frosian War, but their primary purpose is the defense Ed Island's national territory and the territorial integrity of allies that Ed Island guarantees to protect.

Navy

 * Main article: Ed Island Navy

The Ed Island Navy (German: Edsland Kriegsmarine) is the naval fighting component of the Ed Island Military. Like the Army, the Navy was formally incorporated as a state institution in 1812. Prior to its establishment as a formal military force, Ed Island had little naval war fighting capability. The fleet's creation was prompted by the Ed Islandian Emperor's initiative to turn Ed Island into a regional naval power capable of projecting power internationally.

The Ed Island Navy today has approximately 110,000 personnel on its active duty roster, and in times of war is capable of calling up nearly 65,000 reservists. The navy possesses a number of fleet carriers that form the backbone of its offensive regional force projection capability as well as several amphibious warfare ships that play a role in Ed Island's ability to quickly deploy forces over long distances. Ed Island is one of the few nations to operate supercarriers, which displace over 100,000 tons and are capable of carrying over 80 aircraft. The Ed Island Navy is comprised of over 90% professional volunteers.

The Navy's main intended purpose is to maintain Ed Island's sphere of influence in the Southern Ocean by protecting the nation's overseas territories, insular holdings, and the coastline of metropolitan Ed Island proper. Ed Island also guarantees the sovereignty of two small, independent Sub-Antarctic nations: Glaw and Achadia. Glaw hosts the one of the two major modern Ed Islandian naval installations on what is considered foreign soil, the other being a base on the Japalandese island of Nukinawa.

Naval Infantry
The Ed Island Navy's Naval Infantry serves as the amphibious assault branch of the Ed Island Military. The Naval Infantry are equipped similar to the Army, but with an emphasis placed on mobility and rapid deployment instead of heavy armored units. The Naval Infantry's manpower is divided into two brigades. The true operational unit of the Naval Infantry is the Naval Expeditionary Force. Naval Expeditionary Forces are typically able to be attached at half or full strength to one of the Navy's amphibious warfare ships, and spend the majority of their time embarked or in port attached to the vessel. Naval Infantry also make up the shipboard complements of troops on Navy ships and supply vessels.

The Naval Infantry is meant to serve as a vanguard in the event of offensive overseas operations. They are the primary branch that participates in peacekeeping activities throughout Antarctica. According to official doctrine, their primary role is to defend Ed Island's holdings in the Southern Ocean. In the event of an invasion or occupation of Ed Islandian territory, the Naval Infantry are to be mobilized and deployed by the Navy to retake those territories and assets from hostile forces. They are trained extensively in amphibious warfare, and also have specialized units tasked with performing boarding actions against hostile or suspicious vessels or installations.

Fleet Aviation
Ed Island Fleet Aviation (German:Edsland Seeluftwaffe) operates the Navy's combat aircraft. Its main combat units are the F/A-11 Super Striker and F-30 Talon, however Fleet Aviation also operates the B-11, a land-based supersonic strike bomber capable of carrying anti-shipping cruise missiles. Fleet Aviation also operates all of the Navy's rotary wing aircraft, typically on the behalf of the Naval Infantry.

A notable Fleet Aviation pilot is Rambert Booher, who is credited with directly ending the Ed-Snowinn War.

Air Force

 * Main article: Ed Island Air Force F-10 Vulcan EIAF.png

The Ed Island Air Force (German: Edsland Luftwaffe) is the primary air component of the Ed Island Military. The branch was incorporated as an independent branch in 1922, after Ed Islandian military command noticed the effectiveness of lighter-than-air and eventually fixed-wing aircraft in service. Today the Air Force has approximately 65,000 active personnel, making it the smallest branch of service. The EIAF also has the smallest amount of ready reservists of the three branches that it can call up, totaling approximately 35,000. This is due to the fact that Air Force personnel are over 95% professional volunteers, with the few conscripts that are taken in being those who scored exceptionally high on vocational tests that measure technical ability.

The Air Force operates a large inventory of aircraft that are mostly produced by the state-owned Ed Laboratories corporation as well as the Wernher & Noah Enterprises aerospace corporation. A small number of foreign designs, such as the F-23 Virus, are produced locally on license.

Astronaut Corps

 * Main article: Ed Island Astronaut Corps

The Ed Island Astronaut Corps (German: Edsland Raumfahrerkorps) is the national space agency of Ed Island that is organized as a component of the Air Force. The Astronaut Corps is headquartered out of the Werdenburg Nautica in the Comona Islands, and possesses launch facilities in Comona and Markland. An additional facility, the Ritter Flight Research Center, is located on Snowjave and is the organization's primary flight research center.