Clones reaping rewards of armed forces devolution

A few years ago the Clone Defence Forces began devolving Category B army and air force unit on provincial planets to local control. Starting with a pilot on Taragargi this has now resulted in sixteen separate territorial planetary armies and air forces (with more to follow) which handle the bulk of military operations on outlying worlds.

To take for an example, Colum. The Colum Territorial Army now consists of eight regiments of locally drawn or permanently transferred troops and six air force regiments. The Clone Army also maintains a regiment and Red Lizard detachment, the Clone Air Force two regiments also.

These territorial armies and air forces are 50% funded from the central defence budget and 50% from local funds. This has saved the CDF over a billion zarks a year from the defence budget and this saving will rise as start-up costs reduce. Other savings are being found from lower salaries (as living costs away from Cloneworld and a few other capital planets are less) and other running costs.

The next step will be localised procurement. Taragargi has again been chosen as the pilot for this. Three factories have been set up for the production of ammunition, uniforms and engine parts for Taragargi Army vehicles. With lower wages and running costs this is expected to save Taragargi (and hence the CDF) over a million zarks a year.

The money saved has helped the Clones afford the resumption of space ship production. There are issues on the horizon (who funds the replacement of worn out equipment for example) though at the moment the devolution of the Clone Defence Forces is a great success.

Three more planets devolve CDF forces

Three more planets in the Clone Star Empire have successfully "devolved" CDF Army and Air Force units into new National armies and air forces. Taragargi, Petric and Miliaris have completed the process joining Daggaddon which was completed last year as a trial. There were problems in transferring personnel to the new National forces though the process has been a success the CDF has claimed. Critics point out, however, that only minor planets in the empire with relatively small garrison forces have been converted so far.

Admiral Anderson said that a next tranche of conversions would be made over the next 12 months and would include major planets in the empire though did not specify which. One major obstacle was CDF personnel who did not want to remain on planets as "settlers" though the CDF was building a database of personnel who would wish to transfer to help fill gaps.

Anderson announced the new formation of forces on Taragargi as an example of the devolution process:

Clone Army - Taragargi Division
190 Mechanised Infantry Regiment
8719 Panzer Company (T-55Z)
6125 Artillery Battery
340 Red Lizard Squadron

Clone Air Force - Taragargi Command
807 Air Defence Regiment (K40)
1209 Combat Support Regiment (K85 + K44)
7782 Army Co-operation Regiment (Z26)

Taragargi Army
34(A) Panzer Regiment (T-89)
79(B) Panzer Regiment (T-55Z)
110 Mechanised Infantry Regiment
111 Mechanised Infantry Regiment
458 Infantry Regiment
507 Infantry Regiment
606 Infantry Regiment
769 Infantry Regiment (Reserve)
801 Infantry Regiment (Reserve)
955 Infantry Regiment (Reserve)
1210 Transport Regiment
1309 Transport Regiment
1350 Transport Regiment (Reserve)
5117 Artillery Regiment
450 Engineering Regiment

Taragargi Air Force
503 Air Defence Regiment (K47)
679 Air Defence Regiment (K40)
411 Ground Attack Regiment (K84)
126 COIN Regiment (K85)
144 COIN Regiment (K85)
153 COIN Regiment - Reserve (K85)
172 COIN Regiment - Reserve (K85)
278 Observation Regiment (K85+K85O)
557 Electronic Warfare Regiment (K72+K85O)
912 Transport Regiment (K44+K48)
967 Transport Regiment (K39)
998 Transport Regiment - Reserve (K48+K39)
1209 Army Co-operation Regiment (Z26)
1560 Army Co-operation Regiment (Z26)
1787 Army Co-operation Regiment - Reserve (Z26)

Clone Army to close 117 bases... at least!

The Clone Army is to close 117 bases across the empire within the next 3 years, with more being looked at too. The closures will help save 200 million zarks a year and potentially release over a billion in land sales. However the Army says the reason for the closures is because of the decentralisation of the armed forces and concentration of remaining central assets.

The Clone Air Force is also likely to close dozens of air bases as second line units are devolved to a local level however they are said to be keen to keep some bases for use as dispersal locations.

Daggaddon becomes first planet to devolve Clone Defence Forces

Just a month after the announcement of a massive reorganisation of the Clone Army and Air Force called Clone Armed Forces Devolution Daggaddon has already announced it has set up the Daggaddon Army and Air Force. The planet, the first world added to the Clone Star Empire of course, began the process earlier in the year as part of the pilot scheme before Oojok gave the go-ahead and order for the process to be carried out empire wide.

How Daggaddon has reorganised it's land forces has been published as an example to other worlds which have to start the process by the end of the year. Before the devolution there were 18 Clone Army regiments on the planet. Fifteen of these have been transferred to the Daggaddon Army. They have kept their CA regimental numbers though this may change when the transfer has been completed with respect to personnel.

Daggaddon's army has been organised into 3 divisions:

Daggaddon First Division

58(A) Armoured Regiment
231 Mechanised Infantry Regiment
278 Mechanised Infantry Regiment
670 Infantry Regiment
692 Infantry Regiment
1478 Transport Regiment
1690 Transport Regiment
670 Artillery Battalion
397 Engineering Battalion
1902 Reconnaissance Battalion

Daggaddon Second Division

131(B) Armoured Regiment
302 Mechanised Infantry Regiment
486 Infantry Regiment
557 Infantry Regiment
1002 Transport Regiment
809 Artillery Battalion

Daggaddon Third Division (Reserve)

229 Mechanised Infantry Regiment
116 Infantry Regiment
1974 Transport Regiment
1763 Reconnaissance Battalion

The Clone Army on Daggaddon (formerly known as the 7th Legion) has been reduced to the following:

262 Mechanised Infantry Regiment
199 Infantry Regiment
1606 Transport Regiment
320 Engineering Battalion
+ Red Lizard Company

Clone officers form group opposed to devolution

A group of senior Clone Army officers, including 3 generals it is claimed though all are remaining anonymous for now, has formed a pressure group called "Classic HCS" which is opposed to the Clone Armed Forces Devolution which will see the bulk of the army and air force devolved to national government control and funding.

Classic HCS issued a press release where they called for a return of the massive armed forces of the Clone Wars. "Strength is in unity. Weakness lies in separation."

The head of the Clone Defence Forces Admiral Anderson was unimpressed however. "The days of massive armies that can field 100s of 1000s of men in 1 offensive are long gone though this group do not seem to realise that. The empire is built already, we need forces to guard and patrol what we already have. We don't need huge panzer armies parading around waiting for a peer enemy to fight when there are none."

National Armies may get bulk of J89s

The National Armies being set up across the Clone Star Empire may be largely equipped with J89 tanks instead of the J55Z which was originally seen as the "second line" tank. The J89, which in its J89F was the final evolution in Clone tank design which went back to the T-86 and the earliest days of the Clone Wars, has been out of production for 5 years now. Although updates will continue any real improvements will be seen with the J55Z which is why the Clone Army will largely move over to this as their main tank. Nearly 10, 000 J89s are in service though and 2, 000 will likely remain on Clone Army books in a reserve role.

In other Clone Army news the J5 Tapir IFV, the backbone of the army, will have a 6th generation update around the end of the decade. The J5L will have a new hybrid engine, improved armour alloys, a redesigned electronic defence system and other improvements. Production of the J5HD continues (and indeed legally cannot end) though at a fairly low rate.

Anderson speaks about CDF reorganisation

The head of the Clone Defence Forces Admiral Anderson held a very candid media conference today at HCS GHQ on Ailier, most questions on the Clone Armed Forces Devolution programme announced yesterday. Anderson said that Oojok had made the order and now Clones had to obey. When asked if he agreed with the order he said that the changes were needed though they would be painful at first.

Anderson also revealed that weapon design and procurement will remain centralised. All existing equipment allocated to the National Armies and Air Forces being set up would be given freely however future updates and procurements would have to come out of their own locally raised budgets. National Armies would not be able to go it alone and develop their own weapons or (more likely) buy in from outside the empire except if there was a very specialised system needed that the empire did not have available.

Anderson also spoke about how the defence budget will be split up. National Armies and Air Forces would be funded through local taxation though a portion would also go to the centralised Clone Army and Clone Air Force as well as the Clone Navy and Clone Space Navy. Central budgets would only fund the central forces (after the reorganisation was complete) though a fund would be available to help planets - especially the poorer ones in the empire.

The question of Cloneworld was asked and Anderson said that there would be no Cloneworld Army. The capital planet would be protected solely by central forces and there would be enough of these anyway with the army reserve and most training taking place there.

Finally Anderson said the plan had already begun, using the template and plan already devised over the last couple of years. Consultations with troops had already begun and the first National Armies would likely be set-up early next year.

Oojok loses patience and orders massive CDF reorganisation to finally begin

Several years ago the HCS (as it was then still called) came up with a plan for a massive reorganisation to finally form an armed forces suited to defending the empire. The plan involved the majority of the army and air force being devolved into separate National Armies and Air Forces of the planets in the Clone Star Empire. A central core of forces (somewhere between a quarter to a third of the original) would be retained for strategic operations.

Taragargi ran a trial with army troops on the planet joining the "Taragargi Army". However despite the lack of major problems and a huge amount of preparatory work the project has been frozen by the Clone Defence Forces until now. Oojok is said to have lost patience and ordered the project commence at once. Earlier today the head of the CDF Admiral Anderson outlined a 10 year plan to achieve the reorganisation known as Clone Armed Forces Devolution.

Phase 1 will cover the next 4-5 years and involve reorganisation of forces on the planets in the empire into the new National Armies. Oojok has promised that no soldier will be forced to serve in a National Army on a planet that is not his or her homeworld unless they wish to migrate permanently though they may have to leave the armed forces if they cannot find a suitable posting - however natural wastage may mean this is not too much of a problem. It is envisaged that up to three quarters of the troops in the National Armies will be part-time and organised in territorial and reserve units. These will perform the day to day garrison and patrolling of the empire with smaller numbers of fully professional troops at strategic locations. They will be backed up by central force troops (Clone Army and Clone Air Force) who will retain a small presence on each planet, perhaps regiment sized though maybe more on more strategically important worlds.

Phase 2 will involve the improvement of the remaining core to become more mobile and rapid reaction. A new generation of much faster troop and equipment transports will be developed in the 2120s as well as improved communications. This will be paid for by the expected dividend from Phase 1. A military analyst said that the savings in the wage bill alone from up to 4 million soldiers going part-time will run into the billions of zarks.

Oojok said that by the late 2120s the empire will have a much more suitable armed forces to protect and maintain it. The core would have an increased budget for improved equipment and training and the territorial armies would become much more suited to their local terrains and retain local knowledge.