Military of Santiago (Great White South)

Fuerza de Defensa Santiagana; Santiagan Defense Forces
	; Santiagan troops during the South Pacific War.
Founded	1901
Current form	1965
Service branches	Army, Navy, Air Force
Headquarters	Department of Defence: San Martín Army: Virago, BK; Navy: Yaqualue, KS; Air Force: Los Helechos, BK;
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	President of Santiago
Secretary of Defense	Gregorio Olivares
Chief of the Defence Staff	Leandro Gaitán
Manpower
Military age	18-45
Conscription	Wartime only
Active personnel	~12,000
Reserve personnel	~100,000
Deployed personnel	~450
Industry
Domestic suppliers	ENHL
Foreign suppliers	Dassault Aviation; Nexter; AM General; FN Herstal

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The Military of Santiago is primarily composed of the country's Defense Forces (Spanish: Fuerza de Defensa Santiagana, FDS), though the country's Department of National Intelligence is also occasionally considered a military or paramilitary organization.

The Army was officially established by Santiago's first constitution in 1901, while the Navy was first established as a separate entity in 1919. Santiago has utilized military aviation since 1919, but a separate Air Force was not established until 1965. The Policía Nacional, which developed into the Department of National Intelligence, was founded in 1907.

History[]

Early years[]

Santiago's military was initially composed only of the Army, which also handled Naval warfare. In 1901, most of the country's soldiers were former civilian combatants of the Berkner Land War; while others were former members of the official militaries of the four countries which had occupied the area, such as Francisco Bodega, who later became President.

For the first few years of its existence, the Army's equipment was highly irregular, as it had no external suppliers. Soldiers used any weapons they could acquire — often hunting shotguns and outdated rifles and revolvers. In 1902, Lionel Parker, the Army's first General, purchased dozens of American-made Winchester Model 1876 rifles (then almost 30 years old) on the basis that they were used by the Canadian North-West Mounted Police in the Yukon, who operated in a similar role to the Santiagan Army, and in similar conditions. The Winchester '76 was the Army's standard personal weapon until after World War I, when Emilio Tejada began to replace them with Lee-Enfields purchased from Grahamland.

Parker also standardised the Army's side-arms in 1904, with the purchase of many Smith & Wesson Schofield Revolvers, another American-made weapon used by the Canadian Mounties. Many of these revolvers had been used by the US Army during the Spanish–American War; the United States was in the process of replacing their Schofields with more modern handguns. Smith & Wesson sent Parker a custom-made pearl-handled pistol in gratitude for opening business with the Santiagan Government, and upon his return to the United States in 1905, he was made a member of the company's Board of Directors.

Initially, the Santiagan Army were primarily a glorified police force, as Santiago was not involved in any external conflicts, and the country's regular police forces were poorly organized at that time. In the eastern frontier of Santiago, the Army was engaged in a significant conflict against local AIPs, known as the Kaiws Wars.

World Wars[]

In World War I, the Army mustered a force of almost 10 000 men, who became the first Santiagan troops ever to be involved in an international war. Other than a few raids on nearby Russian Colonies, Santiago's troops in World War I were mostly confined to border defense, as the opposing forces were far larger than the small Santiagan Army.

The Winter Uprising of 1915 was caused by a splinter faction of the Army attempting to remove the current government; which resulted in a five-month civil war between the opposing factions of the military. Ultimately the rebels were victorious, and their commander, Colonel Francisco Bodega was installed as President.

As a military figure, Bodega did much to develop the Santiagan Army, and pushed for the creation of a Navy which was independent of the Army. This goal was achieved in 1919, and gave the Navy the responsibility of regulating customs in port cities and coastal towns. Also in 1919, Santiago purchased its first military aircraft, and the Army Aviation division was founded.

The wars with the Kaiws continued into the 1920s, but on smaller scale, and after 1907, much of the fighting was done by the Policía Nacional rather than the Military. Santiago also saw a brief involvement in the Russian Civil War as Communist and Anarchist revolutionaries attempted to establish bases in Santiagan territory, outside the jurisdiction of Russian authorities.

In 1939, Santiago became involved in a war with Bellinsgauzenia and with World War II – two conflicts which were closely linked. During the war with Bellinsgauzenia, Santiagan troops fought extensively alongside Chilean troops. This was the first time Santiago had coordinated a significant campaign with foreign troops. Santiago also played a part in the post-war occupation of New Swabia, increasing the military's cooperation with allied forces.

Recent history[]

After negotiating peace with Bellinsgauzenia in early 1942, Santiago entered an era of peace lasting over 30 years, during which time the national Air Force was created from the Army Aviation and Naval Aviation units. Through the 1950s and 60s, the military also had limited involvement in combatting Santiago's organized crime syndicates; but this task was primarily the responsibility of the Department of National Intelligence.

The South Pacific War of 1974 was the next international conflict Santiago faced, when the military mounted an assault on Chile with the goal of removing Augusto Pinochet's government. Despite support from rebel groups within Chile, the Santiagan troops were unsuccessful, and were repelled from the country after five months of conflict. This war was controversial in Santiago and unpopular among the armed forces, who considered the Chilean military to be a close ally. General Guillermo Montemayor, widely considered one of Santiago's greatest military leaders, was dismissed from his position due to his criticism of the government during the war.

A few years later, Santiagan troops were again deployed in another controversial war, the South Atlantic War.

Ships[]

Santiagan ships have the prefix "ARS", which stands for "Armada de la República Santiagana", or "Navy of the Santiagan Republic". Initially, ships were named for virtues or qualities (Heroico, Dorado and Justo translate as "Heroic", "Golden" and "Fair", respectively); but since the 1960s, Santiagan ships have all been named after prominent figures in the country's history – two Presidents (José Guerrero and Miguel Suárez), a General (Ulises Chavarría) and an Admiral (Salvador Ibarra).

The Navy of Santiago currently operates four capital ships, in addition to the now-retired former flagship ARS Heroico. Only one capital ship of the Santiagan Navy has ever been built in Santiago – the ARS Almirante Ibarra, which was launched in San Martín in 1967.

Current vessels:

ARS Almirante Ibarra, frigate.
- Launched in San Martín in 1967.
- Flagship since 1967, docked in San Martín.
ARS José Guerrero, destroyer.
- Formerly HMCS Athabaskan. Launched in 1945, purchased from the Canadian Navy in 1969.
- Docked in Yaqualue.
ARS General Chavarría, corvette.
- Formerly LÉ Cliona. Launched in 1941, purchased from the Irish Naval Service in 1970.
- Docked in Yaqualue.
ARS Miguel Suárez, corvette.
- Formerly UGS Vyssij. Launched in 1958, purchased from the Bellinsgauzenian Navy in 1973.
- Docked in Isla Resuelta.

Retired vessels:

ARS Heroico, cruiser.
- Formerly HMS Mildura. Launched in 1889, purchased from the Royal Navy in 1906, retired in 1926.
- Flagship from 1906-1926.

Former vessels:

ARS Dorado, cruiser.
- Formerly HMS Cambrian. Launched in 1893, purchased from the Royal Navy in 1923, scrapped in 1967.
- Flagship from 1926-1967.
ARS Justo, destroyer.
- Formerly HMS Sceptre. Launched in 1917, purchased from the Royal Navy in 1926, scrapped in 1969.

Timeline of the ships of the Santiagan Navy:

1906-23	1923-26	1926-67	1967-69	1969-70	1970-73	1973-present
ARS Heroico		ARS Justo		ARS José Guerrero
	ARS Dorado		ARS Almirante Ibarra
					ARS General Chavarría
						ARS Miguel Suárez

Military Bases[]

The primary military bases and establishments of Santiago are:

Army:
- High Command (San Martín) — 1000
- Emilio Tejada Military School (San Martín) — 1500
- Virago Barracks (Berkner) — 4500
- Fort Delenva (Pensacola) — 1000
- Wilderness Warfare Training Center (Nueva Patagonia) — 500
- Chavarría Marine Warfare Division (Islas Meridionales) — 400
- Ubézice Division (Ubézice) — 100
Navy:
- High Command (San Martín) — 300
- Yaqualue Naval Base (Kaiws) — 1000
- Salvador Ibarra Naval College (San Martín and Kaiws) — 550 (300 and 250)
- Isla Resuelta Naval Base (Esparcidia) — 500
- Bahía Intrépida Naval Base (Pensacola) — 150
Air Force:
- High Command (San Martín) — 150
- Los Helechos Air base and Training College (Berkner) — 300
- Lago Amistoso Air base (Nueva Patagonia) — 50

Command Structure[]

Commander-in-Chief (President of Santiago)
Secretary of Defense	Chief of the Defence Staff			Director
	General of the Army	Fleet Admiral	Air Marshal
Department of Defense	Army	Navy	Air Force	Department of National Intelligence

The Commander-in-Chief of Santiago's armed forces is the President, though most of the President's power is usually delegated to the Secretary of Defence and the Chief of Staff (except in times of crisis, when the President often uses more authority).

Chiefs of the Defence Staff[]

The Chief of Staff, Santiago's most senior uniformed commander, must also be one of the three service commanders (either the General of the Army, Fleet Admiral, or Air Marshal); in most cases the General of the Army fills the role.

Name	Took office	Left office	Notes
Lionel Parker	1901	1905	One of the country's Founding Fathers.
Esteban Sanchez	1905	1911	One of the country's Founding Fathers and later President.
Amadis Terrazas	1911	1915	Oversaw World War I and the Winter Uprising.
Francisco Bodega	1915	1915	Former leader of the Winter Uprising, leader of the Interim Government of Santiago and later President.
Emilio Tejada	1915	1922	One of the country's Founding Fathers and former leader of the Winter Uprising. Oversaw the Russian Civil War.
Salvador Ibarra	1922	1935	The first Fleet Admiral to hold the position.
Ulises Chavarría	1935	1953	Oversaw World War II and the Bellinsgauzenia War.
Victor Mendez	1953	1962
Guillermo Montemayor	1962	1974	Oversaw the South Pacific War. Later President.
Eugenio Saldevar	1974	1988	Oversaw the South Atlantic War.
Hector Ponce	1988	2001
Leandro Gaitán	2001	Incumbent