The Intersystem Alliance Army is the ground and atmospheric warfare arm of the armed forces of the Intersystem Alliance (IA). In contrast to many historical armies of old Earth, the Army is neither the oldest nor the largest branch of the IA military; employing about a billion men and women in active and reserve service, the Army is the third-largest branch. The Army maintains a number of bases on every planet in the Alliance and endeavors to provide superior training, equipment, and tactics to defeat enemy forces. In contrast to the Alliance System Guard, the Army is an expeditionary force, utilized in the retaking of domestic or holding of foreign territory. In peacetime, this means maintaining a trained core of units – including infantry of all types, armor, engineers, and technomancers, vehicles, drones, AI and VI, artillery, and aircraft – standing ready to deploy as needed by the Alliance Government. The Alliance continues to provide support to nations to its galactic northeast threatened by the imperialistic goals of the ruling monarchy of the Empyrean See. With growing threats and an increasingly tense cold war with both the Coalition and the Empyreans, the Alliance Army - like the Navy - has recently scrambled to rebuild itself following the economic downturn and appeasement policies of the government.
Table of Contents
History
The Intersystem Alliance Army is the distant descendant of the national armies of the United Nations of Earth and the Martian Federation and even related to the shocktrooper units of the Jovian and Saturn system outlanders. The colonies of humanity in the Sol System came together in the hope of expanding humanity’s presence in the universe following the horrors of the First Stellar War. Under a single government – a clear evolution of the United Nations Charter with elements of the Martian Federation constitution – the Intersystem Alliance was created with the foresight of becoming an interstellar power. Its charter contained provisions established for governing human colonies beyond the solar system while the new government consolidated much of the power on both Mother Earth and Mars, significantly weakening local governments in favor of the larger federal government. Consequently, the martial entities shifted to an almost purely defensive stance for many centuries.
Following the colonial Reunion period, the Intersystem Alliance formulated a response to the hostile encounters with colonies that had formed governments and empires independent of Mother Earth, such as Ishara and the Empyrean See. As part of the Second Alliance Charter and ahead of the reorganization of the Colonial Guard into the Intersystem Alliance System Guard, the Intersystem Alliance Army was founded as an expeditionary force capable of striking at targets abroad in support of national interests and security. On March 12, 2802, the Army was founded and charged with it Mission responsibilities, providing the IA with the ability to actively exert its will rather than remain on a solely defensive footing as it had for nearly six centuries of human colonialism. With the augmented taxation revenues generated as a result of the Second Charter, the individual corps of the Alliance received increased funding that swelled the ranks and triggered a flurry of new research and development.
In the past century, the Alliance Army was largely complacent, delegating logistical support to the System Guard and reducing the number and regularity of training exercises both at home and with allied units. The Army has also become little more than a path to higher education for some enlisted personnel who separate immediately upon earning tertiary school subsidies. However, with the recent tensions on two interstellar fronts, the Army has very recently experienced a resurgence in enlistment and institutional vigor.
Structure
The Intersystem Alliance Army is organized into 48 Armies of nearly 21 million soldiers each. Armies are subdivided into Phalanxes, of which there are a total of about 193; each Phalanx is made up of approximately 5.2 million personnel. Due to the massive size of the IA Army, the Phalanx was added between Corps and Army. Below is a simplified representation of basic Army organization by unit.
BASIC ORGANIZATION
The basic organization may vary based on the needs and mission of the unit or available manning. This includes both the number of personnel within a specific subset or the existence of one of the subsets entirely. Common manning compositions are provided below.
Soldier
Composition: 1 soldier
Fire Team
Composition: 4 - 6 soldiers
Commanded by: Corporal
Squad
Composition: 2-4 fire teams, Squad Leader = 9 - 17 soldiers
Commanded by Sergeant or Staff Sergeant
Section
Composition: 2-4 squads, Section Leader = 19 - 69 soldiers
Commanded by: Sergeant First Class or Master Sergeant
Platoon
Composition: 2-4 sections, Platoon Officer = 58 - 277 soldiers
Commanded by: Second Lieutenant or First Lieutenant
Company
Composition: 3 - 6 platoons, Company Commander, administrative & logistics personnel = 175 - 1,310 soldiers
Commanded by: Captain or Major
Battalion
Composition: 3 - 5 companies, Battation Commander, administrative & logistics personnel = 500 - 5,000 soldiers
Commanded by: Lieutenant Colonel
Regiment
Composition: 3 - 4 battalions, Regiment Commander, administrative & logistics personnel = ~2,000 - ~15,000 soldiers
Commanded by: Colonel
Brigade
Composition: 2 - 6 Regiments, Brigadier General, administrative & logistics personnel = ~6,000 - 80,000 soldiers
Commanded by: Brigadier General
Division
Composition: 4+ brigades, Division Commander, admin = ~25,000 - 315,000 soldiers
Commanded by: Major General
Corps
Composition: 4+ divisions, Corps Commander, admin = ~100,000 - 1,280,000 soldiers
Commanded by: Lieutenant General
Phalanx
Composition: 4+ corps, Phalanx Commander, admin = ~400,000 - 5,180,000 soldiers
Commanded by: General
Army
Composition: 4+ phalanxes, General, admin = ~2,000,000 - 20,750,000 soldiers
Commanded by: General
Intersystem Alliance Army
Composition: all armies = about 1.45 billion active and reserve
Commanded by: Chief of Army Operations
Objectives
On March 12, 2802, the Intersystem Alliance Army was formally established as part of the Second Alliance Charter and tasked with its mission:
To maintain, train, and equip combat-ready forces necessary for the effective prosecution of war.
To preserve the peace and security and providing for the defense of the Intersystem Alliance, possessions, and any areas occupied by the IA
To support the national policies and implement the national objectives of the Intersystem Alliance
To overcome any entities responsible for aggressive acts that imperil the peace and security of the Intersystem Alliance or her allies
Doctrine
The Interstellar Alliance Army practices a common doctrine known as "Full-Spectrum Operations": the Army’s achievement of control over all dimensions of a battlespace, effectively possessing an overwhelming diversity of resources in such areas as terrestrial, aerial, maritime, subterranean, psychological, and technological/technomantic warfare. This doctrine fits into the overall Alliance doctrine of Joint Warfare.
Within the Alliance, Army operations typically target insurrectionists and criminal enterprises possessing significant marital assets. Abroad, the Army assists allies with garrisons and terrestrial outposts bordering hostile nations such as the People’s Coalition and the Empyrean See. These forces maintain an unceasing vigil, ensuring no aggressive action is taken against the Alliance or her allies.