Ventoran Army

The  (: Ejército Ventorano) is the component of the Ventoran Armed Forces. The army is the largest branch of service with over 253 thousand active and 1.15 million ready reserve personnel serving in 557 regiments.

History
Historically armies were raised by duchies and only served the kingdom when levied by the monarch for some purpose, then reverted back to the duchy. Today the national army sets fitness, training, and competency standards and has a standing force.

Organization
Captain General Leandro Grimaldo Señor Castro del Facer is the current Army Chief of Army Operations. He is supported by the Army Staff, a regimental-sized element with a battalion-sized ready reserve, that provides command and control for the army as a whole.

Following its long-standing tradition, the army's basic tactical element is the regiment. Operationally, the active army has 33 divisions each comprised of two armored regiments, two mechanized infantry regiments, and two artillery battalions, half of which are active and the other half ready reserve. With 456 ready reserve regiments having their 3 week annual training periods spread throughout the year, 7 divisions are at full strength year-round. All reserve regiments routinely conduct their annual training periods with the same active division over a number of years, but there is a rotation to ensure all divisions have experience working with reserve forces.

As Ventora's land-based defensive force, army units are normally assigned within the five military sectors: northern, western, central, eastern, and southern. One of the year-round divisions is airmobile and is assigned to the eastern sector. The other three year-round divisions are assigned one each to the northern, western, and southern sectors. The other fully-staffed divisions rotate among the sectors depending on their ready reserve augmentation schedules. There is also an active duty Special Operations Regiment.

Equipment
The Ventoran army uses a variety of small arms at the individual soldier level. Depending on type, units have vehicles and heavier weapon systems available to them. These may include mortars, artillery (gun or rocket), and armored vehicles such as infantry fighting vehicles or tanks.

While the Logistics Corps operates utility and cargo helicopters for supply and ferrying troops, the army's Airmobile Division has attack helicopters as well as its own troop transport rotary-wing aircraft. The Logistics Corps provides fixed-wing movement, including for operations involving s.

Personnel
Having 255,368 active and 1,150,077 ready reservists, the army is Ventora's largest military service. After fully staffing the 33 regular divisions, the remaining ready reserve regiments can form 96 additional divisions. A further 4,940,676 inactive reservists give the army a large strategic pool of trained personnel that can be recalled to form nearly 600 supplementary infantry divisions in the event of a national emergency.

Training
As with all conscripts, new personnel attend 8 weeks of basic military training. Upon completion, they attend functional training applicable to their duty assignment. Course lengths for functional training vary depending on the complexities involved. Following functional training, soldiers participate in the 8-week collective training course to gain practical experience in their duties.

Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) attend basic military training and then the 4-week basic leadership course. Officer aspirants attend the basic leadership course followed by 12 weeks at officer training school. NCOs and officers also complete advanced and senior training courses appropriate to their roles and responsibilities as they advance during their careers. Careerists may be offered the opportunity to attend continuing educational opportunities and advanced training courses outside of the military that have relevance to their skills and duty assignments.

While NCO and officer assignments often involve additional service obligations beyond the basic national service requirement, special assignments, such as Special Operations, airmobile, and pilot training and assignments are unique. Candidates must meet physical and intellectual standards for selection and must have already completed a year of their military service to apply.

Pilot candidates must attend officer and flight school training totaling 270 days. While the Logistics Corps conducts most military training, the air force has charge of flight crew training. Beyond basic and specialized flight training, flight crews must meet a minimum of flying hours annually. These are 192 hours for active duty personnel and 104 hours for ready reservists. In addition, flight crew ready reservists attend 4-week annual duty periods rather than the standard 3-week period.

Because of the complexity of training and flight operations, pilots must agree to a total obligation of 4 years of active duty and 4 years of ready reserve service. Some other highly specialized career fields may require extended active duty and ready reserve obligations, as well.

Uniforms
The standard field uniform is the typical day-to-day uniform for all services of the Ventoran armed forces. It consists of a top, trousers, and cap in a woodland digital camouflage pattern which works well throughout southwestern Alutra. The design is the same for all ranks and for males and females. Battlefield kit may include:
 * Ballistic helmet
 * Body armor
 * NBC protective gear (respirator, oversuit, antidotes, personal decontamination kit)
 * Foul weather gear
 * Sleeping gear
 * Backpack
 * Optics, such as night-vision devices
 * Communications gear

For dress occasions, the army dress uniform consists of olive trousers, tunic, and peaked cap. Ribbons representing medals awarded to the wearer are worn on the left breast of the tunic. The trousers may be worn with a tan shirt, with or without a tie, and no tunic as a duty uniform when designated by the commander. For more formal occasions, the dress uniform is worn with a belt, white shirt, and medals awarded the wearer. For officers, the cap strap and dress belt are gold brocade. The overall style is the same for both males and females, but the cut is slightly different to present a more appropriate professional appearance.

Olive rank s on both shoulders designate the wearer's on all uniforms. A nametape in material matching the uniform displays the wearer's last name on the left breast of the field uniforms. A patch representing the flag of Ventora is displayed on the left shoulder of the uniforms.

Ranks and insignia
The following charts show Ventoran Army rank insignia.