The Vekllei Army

There’s a thousand years of history in Vekllei’s armed forces, though you’ll find very little of it recalled casually today. Almost everything about Vekllei’s prewar society was scorched by the bombs, and the scraps of military infrastructure that survived were appropriated in the subsequent British occupation.

Since independence, a slate has been wiped clean, and a modern fighting force has replaced the colonial legions and battleships of yesteryear. Since reestablishment, Vekllei’s mettle has been tested in the jungles of Taiwan and the arctic deserts alike, and have proven themselves to be a rugged, versatile army of considerable bravery and fighting strength in spite of poor equipment in the bankruptcy of independence. Attached to British units in Taiwan and sent carelessly into dirty work, the Vekllei Army today has forged new prestige in the blood of its rebirth. Although Vekllei is an island nation, it maintains a large professional and conscripted army and is the third-largest contributor of personnel towards U.N. peacekeeping internationally.

Army Types #

Pictured here is a coalition of soldiers from different branches of the army. Let’s explore some of them now. Please note that this list is not comprehensive, and merely represents a portion of Vekllei’s most common army branches.

Armipor #

The Armipor (armi denporitsa, or army police), are a special branch of the secretive cross-bureau Military Intelligence Operations Council, which joins Vekllei’s sprawling espionage networks with its military infrastructure. The Armipor have many duties, including conventional military police-work, but may also engage in intelligence-gathering, counter-terrorism and rural policing work depending on the division.

Somitzisma #

Somitzisma (meaning militia groups) are formal army units with training somewhere between active reservists and independent militias. Unlike reservists, they are not assigned uniforms and generally receive only periodic training. Their training focuses on a hypothetical home front, specialising in improvised warfare, urban combat and ambushes. They number some 2 million total, and represent one to the largest equipped militia forces in the world. This number would likely rapidly inflate during wartime due to high rates of firearm ownership in the country.

Macka #

A “macka” is prewar Vekllei slang for a blunt tool or implement, and at some point during occupation and independence it became attached to Vekllei’s general infantry. Vekllei mackas number some 90,000 serving, and make up the bulk of Vekllei’s professionalised infantry. Mackas are reinforced by nearly a million active reservists, conscripted through Mandatory Service and equipped for defensive fighting. Their equipment varies dramatically, since they are trained for a variety of environments, including Vekllei’s warm southern climates and arctic warfare.

Carasbine #

The Carasbine (commandos, derived from carbine), are Vekllei’s special forces. Broadly defined as any Vekllei army unit attached to unconventional forms of warfare (since counterterrorism and domestic paramilitary roles are served by the venopor), the country’s strategic focus on high-value and covert ops require a flexible fighting force. Although structured within Vekllei’s army hierarchy, their function has considerable latitude among divisions and often intersects with active operations planned and directed by the bureaus of National Intelligence. To this end, Vekllei maintains commandos trained for sabotage, hostage-rescue, special offensive action, combat diving, and manhunts. They often support and work alongside espionage agents of the NI bureaus.

Tzipora #

Tzipora does not have a gun and is not very good at killing the enemy and/or invading foreign nations.

She does, however, enlist in the Garden Corps for Mandatory Service and spends her military years growing flowers in street garden boxes, severely distracting any foreign invading force with their beauty.