Military

Description
The military of the Kingdom of Eastern Zartania, and now the Greater Zartanian Empire, has been the backbone and strength of the nation throughout its long history. As a state born of military conflict, the Zartanians quickly established themselves as a military power to be reckoned with. Starting as simply a local civil militia defending their villages, the Zartania military has grown over time into a major institution encompassing the Royal Army, the Imperial Navy, the Royal Air Force, the King's Special Forces, the various colonial militias, the Western Zartanian Coastal Defense Force, the Western Zartanian Air Guard, and the Western Zartanian National Guard. The Greater Zartanian Empire, and formerly the Kingdom of Eastern Zartania, is different from other states in its government structure in one very important way: the Head of State, the monarch, does not also act as commander-in-chief of the military. Instead, a special position was created to take that pressure off the monarch so that he could dedicate his attention to the running of the state. The commander-in-chief of the military is appointed by the monarch and is chosen from the most ably qualified members of the military who have served at least 5 years in each branch. The commander-in-chief is given the rank of Grand Admiral High General, outranking all others in the Kingdom. The current commander-in-chief is Grand Admiral High General Erik vun Orcton, Earle of Orcton, formerly commander of the Royal Zartanian Army.  Grand Admiral High General vun Orcton assumed his new position on 16 May 1365 after the former grand admiral high general was removed from office.  The former grand admiral high general, Sir Rudolf Yuvan, K.C., Duke of Madisonia, is the direct decendent of the commander-in-chief under the reign of King Bruno I. Look below to read a description of each branch of the military.

Click here to read about the Royal Military Reform of 1363.

Rank Structure

Prior to November 1368, while there was a combined rank list that equated all ranks in one service to the other services, each service was allowed to develop and implement its own system of rank insignia.  Under the Royal Military Reform of November 1368, however, Grand Admiral High General Erik vun Orcton instituted a new overall rank insignia program.  While the ranks themselves remain the same, as do the equivalencies, there is now one standard set of rank insignias, thus eliminating undue confusion in joint operations settings.  The new collar insignias are shown below on the rank structure table.  The implementation of new rank insignia has also led each of the services to redesign their rank flags for officers of grades O5 through O1.  In addition to the new standard rank insignias, each service is allowed to keep certain designator insignias of its own.  For example, officers in the Imperial Zartanian Navy will continue to wear the traditional cuff stripes on their uniforms, as well as pins designating submarine, surface, air, or shore service.  Similar devices will also be retained by both the Royal Zartanian Army and the Royal Zartanian Air Force for their personnel.

Grade	Royal Army	Imperial Navy	Royal Air Force	Collar Insignia
Officers
O1	High General	Grand Admiral	Commander-General
O2	General	Fleet Admiral	Legion General
O3	Field Marshal	Upper Admiral	General
O4	Major General	Lower Admiral	Sub-General
O5	Brigadier	Flag Captain	Force Colonel
O6	Colonel	Captain	Wing Commander
O7	Lieutenant Colonel	Commander	Force Commander
O8	Major	Sub-Commander	Squadron Commander
O9	Captain	Lieutenant	Flight Commander
O10	Senior Lieutenant	Sub-Lieutenant	Wing Lieutenant
O11	Junior Lieutenant	Midshipman	Flight Officer
Enlisted
E1/E2	Master Sergeant	Master Chief	Crew Chief
E3/E4	Sergeant Major	Master's Mate	Master Specialist
E5/E6	Sergeant	Senior Petty Officer	Senior Specialist
E7/E8	Corporal	Petty Officer	Specialist
E9/E10	Senior Private	Seaman	First Airman
E11/E12	Private	Seaman Basic	Airman

Royal Zartanian Army
The Royal Army was first formally commissioned in 1024 during the rule of the Greater Gronk. Today's Royal Army has grown from that first collection of ill-trained and ill-equipped fiefdom militias into a modern fighting force complete with all of the equipment, experience, and tactical know-how one expects from a modern army. The backbone of the Royal Army are the sixteen (16) corps of combat-ready troops, which were created in March 1367 from the existing regimental army structure. Under the current structure, there are five infantry corps, five mechanized infantry corps, three armor corps, two artillery corps, one air assault corps, one coastal defense command, six reserve corps, and two special forces brigades.  Click here to see a diagram depicting the current structure of the Royal Zartanian Army.  Under the old system, each of five tank corps was assigned to one of the five armies into which the Royal Army was divided. Each army had retained the name first granted them during the Great Patriotic War in 1052: the Army of Zartania, the Army of the Skylands, the Tundra Army, the Foreign (Overseas) Army, and the Reserve Army. Today in 1367, each one of the corps that make up the RZA is its own self-contained fighting force, combining infantry, artillery, armored vehicles (the tank corps), and scout units. Aerial support is solely under the jurisdiction of the Royal Air Force. The Royal Army, however, does have its own helicopters for use in a reconnaisance and support role, such as ferrying troops and supplies, as well as ground support and target suppression. The current head of the Royal Army is General Johann vun Runtdstehdh, formerly commander of the Army of Zartania, who assumed his new post on 16 May 1365 after the former CinCRZA was promoted to grand admiral high general.  The former CinCRZA was Erik vun Orcton, Earle of Orcton.

Above is the typical main battle tank of the Royal Zartanian Army, this one from the 114th Armor Brigade, 1st Infantry Corps.

Imperial Zartanian Navy
The Imperial Navy was long considered to be the very heart of the Kingdom's armed forces, and, for a long time, the heart of the Kingdom itself. Being the maritime nation that it is, the Kingdom's, and now the Empire's, people have long relied on the Navy to protect their merchant ships and to insure the safe passage of their ships across the high seas. Started in 930 as a small, coastal guard force of five galleons, the Imperial Navy has become the epitome of a modern navy. The creation of the navy was prompted by continued raiding from Vinnish explorers, and eventually led to a great sea battle in 1106 off the coast of Northern Peninsula, resulting in a resounding victory for the Zartanians and the final defeat of the Vinnish raiders. Composed of over 100 warships and support ships, the Imperial Navy was originally divided between four fleets. Each fleet was identified by one of the Kingdom's colors: the Red Fleet, the Black Fleet, the White Fleet, and the Gold Fleet. The Black Fleet was considered to be the elite of the Navy. The Imperial Navy's other ships were divided among mobile strike squadrons to fight off pirates and patrol the merchant shipping lanes.  Currently, the fleet is divided between twelve task forces, each centered around one of the Empire's capital warships and assigned a particular patrol area around the world. Also included under the umbrella of the Imperial Navy is the coast guard, composed of ships which patrol and protect the Empire's coasts and inland waterways. The Imperial Navy, however, does not include the ships of the Western Zartanian coast guard except in time of war. The Navy has also been granted the ability to form its own core of soldiers who act to protect the naval vessels and provide assistance to the Army ashore. The Navy is charged with providing naval support and transportation to any and all overseas army operations. The Imperial Navy is currently headed by Fleet Admiral Mikail Indurii, Earle of Krozboc. All commissioned warships in His Majesty's Navy carry the prefix "AMD" before the ship's name, standing for the Rizne translation of "His Majesty's Ship." The flagship of the Imperial Fleet is also the oldest ship still in commission, AMD Victorious, commissioned in 1112.

Please take a look at the updated Imperial Naval Ship List.
Also be sure to view the newly published Imperial Navy Ship Datasheet.

This is the frigate HMIS Sea Mist (F-7), a typical ship of the Imperial Zartanian Navy.

Royal Zartanian Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the youngest branch of the Zartanian armed forces, created in 1302. Headed by  Legion General Nikolas Vogle, Earle Kanri'Nozst, the Air Force is charged with providing air support to the Army and Navy during war time, providing aerial reconnaissance of enemy territory, maintaining air force bases throughout the Empire and its dependencies, and developing and maintaining tactical and strategic fighters and bombers. The backbone of the Air Force are its squadrons of tactical air superiority fighters (F/A-12 and F-16). Along with these fighters, the Royal Air Force also possesses squadrons of long-range heavy strategic bombers (B-8 "Condor"), tactical ground support fighter-bombers (FB-9 "Dauntless"), long-range strategic escort fighters (F-11 "Hawk"), long-range, high-altitude recon planes (R-7 "BlackStar"), long-range tankers (TC-4 "Pelican"), and heavy, long-range cargo planes (C-7 "Crane").

Please be sure to visit the Royal Air Force's Aircraft Datasheet, still under construction.

One of the Empire's F/A-12 "Bird-of-Prey" fighters on maneuvers over Eybalca.

The King's Special Forces Units
The Special Forces of the Empire are the most elite soldiers in the country. They come from all branches of the military, and only the best are allowed entry into this distinguished company. The name of the group is misleading, as the Special Forces are not actually under the King's command, but the command of the Grand Admiral High General. The Special Forces are composed of phalanxes of 50 soldiers, though they are still referred to as "squads" for historical and traditional reasons. Each squad has a specific duty and type of training. For example, SF Squad 4 is known as the King's Guard. Wearing ceremonial purple and white uniforms, the King's Guard is the SF unit responsible for the safety of the King and all members of the Royal Family. SF Squad 3 is the special interrogation squad of the Special Forces. Other squads specialize in guerilla combat, demolitions, sniping, covert surveillance, and other elite operations. The SF units are organized into two brigades, the 1st and 2nd Special Forces Brigades, under the direct command of the Grand Admiral High General. All other information regarding the Special Forces is CLASSIFIED under authority of His Royal Majesty and the Grand Admiral High General.