NationStates Jolt Archive

I've been trying to elaborate on the structure of my country before I become more active in RPs, and obviously the central focus of this is my military.

Mainly, I want to figure out my size. In order to figure out structure, vehicles, locations etc, I first need to know how big my forces are. Problem is, I'm having a hard time doing this.

I've been using things like this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_size_of_armed_forces) and this (http://www.militaryfactory.com/countries/index.asp) to try and help me figure it out, but there are so many variables, and I know so little about this, it's been pretty tough.

My question for any of you who wish to help out there, is how many active duty soldiers would a nation of about 200 million people have?

The nation of Qarez is very focused on defense. They are in a hostile area, so being able to defend themselves is the #1 priority, with the ability to project force elsewhere #2.

It's structured something roughly like,

Marines (Army)
Personel
*Infantry
*Support (medics, engineers etc.)

Armor
*Tanks
*Artillery
*Support

Special Forces

Air Force

Attack forces
Defense forces

Navy
Coastal Patrol (Coast guard)
Deep Water
*1 Carrier Group
*3 Ohio Class Subs


Well, that's a very rough sketch. The majority of personel and money goes to the Army, because most of our fighting is done on or near our soil, on the ground. The Air Force is the next most important, with our grasping for air superiority. The Navy focuses mostly on defending our southern shores, with only the carrier group and the subs able to project force abroad.

I'll reserve the next post incase you want more information, like what the goal of each branch is and with what materials (vehicles and ammo). Helpful estimates and help with fleshing out my country are greatly appreciated.

For more info, I have an NSWiki page. (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Qarez)

[[reserved]]

I don't know exactly but do you draft or only use volunteers? You would probably have a larger army if you drafted.

We do conscript, 66% male and 33% female from the ages of 18-24. Males can serve either in basic infantry or support, and females can serve in support.

The rest is done by volunteers, or conscripts who re-enlist.

Be glad you have a very strong economy, because with a laaaarge army, you'll need lots of money to support them.

Right, and at this point we spend (http://nseconomy.thirdgeek.com/nseconomy.php?nation=Qarez) 33% of our budget on defense, so we're in fine shape to pay.

But how many soldiers?

There are a few stickies on NationStates and International Incidents that should help you figure out numbers.

There are a few stickies on NationStates and International Incidents that should help you figure out numbers.

Care to point me to them? I checked before I started this, but didn't find anything relevant. If I missed something I'd love a link...

Inless of course you mean this (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=9458290&postcount=3) ;) .

Are there more, though?

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=437653

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=443725

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=408855

These are located in the top of the International Incidents forum. They are called Stickies.

You should check out those threads, but basically the military employs around 1% of your nation's population in peacetime and up to 2% in wartime. It's up to you, but you should really not go above 3% (some people use 5%, which is nuts).

Colony (http://twr.1colony.com/ver8/calc8.0.html) says I have a 0.7% percentage of people in my military.

EDIT: Would 0.7% mean like I have 70% of my national population in the military?

Surely 0.7% means 0.7%.


Anyway, having 5% of a population in the military is less nuts as an exception than 1% is as a rule, Wingarde. 1% means it's going to be hard to avoid initiating a draft, which isn't always likely to be popular. Most nations, certainly those with volunteer militaries, would have standing forces equivalent to less than one percent of the population.

Dra-pol, however, has over 4%, because the military in no small way props up the government. It does so with cheap AK-knock-off rifles and a couple of flying hours a year for its Fishbed-flying fighter pilots, but that's beside the point. Sort of.

I would say, be aware that sinking tens of percent of a government's budget into military support is likely, if you're going to RP properly, to limit economic strength. The engine may say different, because it's not very advanced, but serious players are likely, I'd think, to question how a modern economy can be sustained or continue to grow while potential investment is going instead into the military. If that makes sense.
Just a general be-aware caution.

In Qarez's situation I'd say that significant are the quality of the military and the role in society. Is the government liberal or democratic, or is it authoritarian or otherwise requiring artificial support such as by keeping the military sweet? Then you can decide whether it's important to have a big army like Syria, with loyal officers in the right places and social mobility possible only through service; or one that's actually effective in a fight with somebody else! If the former, you probably want something pushing four million people (could be hundreds of thousands more or less), if the latter you want maybe more like one million.

So long as you don't go crazy, nobody's really going to mind too much. Just don't go saying you've got both seven million men and modern body armour, full mechanisation, stealth fighters, and combined arms tactics throughout.

This is probably less helpful than I thought it was going to be when I started typing.

Anyway, having 5% of a population in the military is less nuts as an exception than 1% is as a rule, Wingarde. 1% means it's going to be hard to avoid initiating a draft, which isn't always likely to be popular. Most nations, certainly those with volunteer militaries, would have standing forces equivalent to less than one percent of the population.
Heh, that's why I said around 1%. Countries with volunteer armies, as you said, will have less than 1%, whereas the ones with compulsory military service will have that figure or more. And there was an article somewhere that explained why a 5% military is unrealistic...

These are located in the top of the International Incidents forum. They are called Stickies.

I know what stickies are. The link I posted was a post from an II sticky that contained some info I had overlooked that Hack said to look for.

This is probably less helpful than I thought it was going to be when I started typing.

Nonsense, by far the most helpful reply. I'll have to take a closer look at some of the points you made, in particular the military spending vs. economic prosperity. Are there any other places I could learn more about how people deal with that in RPs?