Office of the National Army (Faneria)

The Office of the National Army is one of the eight major Offices of Faneria's government, and oversees the armed forces of the Republic. The Office itself is an administrative and mixed military and civilian organization, while actual operations are planned and performed by its component Bureaus. In Fhainnin nomenclature, the Army covers the entirety of the armed forces, leading to some confusion between the Army and the Land Bureau, the latter of which is the land army of Faneria. The Office of the Army responds primarily to the Director of the Republic outside of disaster situations where units are delegated to local authorities or subordinated to the Office of State Security.

Pre-national Forces
The typical Fhainnin soldier for the first few thousand years of recorded history (known as a Ceiternin) was armed with a sword (deamhbah), javelins (gah), and various daggers. They generally favored no armor or padded cloth, as tribal tactics focused on skirmishes and ambush over pitched fighting. These troops were organized into rough units collectively referred to as Ceiternn, or warbands, which numbered anywhere from thirty to four hundred men depending on the size of the populations from which they were raised. The leader of each warband was either elected or lead by charisma and was referred to as a Ceiternna, and responded directly to the commanding noble or official, assuming they themselves were not operating autonomously. Many local bands fought against invading forces both foreign and native without a call to arms, often boiling the distinction between soldiery and highwaymen down to a matter of loyalties.

The constant combative nature of the area made proper settlement and annexation by anything other than dedicated armies incredibly difficult, as while early Holy Levantine forces and opportunistic raiders had free reign of the land when organized, attempts to remove or subjugate the native populations of the Ninerivers typically resulted in settlements being sacked at any opportunity.

As Christianity took hold within the country from those foreign settlements which had been established peaceably or lasted in small holds along the coastline, local nobility began to employ professional soldiers in addition to militias. These Ardceiterninn continued to use javelins and swords, but additionally took up shortbows along with rounded wooden shields and metal armor (most commonly mail coats or lamellar designs copied from Latin and Coscivian designs). Most also trained to fight on horseback as their Ceiterninn auxiliaries did, largely replacing the mounted skirmishers and relegating peasant troops to foot combat by the tenth century. While not approaching the social prestige or full plate of Latin knights, these soldiers typically fought with similar discipline and pride, earning a reputation as competent bodyguards and cavalry mercenaries throughout Levantia.

Early Royal Central Army
The first Kings of the Fhainn fought with essentially the same troops as their ancestors and opponents had for innumerable generations before, and did so successfully. However, the inherent disorganization and decentralization of feudal forces made mobilizing to fight large wars increasingly difficult, and by the fourteenth century, firearms and cannons made organized formations increasingly important.

In 1457, in response to this need for a large army loyal directly to the Throne, King (Rih) Bronlan Màrtainn reorganized his personal army into more standardized units of four hundred men, arming them with weapons produced in batches and mixing soldiers from different regions to limit the chances of any unit retaining loyalty to their original lords. Aside from introducing a degree of standardization, Bronlan created a larger officer system, with Captains (almost invariably minor nobles) replacing Ceiternnas and introducing Sergeant-Generals to lead units of two thousand men, themselves responding a General leading as many troops as were appointed to his command. While still inefficient and lacking in long campaigning ability and contemporary command and control, this system at least allowed for a functional army to be fielded against other states with relative coordination and modern equipment (and, more importantly, without cajoling the Vicars to field soldiers on the behalf of the King).

The Royal Central Army formally separated Fhainnin soldiers into distinct infantry and cavalry types, with the Ardceirerninn being transformed into more traditional lancer cavalry, while the levy troops were given a mix of arquebuses and pikes to replace their earlier bows and spears. Foot Ardceirerninn and the few remaining cavalry Ceirerninn eventually formed longbowmen and skirmish cavalry units respectively, with the former fading into obscurity as firearms became more effective and the latter taking up varying roles as early dragoons or reconnaissance units for the main armies. Static cannon were also introduced and attached as needed to the infantry for support in sieges. In its early stages, the RCA employed Tercio formations, eventually phasing out pikes but retaining sabers until the invention of ring-mounted bayonets, skipping the introduction of plug bayonets entirely.

This central army, supported by Vicarial armies and feudal levies, saw action in numerous wars of expansion after its formation in 1457, from the Vandarch War to both the First and Second Princes' Wars and until the end of the Second Kin War.

Late Royal Army
In the late 18th Century and onwards, the Royal Army grew in size greatly as the nobility became increasingly dependent on the Crown for their power, culminating in the loss of their privileges to raise levies independent of the central government in the 1830 Constitution. Units were organized into a Corps system immediately prior to the Third Kin War along Latin lines, with continuous modernization throughout the rest of the century. COnscription was also introduced in 1840, though the professional troops largely remained nobility. The Royal Army performed well until its disastrous defeat during the Fourth Kin War, during which the entirety of the Third Army Group was cut off from supply and defeated, with the Rih being taken captive and forced to sign the humiliating First Treaty of Gaoth.

Traditions and Holidays
The two major military holidays, aside from each branch's personal Day, are Revolution Day (date) and Founding Day (Date). Revolution day marks the death of Rih ________ on (date), while Founding Day is April 23rd, the day of the formal ceremony in 1910 that instated the RPA as the official military of the Fhainnin Popular Republic. Revolution Day is also a general holiday for the country, and is marked with parades and celebrations that extend to military installations outside of combat operations areas.

Training and Sourcing
Training for skills and jobs in the Army is highly organized, with a wide variety of dedicated schools for officers, engineering, basic training, and dozens of mission profiles and specializations being operated by the Army, often in conjunction with state-owned colleges or coordinated with private enterprises. Staff in the state-run schools are typically employed by the ONA, but are considered civilians rather than military personnel unless they also hold a military rank.

Procurement for the military is often done through the use of state-owned production and RnD teams supported by materials, skilled labor, and cooperatives from the private sector rather than direct purchasing from public or private military corporations directly, although the military is not above using purchased equipment outside of the electronics sector. This has created a situation where the private sector does much of the work in parts production and design, which is then filtered through state-controlled enterprises for assembly and testing to reduce the final cost of equipment. State-owned companies also frequently have what are referred to as 'cooperative parallel relationships' with private companies, trading personnel for cross-training, doing collaborative RnD work, and creating a list of companies that the state does not directly own but operate intimately with the state defense industry.

Army Land Bureau
Main Article: Army Land Bureau (Faneria)

Army Air Bureau
Main Article: Army Aerospace Bureau (Faneria)

Army Naval Bureau
Main Article: Army Naval Bureau (Faneria)

Army Strategic Bureau
Main Article: Army Strategic Bureau (Faneria)

Army Logistics and Procurement Bureau
Main Article: Army Logistics and Procurement Bureau (Faneria)

Rank Structure
Tascghrúp

Ghrúpcaptaen

Man-at-Arms, Corporal, Sgiobair-Leiftenant, Sgiobair, Serdeant, Captaen, Leiftenant, Ardcaptaen, Quartermaster-Ceitern, Leiftenant Ceitern, Hospitaller-Ceitern, Leift. General, Quartermaster-Bragorra, Leift. Bragorra, Hospitaller-Bragorra, General-Bragorra, Quartermaster-Rhonorra, Leift. Rhonorra, Hospitaller-Rhonorra, General-Rhonorra, General, Quartermaster-General, Hospitaller-General, Marshal

All COs are technically considered officers in the Fhainnin rank structure, and non-officers are referred to as Men-at-Arms. Any soldier can theoretically attain the rank of Captaen, though this typically is reserved for officer training school candidates and higher ranks require such training as a prerequisite. Appointments to the ranks of Lft. General and higher almost always require appropriate political leanings and specialized schooling in addition to the demonstrated competence and leadership qualities expected of the upper echelons.

Pay
base pay for a soldier is approximately 30,000 Barra a year for enlisted, 45,000 for lower officers, 60,000 for staff officers, and 140,000 Barra/year for generals before bonuses. Combat awards typically include bonuses of one to ten thousand Barra; campaign medals and ordinary medals do not. Soldiers killed in battle are awarded a year and a half of tax exempt pay to be paid to the willed persons or nearest kin if nobody is selected. Soldiers killed in peacetime for reasons unrelated to existing health issues, disorderly conduct, and suicide are awarded one hundred to one hundred fifty thousand barra over three years. Maimed veterans receive a varying pay of 10-15 thousand Barra per year for fifteen years after discharge, and all combat veterans are entitled to tax-funded mental health services. Veterans and active personnel additionally are additionally exempt from Faneria's railway use tax.

Budget and Development
about 36 billion in salaries (average 37000 barra/26.5k thalers pay, but many bonuses available plus minor pensions)