Royal Mespalian Armed Forces

The Royal Mespalian Armed Forces (Mespalian: Mechpælæn râllizet acevoimat, Ovancian: Forces armées royales mespaliennes) is the military responsible for the defense of the Kingdom of Mespalia. It consists of the Royal Mespalian Army, Royal Mespalian Navy, Royal Mespalian Air Force and the Royal Mespalian Gendarmerie.

RMAF is based around universal male conscription, whereby all men over the age of 21 must serve 6-18 months in the Armed Forces, usually in the Army. Besides the 70,000 active duty professional soldiers, there are always around 70,000 conscripts in active service and a reserve of over seven million men, consisting of men who have already finished their service.

Besides the three main branches, the Gendarmerie, responsible for providing law enforcement services to rural areas outside of major cities is considered to be a part of the Armed Forces, despite the fact that during peacetime it is under the control of the Ministry of Interior, not Defense.

Army
The Army is the largest component of the Armed Forces. Of the 69,000 active duty soldiers, roughly 29,000 serve in the Army. Around 70% of conscripts, meaning around 49,000 people, also serve in the army, meaning that the total strength of the Army at any given time is around 120,000 men.

The Army is organized into four military districts and a total of 23 brigades and various independent units.

Navy
The Navy is the second largest component of the Armed Forces, with around 28,000 active duty soldiers and 10,000 conscripts. The Navy's fleet consists of 85 ships, including an amphibious assault docks, two destroyers, four frigates, four attack submarines, four missile boats, five patrol boats, four minesweepers and around 60 support, research and training ships.

In addition to the main fleet, the Royal Mespalian Naval Fusiliers and coastal artillery is also under the Navy's command.

Air Force
The Air Force is the smallest of the branches, consisting of around 15,000 active duty soldiers and 20,000 conscripts. The Air Force operates 315 aircraft in total.

Gendarmerie
The Royal Mespalian Gendarmerie is a law enforcement agency that, while officially a part of the Armed Forces, is commanded by the Ministry of Interior in peacetime. It provides law enforcement services to areas outside of cities that are not served by the Royal Mespalian Police. Unlike other branches, the Gendarmerie does not accept conscripts and its soldiers are not included in the total strength of the Armed Forces.

Officers
Army officer ranks are denoted by the collar. Cadets have blank collars with the emblem of the Royal Military Academy; Company officers have one narrow silver lace with a corresponding number of golden roses; Field officers have one thick and one narrow silver lace with a corresponding number of golden roses, while general officers have one thick golden lace embroidered with oak leaves and a corresponding number of golden roses. Marshals have a set of crossed marshal's batons instead of roses.

Epaulettes also signify whether the officer in question is a cadet or a company, field or general officer. Cadets have regular shoulder straps made of uniform cloth with a golden lace lining the edge and the emblem of the Royal Military Academy in the center. Company officers have a single silver-colored piping made out of bullion thread, field officers have double piping while general officers have golden triple piping.

Enlisted and NCO's
Army enlisted and non-commissioned officer ranks is shown on shoulder straps and consists of various numbers of narrow and thick silver lace sewn onto the board. NCO students, officer students and officer aspirants also have lace lining the edge of the shoulder strap, the color is always silver for officer students and officer aspirants, while for NCO students it varies depending on the military academy they are attending.

The collar is always blank for enlisted personnel, while NCO's have a button on the edge of the collar with two narrow silver laces.

Officers
Naval officer ranks are displayed on the lower sleeve and consist of golden laces of various thicknesses topped by an. Company officers only have narrow laces, field officers have one thick lace and a varying number of narrow laces, and admirals have one extra thick lace with oak leaf embroidery and a varying number narrow laces.

Like in all branches of the RMAF, naval officers carry shoulder boards with a varying number of bullion laces to signify whether the officer in question is a cadet or a company, field or general officer. However, unlike in the Army and the Air Force, epaulettes are only worn when wearing the parade uniform, and are not worn on dress uniform.

A distinction cloth is placed between the laces when the wearer belongs to a certain branch of the Navy. It is red for the medical branch, purple for the engineering and light blue for aviation.

Enlisted and NCO's
Enlisted and NCO naval ranks are displayed on the upper sleeve and consist of a various number of embroidered chevrons. The color of the chevron signifies whether the soldier is a conscript, in which case the chevrons are red, or a career soldier, in which case the chevrons are gold. Senior NCO's also have blank shoulder boards.

Officers
Air Force ranks officer ranks closely resemble those of naval officers. Ranks are displayed on the lower sleeve and consist of silver laces of various thicknesses. However, instead of an executive curl like in the Navy, the laces are topped by a diamond. Company officers only have narrow laces, field officers have one thick lace and a varying number of narrow laces, and admirals have one extra thick lace with oak leaf embroidery and a varying number narrow laces. Air Marshals also have a silver embroidered star on their sleeve.

Like in all branches of the RMAF, air force officers carry shoulder boards with a varying number of bullion laces to signify whether the officer in question is a cadet or a company, field or general officer. In the air force, these are also distinguished by the fact that the piping does not carry a. Branch affiliation is instead shown by metal insignia on the collar.

Enlisted and NCO's
Air Force enlisted personnel and NCO's carry their rank on their upper sleeves. The ranks themselves consist of a number of silver chevrons. Those who are attending NCO School or are officer students or aspirants also carry rhombuses above the chevrons.

Unlike in the Navy and like in the Army, Air Force enlisted and NCO personnel also have shoulder boards. However, these are not used to display the rank with the exception of NCO students, officer students or officer aspirants. Instead, shoulder boards are used to display branch affiliation, as the Air Force does not utilize s.

Officers
Gendarmerie officer ranks are denoted by the collar and closely resemble those of the Army, the main difference being the different shape of the collar patch and the fact that laces cover three sides of the patch instead of two. Cadets have blank collars with the emblem of the Royal Academy of Gendarmes; Company officers have one narrow silver lace with a corresponding number of small silver roses; Field officers have one thick and one narrow silver lace with a corresponding number of medium-sized silver roses, while general officers have one thick golden lace and a corresponding number of large golden roses embroidered on an embroidered oak leaf backing.

Like in all branches of the RMAF, gendarmerie officers carry shoulder boards with a varying number of bullion laces to signify whether the officer in question is a cadet or a company, field or general officer. Like in the air force, these are also distinguished by the fact that the piping does not carry a. Branch affiliation is instead shown by metal insignia on the shoulder board.

Like in all other branches,

Enlisted and NCO's
Gendarmerie enlisted personnel and NCO's display their rank on the collar, similar to the officers. They consist of narrow and thick silver laces placed vertically on the red collar patch. Shoulder boards have red piping and also display the branch affiliation of the wearer.