Tourists Guide To The Principality Of Valtovka: Part Four
PART FOUR: Military Service.
At the age of seventeen, all male and female Valtovka citizens are subject to conscription for a term no less then two years...
After the unification, Ronald saw fit to impose a conscription plan to insure that the army was never short on manpower, and in effect, insure he was never low on manpower.
Here is a brief list of the types of military personnel Valtovka keeps, and a short explanation.
Conscript: Someone who has shown absolutely no skills and has no desire to serve, there are very few true conscripts in the military.
Soldier: An enlisted man, or a conscript who behaves normally or has ambition or skills. The most basic type of unit, and the most multipurpose.
Officer: An officer is truly someone with potential. All officers are sent to the 'Fastolf Academy Of Leadership' Where they get all the training they need to be, what they need to be. Ian himself devised their schooling, so its not uncommon for them to be referred to as "Ian's Pawns" or "His Excellency's Errand Boy" It is at this rank, a soldier finally gets their saber. (More for show then usage of course.)
Command Officer: Someone who has proven their usefulness, and is now in command of more then a squad or detachment. They control entire platoons, and company's. Its their job to see to the missions success. At this rank, prestige sets in, and their uniform now includes a formal cape.
General/Field Marshal: Truly a figure of the military and the principality. Each province, and each prince has their own Marshal to carry out their military operations. These furs are usually older, (40 plus) and always, always calm and collected. They are however they most likely to refuse an order from a Fastolf, or simply rebel. Seeing as Ian is rather young, and John is the original heir, they hold a hostility to Ian. They also tend to hold loyalty's to their ruling prince. At this rank, they are dressed in fine clothing, cape, saber, and all. They also get a necklace, its simply the Fastolf Star, on a pure silver chain. Most turn this down however, and replace the star with the symbol of their province, or prince.
The Gray Watch: A true science fiction novel come to life, the Gray Watch are a mix between Snow Leopard and Gray Fox, their bio-engineered soldiers, made from Fastolf DNA. At first these claims were denied by the government, however the truth was so obvious that they simply stopped denying it after a few years. They are "born" if you will, into their service, this is the only way one can become part of the Watch. They never speak unless spoken to, they do not question orders, but they will only follow an order from someone with Fastolf blood, and they never submit to fear. They are treated VERY well by the family, their base of operations is the second floor of the Imperial Palace, where they get everything they need to perform their tasks. Their uniforms consists entirely of dark gray and black camouflage, and not in the pixelated format, all in the old school pattern. The rest of their uniform, and ranking system is totally unknown.
THIS ENDS PART FOUR.