NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm looking to draw up my military list and need some advice on what to have, sizes, numbers etc.

I have, for RP sakes, a population of 7 million.

Also:
My military philosphy is "To Secure Peace, Prepare for War" and Banadine's Calculator puts my military at 140,000.
My economy is Reasonable and my military budget is 1.06 billion US dollars.
We do not have conscription.
My nation is roughly the same size of New York State
My nation is an island.
No nukes, biological weapons or chemical weapons. Cluster bombs and landmines are also a no-no.
I prefer US to Russian technology.
I'm on modern tech.

OOC: Best thing to do is have a look at the German army model in the inter-war period, where they were limited to 100,000 troops. What the army was used for was essentially as a cadre for future expansion. Therefore, with an army of 100,000 or less, you can create an elite officer corp that can act as your chief of staff in around say 10/20 NS years.

As for tech, use the best you can afford... your not going to be in a position to buy bang-up-to-date equipment.. (my first fighter was a MiG-21 copy, simply because it could stop bombers.. nothing else..)

with regards to your airforce, buy cheap and use the aircraft as training and in a COIN role.. at this point in time your not exactly prepared for any foreign excursions, nor really able to defend yourself, so if anyone starts on you, you can either I)make sure your in a military alliance with someone bigger or II)appeal to the wider community for assistance..

In terms of navy.. forget it this now.. perhaps a fast patrol boat or two, something that you can watch your coast with and launch a torpedo if needed!

A population of 7m isn't going to give you much to play with but if you make sure you stick to a philosophy of quality over quantity, it will stand you in good stead in the future..

<I would offer military assistance, but as my nation's a psuedo Russian/North Korean Revolutionary Socialist state, I don't think you'd want it!>

First thing you need to have is personnel, and charge yourself for them. I charge 200k per unit (50k per year for a 4 year hitch). This is just for basic training, equiptment (no weapons), payroll, room & board etc. Then you may want to consider going through this forum and looking through the arms dealers posts. Many of them offer package deals and can save you a lot of time and research. I'd recommend you concentrate on your coastal and internal defenses before you start building invasion (or expeditionary) forces. Dont want to have someone sneaking in and taking over your nation while your off doing battle with the Psychotic Dictatorship of Duckies and Bunnies. :D

Thats just my 2 cents but I'm a newbie too so maybe one of the veterans will stop in with a better plan.

How big's a unit?

Nice advice, keep it coming.

OOC:Also my nation produces a couple of inexpensive air defence options, the LAS-F1 and the LAS-F1000

The catalogue's here:

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=341400

OK, it's Soviet tech but it is incredibly cheap (some of it - some of its incredibly expensive and advanced...) and the LAS-F1000 is an ideal trainer, low cost fighter..

OOC: OK, I use this table when working out army units - though admitedly I have yet to fully draw up the details of my army (the air force is done and the navy just about..)


Army (exluding smaller units)


Unit Comprised of Number of troops Headed by
---- ------------ ---------------- ---------

Army 2 or more Corps 100,000 to 150,000 Field Marshal or General

Corps 2+ Divisions 25,000 to 50,000 General or Lt. Gen.

Divn 3+ Brigades 10,000 to 15,000 Lt. Gen or Maj. Gen.
or Regiments

Brigade 3+ Battalions 1500 to 3500 Maj. Gen,
Brigadier or Col.


Regiment 2+ battalions 1000 to 2000 Col.

This is what I use:

Infantry squad - 7 men
Platoon - four squads
Lance - four platoons and/or vehicles
Company - 3 lances
Battalion - 3 companies
Regiment - 3 battalions
Division - 5 regiments (roughly 15,000 total)

A great way to figure out your military composition is to check out Newer Englands Military Calculator: http://www.geocities.com/thecitizensdefencealliance/making_a_military.html
You can also tweek the parts that you want, for example a larger army, or more marines, etc.

What you should do first depends partially where you are located. If you have access to the sea, then I think it's very important to maintain a small navy right off the bat. All current tech (RL) can be used by anyone, so you can produce your own weapons. Start off with coastal patrol vessels and move upwards as your population grows. If you are completely landlocked, then it would be airforce and army. I'd spend the first week or so writing diplomatic threads and, forming alliances due to your small size.

Keep the advice coming.