Recent history
After the Interstellar War, MINERVA's casualties and the overall public unrest led to the large restructuration into the numerous small independent units we know today. The VDF's capabilities slowly ramped up during the following decades, with the government primarily focused on civilian affairs. In 298, the VDF moved their headquarters to the Citadel, a fortified administrative building in the capital of Bel Avenir. Despite their relatively slow growth, the VDF nevertheless became a formidable fighting force and have remained the dominant military forces in Elysium since 221.
Structure
Organization
As dictated by Article 3 of the VSA, the federal chancellor stands as the commander-in-chief of the Vestan Defense Forces. Under the chancellor's authority, the Ministry of Defense serves as their administrative body while the Vestan Strategic Command acts as their main commanding and supervising body. This ensures that the VDF are legally bound to civilian institutions, but remain centrally managed by military personnel to oversee their activities.
The Vestan Strategic Command simultaneously oversees the activities of all three service branches of the VDF. These are the Ground Defense Force, the Maritime Defense Force and the Aerospace Defense Force. These branches were meant to operate independently in their respective areas of expertise, but are often deployed alongside one another during most combat operations.
Composition
During the advent of hyper computing, autonomous AI units and remote controlled drones became a liability. While still in use, their numbers have drastically decreased in the past century and their missions have evolved to support human units rather than replace them. This shift towards a human-centric military was also done to appease the civilian population, by bringing back some humanity to the horrors of war and creating more job opportunities. As a result, even though modern cryptography made communication channels and digital hardware secure again, AIs are not commonplace in the VDF, leaving most of the work to human volunteers.
Most autonomous units still in use within the Vestan military serve as support units, carrying supplies, loading ammunitions and assisting in maintenance and construction. Some more recent vehicles and aircrafts are also outfitted with autonomous AIs to take over their human crew, should the need arise. This translates into an overall lower tooth-to-tail ratio than the imperial military, with combat units only taking up to 28% of all active personnel, depending on the service branch.
Auxiliary Operations
Despite its significant military forces, the Federation is still home to many private military companies, especially on Asteria. The Ministry of Defense oversees these private organizations through the National Security Department, regulating and monitoring their activities. Filling the gap between law enforcement agencies, who are often ineffective against external threats, and military forces, who are often slow, costly and too destructive, PMCs are employed as hunting parties, escorts and militias to the most vulnerable cities and settlements.
As civilian organizations, PMCs cannot purchase military-grade assets, which greatly reduces their options regarding space warfare and large-scale ground operations, which remain the jurisdiction of the Vestan military. Despite all of their restrictions, however, PMCs are far from harmless. Armed with advanced ballistic weapons and body armors, PMC operators are professional combatants, often recruited from ex-military personnel. Utilizing various wheeled vehicles and aircrafts, often lightly armed and locally produced, PMCs put great emphasis on their response time, as it is one of their main advantage compared to local military garrisons. This focus on fast intervention, combined with their restricted procurement, led to PMCs being known to frequently improvise and innovate in their operations, and have had some influence on the military's weapons and tactics in the past century.
Budget
The Vestan Federation has the largest military budget in Elysium, spending more than 3.253 trillion PLV in 382. This budget is primarily spent on human resources, operations and maintenance, with more than 1.985 trillion spent just to maintain the VDF in their current state. An additional 765 billions are spent for procurement of new vehicles, ships and weapons, as well as replacing inventories. The rest is spent on research and development, construction and other expenses.
Personnel
Recruitment
As of 382, the VDF exclusively employs professional volunteers that are expected to uphold the Federation's standards and values, especially considering the repercussions any mishap could have back home. These volunteers are divided into 2 352 055 active personnel and 462 314 reserve personnel, totaling more than 2.8 million trained service members. With an average yearly recruitment rate of 0.43%, the VDF have been struggling to grow in more recent years due to the increasingly costly and selective recruitment processes.
The minimum age to enlist is 18, but new recruits also need to graduate from high-school or a military academy to remain eligible. They will be enlisted for a duration of five years, after which they may retire or renew their contract. Once selected, recruits undergo a rigorous and intense physical and academic training, turning them into proficient fighters capable of rapidly adapting to the ever changing battlefield.
The VDF offer two different programs for new recruits, or candidates, to enlist: the Operational Command and the Strategic Command. The first is destined to prepare for rank-and-file positions within the military and is relatively easy to complete. The latter, however, is aimed towards future commissioned officers and is thus significantly more difficult to complete.
Commissioned officers
The VDF form a complex war machine made of countless pieces, and it is up to the esteemed officers of the Vestan military to make sure that each of those pieces operates at its best at all times. Vestan officers start their career as candidates to the Strategic Command program, a three-month training period with physical and academic examinations to determine if they have the capability to become suitable leaders. Once qualified, they undergo a four-year training course to become field officers.
Upon graduation, these candidates reach the rank of Second Lieutenant (or equivalent) and are given a sword to represent the authority they have been given. While these are for ceremonial purposes, they are fully functional and swordsmanship became a traditional skill most if not all officers acquire to prove their commitment. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to find officers settling issues with sword duels, although the practice is not official nor endorsed by any means.
Enlisted personnel
While the Strategic Command program is a door to a prestigious career, most recruits instead fall back to the more accessible Operational Command program to join the VDF. This three-month training period, while still somewhat selective, mostly consists of physical and psychological examinations, along with basic academic tests. Once qualified, recruits then undergo an eighteen-month training period to become proficient soldiers, with the first six month being a general course and the remaining year being a specialization course.
Recruits reach the rank of Private (or equivalent) after the six months of general course and may already join field units for their specialization, depending on their choices. This long training process is an unfortunate consequence of the growing complexity of war, but it also helps with the rehabilitation of veterans into the civilian world.
Rank structure
Both officers and enlisted can expect to rise within 7 ranks in each category, respectively classified as S1-7 and O1-7 for administrative purposes. Each service branch of the VDF has its own distinctions for each rank, as well as four additional ranks, nicknamed "Super Strategic" ranks, that are awarded by commendations and openings rather than merit. These ranks are awarded to high-ranking individuals to bridge the gap between military and political careers.
| Rank Administrative Level |
Rank in the Ground Defense Force |
Rank in the Aerospace Defense Force |
Rank in the Maritime Defense Force |
| SS4 |
First Marshal |
First Admiral |
First Admiral |
| SS3 |
Marshal |
Admiral |
Admiral |
| SS2 |
Major General |
Vice-Admiral |
Vice-Admiral |
| SS1 |
Lieutenant General |
Rear-Admiral |
Rear-Admiral |
| S7 |
Brigadier General |
Commodore |
Commodore |
| S6 |
Colonel |
Captain |
Captain |
| S5 |
Lieutenant-Colonel |
Commander |
Commander |
| S4 |
Major |
Lieutenant Commander |
Lieutenant Commander |
| S3 |
Captain |
Lieutenant |
Lieutenant |
| S2 |
1st Lieutenant |
Junior Lieutenant |
Junior Lieutenant |
| S1 |
2nd Lieutenant |
Ensign |
Ensign |
| O7 |
Adjudant |
Adjudant |
Adjudant |
| O6 |
Sergeant-Major |
Warrant Officer |
Warrant Officer |
| O5 |
Staff-Sergeant |
Quartermaster |
Quartermaster |
| O4 |
Sergeant |
Chief Petty Officer |
Chief Petty Officer |
| O3 |
Corporal |
Petty Officer |
Petty Officer |
| O2 |
Private First Class |
Master Crewman / Master-at-Arms |
Master Seaman |
| O1 |
Private |
Crewman / Man-at-Arms |
Seaman |
Uniforms
Field uniforms
All three service branches of the VDF share the same field uniform design. Consisting of trousers, jacket, boots and gloves that are designed to be airtight and compatible with all body armors of the VDF, the Type F field uniform is issued in a multitude of camouflage patterns and monotone colors. It is primarily made of ballistic fibers and insulating materials to provide basic protection, and is somewhat elastic to adapt to its wearer. While it is completely airtight if used with adequate headgear, it is not, in itself, a pressure suit.
The Type F uniform is issued with a field cap accross all three service branches of the VDF, but each branch also uses its own casual headwear. The ADF and MDF issue side caps bearing the insignia of their affiliations, and GDF issues colored beret to its troops. These colored berets are black for regular units, red for regional guard units, blue for naval infantry units, green for special forces and purple for rangers.
The GDF's field uniform is typically dim gray and worn under body armor in a lighter urban camouflage pattern. Other patterns available are woodland, desert, winter and volcanic, although they are rarely used.
The MDF's field uniform is independence blue and worn with onyx grey body armor. Due to its low priority and its area of operations, the MDF does not use any camouflage pattern.
The ADF's field uniform is typically light gray and worn under white body armor. Other patterns such as monochrome black are also available.
Service uniforms
The Vestan service uniform is similar in all three branches, consisting of more conventional jackets, shirts and trousers of varying colors. It should be noted that the design is also similar for both sex, as skirts are not part of the official uniform. Officers are issued with peaked caps to easily differentiate them from the rank and file.
Dress uniforms
Finally, the dress uniform is unique to each branch, with unique variations for some affiliations. The most prestigious ones are of course for officers and elite troops such as Special Forces.
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