Calderan Armed Forces
The Calderan Armed Forces is the formal military of Caldera. Acting as a single entity, the Calderan Armed Forces performs the tasks that would be typical of an Army, Navy, and Airforce. It was founded in 1934 during the Second Great War after facing a massive Daxian invasion. During SGW, the military was hardly able to repel the Daxian soldiers, and most of Caldera was under Daxian rule while a small part was able to revolt against the invasion thanks to the expanded military.
| Calderan Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 6 June 1934 |
| Country |  Austro-Caldera |
| Type | Army | Airforce | Navy |
| Role | Land, sea, and air protection and assault |
| Size | 349,590 active duty personnel
4,432 Naval personnel 2,694 Airforce personnel |
| Headquarters | Neu Maessen, Austro-Caldera |
| Motto(s) | "We are the strong" |
| Colors | Gray and black |
| Mascot(s) | Dark Skull |
| Equipment | See below |
| Commanders | |
| Prime Leader | Adian Vandal |
| General of the Army |  Issac Pope |
Controversies
The Calderan Armed Forces is host to a variety of controrvesies over various aspects, from the uniform, to the mascot, to the types of weapons used. Here are brief summaries of the most common.
Native Conscription
The Calderan military's greatest controversy is it's use of native conscription. This is the belief that Volin people should be the ones responsible for protecting Caldera and the Volkspartei, since the Volins were the first inhabitants of Caldera and they previously defended the country from other Iroquoian tribes in the 1600s. All citizens of Caldera that descend from the native inhabitants are required to be in the Calderan Armed Forces for 5 years, whereas citizens that descended from Gothic tribes and likely came to Caldera during the Hendalarsk Exploration are not subject to any conscription or compulsory service.
Fear Tactics
Caldera's military is based around fear tactics, using dark colors and uniforms to blend in to the night and attack enemies when they don't expect it. This has been described as "dictatorial", as it makes citizens feel uncomfortable around soldiers that are meant to protect them. Furthermore, the uniforms to come out of this have been proven to be less efficient than the camouflaged uniforms of other nations. Despite this, the Calderan Armed Forces still refuses to switch, out of principle and preferration by the Volkspartei.
Outdated Equipment
The last large increase in funding of the Calderan Armed Forces was during the Second Great War, when the Armed Forces were created and outfitted with the newest in Hendalarsk equipment. Because of this, the Armed Forces suffers from incredibly outdated weapons and equipment, whereas all of the weapons of this period were replaced by Hendalarsk in the 1960s to 1980s, Austro-Caldera continues to service them alongside newer weapons, usually produced by Austro-Caldera itself.
Under the suggestion of the Volkspartei, older weapons are given to Volin soldiers en masse for combatting nations overseas, while the newer weapons are reserved for military bases and defending Austro-Caldera.