Metropolitan Guard
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The Burgoignesc Grand Principal Republican Metropolitan Guard, (Burg: Vigilanteuers della Republique Real Burgoignesc), more commonly known as the Metropolitan Guard, is the ready-reserve infantry force of the Army of Burgundie. It is a semi-professional corps of non-commissioned officers and junior infantry officers who are prepared to defend the Burgoignesc Metropole in the event of an invasion. It encompasses the ranks of corporals, sergeants, aspirants, lieutenants, and captains. Members of the Metropolitan Guard train one weekend a month, two weeks a year.
Unlike most ready reserve forces around the world, they do not focus primarily on their combat or support role but rather on rapidily training the populace in guerrilla, asymmetrical, and anti-platform warfare as well as survival and first aid skills. Their doctrine is focused on the strategy of "locality defense" (Burg: defense della raion) and maintains the medieval structure of the hundred, dividing Burgundie in geographical subdivisions that could likely raise 100 residents to form an independent company of combatants.
Purpose and Mission
The purpose of the Metropolitan Guard is to execute the Army of Burgundie's tactical approach of "preparing and expecting all of its soldiers, at all levels, to take the initiative and take an adaptive approach to complete orders and meet objectives." It does this by creating a semi-professional corps of non-commissioned officers and junior infantry officers who have the knowledge and skills to:
- lead novice troops into battle, while maintaining discipline and morale;
- make life-saving tactical decisions;
- find/create combat momentum and press the initiative; and
- achieve a punishing victory.
Mission
The mission of the Metropolitan Guard is, "Prepare leaders to eliminate all invading forces to ensure the total and unequivocal sovereignty of Burgundie."
Scope
Legally, the Metropolitan Guard is a defense force and cannot be used outside of the Burgoignesc Metropole. It does not have a deterrent capability and is tasked only with destroying enemy forces after they have breached Burgundie. Legally they are not charged to "repel" the invaders. The express expectation and mission of the Metropolitan Guard is to destroy all enemy forces.
History
Following Operation Kipling, the Army of Burgundie redeveloped it's structure especially focused on how to maintain the Metropole Forces's experience from the wars in Audonia and Alshar but respect the laws of Burgundie precluding it from having a standing army in the Burgoignesc Metropole. In 1988, the Metropolitan Guard was formed as a semi-professional cadre of junior infantry infantry officers. In 1997 it was expanded to infantry NCOs to ensure that a wider, more functional reserve force in the Burgoignesc Metropole.
In 2012, the program was reoriented to focus on training others in an invasion scenario as opposed to only developing the personal skills of the members.
Organization
The Metropolitan Guard's structure is identical to that of the I and II Infantry Tacticales, or Infantry Legions, up to the company level. It goes have the odd caveat that there are no soldiers assigned to the NCOs and officers that are in command of it's fireteams, squads, platoons, and companies. This is because the soldiers are expected to be made up of the residents in a time of invasion.
Training
Each member of the Metropolitan Guard is required to lead or participate in one weekend a month and two one week sessions of training a year. 30% of the time is focused on the development and maintenance of their personal combat skills. 20% is set aside of administrative and logistical functions, and th remains 50% of time is focused on teaching members how to teach others.
The primary focus of the training is guerrilla, asymmetrical, and anti-platform warfare as well as survival and first aid skills.
NCOs and officers train together throughout the year during their weekend trainings and the first week that their biannual training occurs on. However, during the second week, assinments are changed to simulate the chaos of war. lieutenants and captains are randomized and a small number of lieutenants are made observers, making their Platoon Sergeants into the leader of the Platoon.
Equipment
The National Strategic Defense Stockpile is a series of weapons and equipment caches throughout the Burgoignesc Metropole in each cache are enough supplies to equip and sustain 100 combatants for two weeks. There are 95 battle rifles, 5 light machine guns, 25 pistols with holsters, 30 single use rocket propelled grenades, 1500 24 hr self-heating rations, 100,000 rounds of rifle ammunition, 1000 rounds of pistol ammunition, 100 combat knives/bayonets, 5 flare guns, 50 victory flares, 50 distress flares, 3 encrypted radios, 25 rolls of burgundy duct tape to make identification arm bands, 125 ponchos, 75 collapsible shovels with holders, 125 utility belts, 15 combat first aid kits, 50 tourniquets, 50 5 meter rolls of sterile gauss, 100 ammunition bandoliers, 1,000 30 round magazines for battle rifles, 700 100 round belts for light machine guns, 80 12 round magazines for pistols, and 1400 all-weather fire starter kits.
The captains assigned to each raion, or locality are assigned to sign off on the annual restocking of their cache in the presence of their company sergeant major. The actually stocking and inventory is handled by the Logistics Branch. And supplies withing one year of expiration are remanded to the Burgoignesc Foreign Legion.
In general the caches are filled with equipment one generation behind what is in circulation with the Foreign Legion. It also serves as an active storage for equipment that is being actively sold by Burgundie on the surplus market. Sold equipment is replaced with current generation equipment. Highest priority replacement is given based on proximity to military installations, with those furthest from the bases getting equipment first.
The program is hugely expensive but it's cost is mildly offset by the market circulation of arms and equipment being sold to foreign powers.
Local police departments and gendarmeries can also buy out equipment from their local cache at below market rates. Due to the bulk buying power of the program the Army of Burgundie actually makes a small profit from these sales.
Efficacy
The intent of having a semi-professional non-commissioned and junior infantry officers corps is to execute the Army's tactical approach of "preparing and expecting all of its soldiers, at all levels, to take the initiative and take an adaptive approach to complete orders and meet objectives." The program has proven highly effective in giving non-commissioned officers (NCOs) an additional level of confidence and also helped to build trust between NCOs and junior officers in 12 independent surveys spanning 46 years.