Defence Force's Concept 2020+ Review Out The Defence Force's "Concept 2020+" Review is out, and has already stoked controversy.
So-called "Concept 2020+" is a bold and expansive re-imagining of the Republic's armed services, much-needed in an organisation not much changed since the days of the Bush Wars.
"The Concept 2020+ programme is the Kaedweni Armed Forces' project for the wholesale revitalization, including measures to improve equipment, organisation, manpower and morale. The programme is the product of the 2020 Armed Forces review, and aims to restore the ROKAF's deterrent factor through a thorough, if drawn out, series of reforms. The resulting body will, it is hoped, be tighter and more suitable for the defence of the Republic and her allies"
But the project is already courting controversy in several aspects.
Foremost, this stems from the plan for the disbandment of the Kaedweni reserve force, the Commando Volunteer Rifles (CVR). While the CVR has a long - and, some would say, chequered - history, many Kaedweni communities still place enormous stock in the institution for their protection, particularly along the borders of the Unorganised Zone (UZ).
The CVR has its roots in the citizen-soldier forces of eighteenth-century settlers, named "Kommandos", becoming a key component of the Kaedweni Army upon achieving independence in 1921. This tradition of the citizen-solider is still very strong in many, particularly rural, Kaedweni communities, where the frontier spirit of old is very much still alive, and in some areas still a keystone of local security.
In its current form the CVR was created based on a reform of the Bush War-era District Commandos (DC), which had become embroiled in a race-relation row over its role in enforcing segregation prior to the National Convention and reintegration of Kaedweni society in 1994. Where the District Commandos were strictly segregated based on race - and predominantly a white institution - the Commando Volunteer Rifles were conceptualized as an integrated institution from the start, though the image of the Commandos of the mid-20th century has been difficult to shake.
Despite this, and while the CVR are commonly viewed as a colonial relic in the increasingly forward-looking big cities, CVR units have seen intermittent action in recent years against Natavist insurgents, particularly in those rural communities surrounding the UZ.
One small-town mayor, speaking to the Daily Sun on condition of anonymity, had this to say:
The CVR Company in [our district] has protected our community against Natavist attacks on several occasions since they [Belmont] put the [Unorganised Zone] next to us two years ago... Most recently, one of the homesteads out on [location redacted] got hit just last week, they tried to break down the door, then set fire to some of the buildings... Our CVR boys responded very quickly, killed one and drove the rest back into the UZ... Our local Police Constables just don't have the capacity to protect us from attacks of this scale or frequency... We need the CVR to survive, its as simple as that...
A government review on the future of the UZ is currently underway, and is expected to report its findings later in the year.
Concept 2020+ has also provoked controversy in other regards. The slew of advanced weaponry due to be procured by the ROKAF has prompted concerns from some quarters over the costs and viability of these projects, and the potential diversion of funding from other government departments to expand what one opposition MP described as "[Prime Minister Lindsay] Stewart's toy box".
Government sources refute this argument, maintaining that the programme is a "long-term investment" that will provide "greater efficiency and better value in the long run, whilst also bringing our Defence Forces up to date", adding that "This programme is projected to be funded entirely within the Defence Ministry's own budget... no social programmes will be cut to make way for arms purchases".
While not noted in any official announcements, commentators have suggested that the recent - and ominously named - attack by the Imperial Rokkenjiman Navy against nearby Heya (
Operation Armageddon) could have prompted a renewed focus on external defence in Belmont.