NationStates Jolt Archive

The Historical Velite

In history the Velites were the personal body guard of the House of Vaad. The word Velite comes from the the Lassean word velli which translates 'willing'. The Velites were pledged to give their lives to die for the House of Vaad, earning them the nickname Velites which had become slang for 'willing to die'.

When Namaan Ilek-Vaad raised his army to subjugate the Kingdom of Coventry and the Border Princes , he also took into his ranks persons lower class who were 'willing' to serve him, they too were extended the name of Velite.


The Modern Velite

With the passing of The Vaad and the formation of the Free Republic, the Velite Guard were founded, those who are willing to fight for the Republic. Military Service in the Free Republic is mandatory. Every citizen at age eighteen must spend at least a year in the Velite Guard, even those that wish to join the Retaliatory Guard must first pass through the ranks of the Velites. Once compulsory Velite service has ended, every citizen remains in the Velite Reserve until the age of fifty-eight.

With the population of the Free Republic at over six billion, the ranks of the Velite Guard number from fifty million, to one hundred million at any given time. This staggering number is not quite so large as it seems.

The Velite Guard not only comprise a national defence force but they also are the police, on both the local and national levels, Customs agents are active Velite Guard, Government prosecutors and bureaucrats of every description are in fact Velite Guardsmen. Staff for elected officials are drawn from Active Velite Guards. Every position that cannot be effectively filled in the Free Republic is also relegated to the Velite Guard. Many rural postal routes are in the hands of the Velite Guard.

The size of the Velite Guard is not quite so staggering when one sees the tasks carried out by the Guard.


Velite Guard Equipment:

1 FN-FNC assault rifle, 1 FN-Browning High-Power side arm, 1 'Athenian' style helmet. 1 Kev-lite vest, 1 Kev-lite long coat. 5 clips of ammunition for assault rifle, 2 clips of ammunition for side arm.

The Guard also maintain nearly thirty-thousand Thunderer II Main Battle tanks for the Velite Armoured Divisions as well as one hundred and thirty thousand Scorpion LAV's

The main vehicle of the Velite Guard is the armoured 'Vindicator' patrol vehicle. The Vindicator is an armoured police/patrol vehicle that can mount a 12mm chain gun on the passenger side. It has limited off road capabilites, but is perfect for city environs. The Velite Guard maintain well over a hundred thousand Vindicators nation-wide.

The equipment of the Velite Guard also tends to be somewhat nebulous and in a constant state of change. Guard units are allowed a lot of leeway in outfitting themselves for the needs of their locality and are very fluid and can change quickly to meet different situations.


Pictured below is a FN-FNC assault rifle, the primary firearm of the Velite Guard.


More links on the Free Republic of Ilek-Vaad:

The Retaliatory Guard (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=347434)

History of the Free Republic (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=368928)

Trade With the Free Republic (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=351815)

Foreign Relations (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=360805)

The Shadows of the Republic

The most enigmatic and secretive branch of the Velite Guard is the 'Guardians of the Black Flag of the Republic' more commonly referred to as the 'Shadows of the Republic'. Primarily they are charged with protecting government buildings, government officials and landmarks. Unofficially they are engaged in counter espionage, espionage and possibly assassination.

The Shadows are generally not even seen, even when entering sensitive areas like the House of the Republic or any one of the governmental ministries you would be unlikely to actually see any of the Shadows. Unknown to most (including most of the Government and Velite Guard) the Shadows are very heavily cubernetically equipped. They generally have wired reflexes, hardwired smart weapons, dermal plating and data jacks implanted directly into their skulls. The higher up Shadows have optical replacements that can switch from infrared to thermographic to night vision and can even record video. They can tell at a glance whether someone is armed or not and have removed the need for metal detectors or checkpoints in government buildings.

The Shadows uniform mainly consists of a kevlar vest, high collared kev-lite black trench coat, black pants, boots, jackets and gloves, dark sunglasses a pair of Ingram MAC-11s submachine guns and several extra clips. This varies greatly as they are often in disguise or even dressed in the regular Velite Guard kit or as a member of any one of the Retaliatory Guard armies.

The Ingram MAC-11s has and integrated full length silencer and a smart tactical computer. The smart computer interfaces through a magnetic link embedded in the Shadows hand and allows the Shadow to instantly target whatever he sees, the gun pratically aims itself allowing the Shadow to change targets as fast he can move his eyes and to do so with deadly accuracy.

The Shadows receive a full five years of training before finally being equipped and assigned. Oficially ther are some five thousand Shadows across the Free Republic.

Static Coastal and Border Defences

The Velite Guard are also responsible for securing the coasts and borders of the Free Republic. The Coastal Guard are technically a part of the Velite Guard, but generally come under Retaliatory Command and Naval Guard Command. The vast majority of border defences are remote controlled and are monitored and operated from remote underground bunkers. The remote sites are connected by a fiber-optic backbone that is buried at least seventy five feet and in special reinforced and shielded conduit.

The main remote weapon of the Velite Guard are the retractable Cyclops Batteries. These occur regularly about every ten to fifteen miles along the Vaadian coast and border.

The Cyclops 40MM Autocannon

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Velite%20Guard/Cyclops.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Velite%20Guard/Cyclops.gif

The Cyclops is stored under ground until a spotter:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Velite%20Guard/lookout2.jpg

Sights incoming targets and activates the Cyclops Batteries, which then deploy. They are usually stationed in random clusters, so the enemy may take out one and be safe, or may take out one and have several others nearby to deal with. Giving the enemy a random element to the danger of invading the Free Republic.


6in Shield Battery

Next is the Shield Battery. The Shield Battery is a much larger six-inch gun emplacement set in a heavily reinforced mobile turret. The Shield is also stored under ground until spotters sight enemy landing forces, or border incursions. The internal autoloader of the Shield gives it a rate of fifteen rounds per minute and with a range of one hundred and twenty five miles it can lay down quite a carpet of HE.

Shield Batteries are always grouped in fairly well spaced emplacements.The shape and size of Shield turets varies greatly to mimic natural surroundings.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Velite%20Guard/ersta.jpg


Nereid Torpedo Cluster

The last static defensive measure are the Nereid Torpedo Clusters. These are placed at or near the 100 nm border of the Free Republic's waters and are monitored and operated by the Coastal Guard. Each sea floor remote emplacement has one hundred and twenty five Icarus Super Cavitating Torpedos and can fire four at a time.

Jaguar-Daimler Growler Advanced Tank Destroyer

Jaguar-Daimler has recently finished development on the AT-09 Growler Tank Destroyer. This fast, flexible and deadly vehicle is the perfect weapon for defensive anti-tank operations in urban and wilderness environments. Unlike most anti-tank vehicles the Growler also carries an anti-infantry component as well as a three hundred and sixty degree traversable main gun.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Growler/growler1.jpg

The Growler carries a turret mounted 30mm ‘Scorcher’ cannon for protection against infantry and other lightly armed anti-material elements. The main weapon of the growler is the 155mm ‘Devotchka’ smoothbore gun, developed exclusively for Jaguar-Daimler by Narvik Advanced Ordinance. The 155mm main gun fires a kinetic dart APDS rocket assisted fin stabilized round. The round once fired discards it’s SABOT and as it reaches the middle point of the arc towards it’s target it fires it’s single rocket engine to further accelerate the kinetic dart, thus increasing it’s range and it’s penetration. The 155mm round can easily penetrate up to twenty five inches of composite armor at a range of two thousand yards.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Growler/growler2.jpg

The Growler has a two man crew, a gunner and a driver and has a top speed of 60mph. The Growler uses Jaguar-Daimler’s Composite Ceramite Armor which has proven in battlefield conditions to be nearly ninety percent more effective than traditional chobham composite armor.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Growler/growler3.jpg

The Growler also uses the Jaguar-Daimler Bio-Diesel engine, eliminating the need for fossil-fuel and allowing it to use soy based bio-diesel products. The additional benefit of the bio-diesel engines fuel consumption gives the Growler a range of four hundred miles in normal operating conditions.





Engine: Jaguar/Daimler XL6 bio-diesel 1000bhp
Gearbox: Jaguar/Daimler 95-6 'Super-six'
Suspension: Hydrogas variable spring rate
Track: Jaguar/Daimler; hydraulically adjusted double pin
Speed: 60 mph (road); 52 mph (mean cross country)
Main Armament: Narvik Advanced Ordinance 155mm ‘Devotchka’ anti-tank gun
Ammunition: SABOT
Secondary Armament: FN-Ilek Scorcher 30mm auto-cannon
Smoke Dischargers: Exhaust smoke injection and two sets of five L8 grenade dischargers
Driver: Day and night periscopes
Gunner: Day and night sights with thermal and infrared imaging components, laser range finder and target locking system.
Armour: 3.5in composite ceramite bonded armor

Each Velite Guard Army is slated to have one Division of the Growler Advanced Tank Destroyer. Each Division will have three thousand Growlers with a support team of one transport and six support crew for each Growler

Jaguar-Daimler Thunderer Main Battle Tank

The primary armour used by the Velite Guard is the venerable and battle tested Thunderer Battletank. It is the forerunner of the Reatliatory Guard's Thunderer II Main Battle Tanks and has many of the same features. The Thunderer has been in full production since 1989 and was once the primary MBT of all Vaadian armed forces. The Thunderer is only lacking compared to it's offspring Thunderer II in it's lack of reactive armor plating, anti-air capabilities and range and penetration of the main gun. The Thunderer has been retrofitted with the Retaliatory Guard's 'Hurricane' targetting computers.

The Thunderer is on par, if not superior to the Abrams M1-A1. The Thunderer has seen action in at least two dozen conflicts and has regularly out performed enemy armor in the field.

The Velite Guard maintain fifteen armored divisions of two thousand Thunderer Main Battle Tanks each. Each is designated VA-1-15'region name'. For example the Velite Guard base near Great Lassic maintains two divisions - VA-5Lassic and VA-6Temz River Divisions.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Challenger2-Iraq.jpg

Engine: Jaguar-Daimler XLBC bio-diesel 1200bhp
Gearbox: Jaguar/Daimler 95-6 'Super-six'
Suspension: Hydrogas variable spring rate
Track: hydraulically adjusted double pin
Speed: 45mph (road); 38 mph (mean cross country)
Main Armament: Narvik Advanced Ordinance 120mm 'Von Raukov' smoothbore gun
Ammunition: CHARM 3, HESH, SABOT and Smoke
Secondary Armament: FN-Ilek FN-Mag7a 20mm coaxially mounted chain gun
Smoke Dischargers: Exhaust smoke injection and two sets of five L8 grenade dischargers
Commander: Gyrostabilized fully panoramic site with laser range finder and thermal imager
Gunner: Gyrostabilized primary site with laser range finder and thermal imager, and coaxially mounted auxiliary sight
Driver: Day and night periscopes
Loader: Day periscope

The Velites Kerbals

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/scorpion.gif

In ancient times the Velites Kerbals were the 'Best of the best' amongst the House of Vaad's personal bodyguard and were also the administrators and retainers of the Prince of Lassic and of the holdings of the House of Vaad.

Normally seen around the grounds of the House of Vaad in their burnished black armor and square shields emblazoned with the white scorpion of the Kerbals, they are seen as mainly a tourist attraction. The Kerbals , however, are still a very well trained fighting force. The Kerbals are the 'professional' infantry of the Velite Guard. Membership in the Kerbals is passed down from generation to generation and membership is open only to family members of Titled Kerbals.

For Kerbals, their job consists entirely of training and acting as security for the House of Vaad and the Acropolis in Great Lassic. They keep the tourists out of the family quarters of the House of Vaad and protect against vandalism and theft for the thousands of priceless antiques on display. When not on duty (only about 25% of the Kerbals are needed to guard the grounds) they are training and maintaining their state of the art equipment.

Thery wear banded composite ceramite armor (like the Retaliatory Guard heavy infantry) but differ in that they wear no long coat and wear a fully enclosed helmet. The helmet appears to be a dull black medieval great helm but has a much greater field of view and hookups for a heads up display with their tactical computers.

Their weapon of choice is the 20x110mm 'Scorpion' Anti-material Rifle.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/rt-20.jpg

This large calibre gun is capable of penetrating tank armor and can kill a man with a hit on just about any part of the body. The Kerbals mainly train to fight defensively in the urban environs in Great Lassic, and this rifle makes them fearsome indeed, especially when coupled with the infrared, ultraviolet and thermographic vision of their tactical computers.

Each Kerbal also carries two FN-Ilek SM-19 submachine guns. These fire a 9x19mm AP round that can penetrate most body armor.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/mpi69.jpg

There are between ten and fifteen thousand Velites Kerbals at any given time. They always serve garrison duty in Great Lassic and form their own Velites Kerbals units or 'Thematae' of five hundred men each. Each Thematae is led by a 'Kerbals Manglavites', and every five Thematae is led by a 'Kerbals Exarchs'. The whole of the Velites Kerbals are led and commanded by the 'Kerbals Sebastors'.

The Kerbals Sebastors also holds the rank of Field Marshal for the area of Great Lassic and can command the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 22nd and 34th Velite Guard armies. These armies also contain two armor divisions and six Growler Tank Killer Divisions.

Velites Artillery

Unlike the Retalitory Guard the Velite Guard maintain a large stable of self propelled artillery. The self propelled howitzer used by the Velite Guard is the Ansaldo Crusader Mk 4. This weapon was originally designed by Ansaldo of Syracuse LTD for the Empire of Phyrrhus.

The Crusader MK 4 is designed to meet the demands of a 21st century self-propelled, indirect fire support system. The fully automated weapon system is capable of delivering a wide array of lethal 100 pound, 155 mm diameter projectiles onto designated targets within 40 km.

The CrusaderMK 4 is a fully automated system. The weapon functions are remotely operated from the crew compartment using the onboard computer system. The computer receives a digitally transmitted fire mission and notifies the crew of a recommended weapon azimuth and elevation as well as the projectile and propellant charge combination(s) to fulfill the mission. The crew is only required to confirm and authorize the fire command. The automated weapon system is then brought to the correct orientation, loaded and fired. The system is capable of a ±20° azimuth with elevations between -3° and 70°. In the event the weapon must be oriented beyond the ±20° window, the crew can perform a pivot steer to meet the correct azimuth within a matter of seconds. (A pivot steer is the process of turning one set of tracks while leaving the other set immobile, thereby causing the vehicle to rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise.)

The armor is six inches of Ceramite Composite Armor palting with Reactive Armour skin. The main gun has a maximum effective range of forty five miles.

Crusader MK4

Engine: Jaguar-Daimler XLBC bio-diesel 1200bhp
Gearbox: Jaguar/Daimler 95-6 'Super-six'
Suspension: Hydrogas variable spring rate
Track: hydraulically adjusted double pin
Speed: 40mph (road); 34 mph (mean cross country)
Main Armament: FN-Ilek 155mm 'Drune Lord'
Ammunition: CHARM 3, HESH, SABOT and Smoke
Secondary Armament: FN-Ilek FN-Mag7a 20mm coaxially mounted chain gun
Smoke Dischargers: Exhaust smoke injection and two sets of five L8 grenade dischargers
Commander: Gyrostabilized fully panoramic site with laser range finder and thermal imager
Gunner: Gyrostabilized primary site with laser range finder and thermal imager, and coaxially mounted auxiliary sight
Driver: Day and night periscopes

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Crusader/sph-fire.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Crusader/crusader_docklef.jpg

Velite Guard Mobile Defence Units

The Velite Guard operate several mobile air, missile and infantry defence units.

The first is the Titan Mobile SAM. The Titan uses the standard Comet/M6 missile used by the Air Guard for anti-air operations, but the Titan fires it from the ground, on a mobile platform. The Titan uses the same multiply redundant image recognition,satellite and infra red targetting that is standard for the Comet/M6

Titan Mobile SAM

Engine: Jaguar-Daimler XJ550 Bio-diesel engine
Gearbox: Jaguar/Daimler 95-6 'Super-six'
Suspension: Hydrogas variable spring rate
Speed: 38mph (road); 30 mph (mean cross country)
Main Armament: FN-Ilek 'LaansMan' Comet Misile Array
Ammunition: 8 Comet/M6 missiles
Secondary Armament: none
Smoke Dischargers: Exhaust smoke injection and two sets of five L8 grenade dischargers

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Titan/FNIlekTaurus.jpg


For additional ground defence the Velite Guard use the Taurus Mobile Cannon and the Javelin Mobile Missile Platform. The Taurus Mobile Cannon is a heavily armored truck that mounts a 40mm autocannon on it's back, while the Javelin mounts a launcher capable of launching up to twelve Cerebus missiles at a time.

Taurus Mobile Cannon

Engine: Jaguar-Daimler XLBC bio-diesel 1200bhp
Gearbox: Jaguar/Daimler 95-6 'Super-six'
Suspension: Hydrogas variable spring rate
Track: hydraulically adjusted double pin
Speed: 40mph (road); 34 mph (mean cross country)
Main Armament: NAO 40mm 'Hussar' Auto Cannon
Smoke Dischargers: Exhaust smoke injection and two sets of five L8 grenade dischargers
Commander: Gyrostabilized fully panoramic site with laser range finder and thermal imager
Gunner: Gyrostabilized primary site with laser range finder and thermal imager, and coaxially mounted auxiliary sight
Driver: Day and night periscopes

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Titan/mobile-auto.jpg

Javeline Mobile Missile System

Engine: Jaguar-Daimler XJ550 Bio-diesel engine
Gearbox: Jaguar/Daimler 95-6 'Super-six'
Suspension: Hydrogas variable spring rate
Speed:38mph (road); 30 mph (mean cross country)
Main Armament: NAO 'Woden' Cerebus Missile Array
Smoke Dischargers: Exhaust smoke injection and two sets of five L8 grenade dischargers
Commander: Gyrostabilized fully panoramic site with laser range finder and thermal imager
Gunner: Gyrostabilized primary site with laser range finder and thermal imager, and coaxially mounted auxiliary sight
Driver: Day and night periscopes

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Titan/mobile-spear.jpg


Lastly, stretegically placed along the coast are the SEA-SPEAR Anti-Ballistic Missile batteries. They are capable of tragetting and destroying incoming missiles, bombers and can even be used to target ships. The large SEA-SPEAR has a range of over a thousand miles and can pick off threats before they are even in range to damage the Free Republic.

Sea-SPEAR Anti-Ballistic Misile

Manufacturer:FN-Ilek
Range:1200 miles
Speed:Mach 8+
Propulsion:Avery Frost ASF-CAP980 SPUR Jet
Guidance: Satellite, Image Recognition, GPS, Infra Red
Warhead:1,300lb Anti-Ballistic Fragmentation
Launch Weight:3,800lbs
Length:24ft
Diameter:22.3in
Fin Span:8ft 9in

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/jaguar1024/Titan/seaspear.jpg