A couple of years ago a plan was mooted to hive off all but the first line HCS army and air units to planetary guards. The sheer complexity of the task and the resulting initial costs plus the Clone recession appeared to put paid to the plans which seemed to be quietly forgotten. However now a modified version of the plan has arisen and it apparently has the backing of Oojok!
Under the plan the HCS Army would be reduced to a core of around 800,000 men. The rest of the army would be devolved into planetary territorial units for home defence. Some of these would become part-time territorial units. For example the army units on Paragon would leave the HCS and become the Paragon National Army funded directly by the Paragon government. Army co-operation air units (COIN aircraft and helicopters) would also be devolved to local commands (though in a typical Clone smudge would remain in the HCSAF for administrative purposes).
The remaining HCS would become an elite and highly mobile force. Supporters of the plan say it could save around 10 billion zarks a year from the defence budget though there would be a start-up cost of around 20 billion. Supporters say that if the change is phased in over 3-4 years then the costs would be minimised. A detailed plan is to go to the HCS Council next month.
