NationStates Jolt Archive

I have a question on military numbers. Would it be ok to say the following,

I have 5,000,000 total Population
I have 50,000 total activeMiltary
100,000 Ready Reserves
1,000,000 Armed Citizens*

*not in the military but selected training with weapons and they could fight if needed.

The numbers you posted for active military look fine. Reservists might depend on whether or not you're in imminent danger of invasion, though countries with smaller populations generally devote larger percentages of their populations to military.

As far as listing people trained to hold a firearm is concerned, I'd think that 1 million would be excessive unless you were to roleplay a nation of NRA types. However, that's just one player's opinion. Other players may have a different view.

ok thanks. I took my population of 5,000,000 and did *.03% and that would be a 150,000 military but I really dont need that. So I figure the armed citizens are just there and they know how to fight but have no obligations untill needed.

I suppose that would be more akin to gun owners who know how to use them, but not in all-out combat situation.

Yeah but i realy dont need a large military so i figure insted of going though doing all the logistics stuff, I can just have some citizens who maybe went for a 3 week course on the weapons and some combat things and then thwy can fight but dont have to do anything untill called on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_active_troops

i suppose it also depends on how well you're getting on with the neighbours

Actually - and this is a minority opinion, so be warned - I would say that you could have 1-1½% of your population in the active-duty military and up to 12½% percent of it under arms overall (in all classifications); of these, 4-6% would be ready reserves and the rest (5-7½%) would be trained militia or territorials.

For a nation of 5,000,000 population, this would mean an active-duty military of 50,000-75,000 men (depending on whether your people are required to serve for two years or three), 200,000-300,000 ready reserves and 250,000-375,000 territorials.

Where do I get these numbers? From a demographic analysis of the armies of Europe in 1914; France, in particular - a nation that drafted every able-bodied man without exception - could field 12½% of its population upon mobilisation - but half of these men were in the territorial army, which was strictly for home defense.

Beyond France, all nations in 1914 had the ability to multiply the size of their mobile army (comprised of active-duty personnel plus ready reserves) by four or five fold (four fold in every case, with varying numbers of extra men to serve as replacements for early front-line losses; five fold is therefore a safe bet, since that allows 25% replacement among the front ranks in the first year without touching the territorials, who at best would be brought forward for garrison or coast watch duty.

Note also that France drafted sailors as well as soldiers, so this would be the total for all services.

Of course, calling up one eighth of your entire population would make inflict a tremendous toll on your economy; but in an emergency, you may have to do it.

One more thing: these numbers assume that you answered the "draft" question in the affirmative (IOW, that your nation was at least initially noted for its compulsory military service) and that you are only drafting men. You could draft women, too - but taking every 20 year-old would tax even your peacetime economy, which is probably not a good idea.

EDIT: Some nations in 1914 did conscript people for short periods of time and then discharge them directly into the territorial militia (Spain, for example). Three weeks is probably a little short for this, though - six months to a year would be more reasonable.

If armed citizenry were, say, hunters & security personell in the private sector who were registered with the military for rapid conscription, then I'd say it sounds... a teeny tad bit high. For your pop, it would likely be around 750-800 thousand people who regularly train and use weapons; and that's kinda high for 5 millionish people. That number of active regular troops sounds great for a small country, but that's just me; I was never really a overly- militarized nation.

Looks decent to me. Keep in mind that with only .03% of your population in the military, providing training and equipment will be of ease. Sniper Country has always taken this approach; placing much more emphasis on training and equipping than on numbers, and it has never failed us (the military, that is). You're looking at the ability to train your troops with some top-notch stuff out there, giving your military, be it small, a fighting edge when it comes to tactics; I'd give your guys a better-than-average rating if they receive the right training by you, which they should. I'd allow the SCAF to fight alongside a highly trained, disciplined, and equipped military any day over a "normal" military.

As for equipping your citizens, I've always done the same thing, almost with the same ideas. Gun laws are extremely lax in Sniper Country, and it is not uncommon to see any old man waltzing down the sidewalk with an M4 slinged over his back. This would be dangerous, but the government sees the laws as more helpful than disadvantageous. We see the fact that over one billion citizens are armed, and are avid hunters in the wilderness as a great advantage when it comes to Homeland Defense. However, these serve only as militias, who may come and go as they please, and are never able to be called up for deployment. It is hardly state-run.

Overall, congratulations on your way to a top-notch military.

thanks a lot to everyone. I'm gonna redo the small list but ill use the figuers you guys listed.