Earthforce

From The Great Machine

(Redirected from Earth Force)

Earthforce is the military arm of the Earth Alliance and serves both in standing defence and peacekeeping operations.

Headquartered within EarthDome, Earthforce is divided into two main service branches - the Ground Forces and the Fleet. Both of these are under the command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advised by the Committee on Planetary Security, with final authority reserved for the EA President (who is also the Commander-in-Chief of Earthforce).

Earthforce was originally founded as a peacekeeping militia, with the majority of its members deployed in countries or on colonies to control terrorist aggression on the ground. The Fleet was not formed until after the Earth Alliance purchased Jump technology from the Centauri.

All Earth outposts (including Babylon 5) and many colonies fall under the jurisdiction of Earthforce rather than a civilian government. This state of affairs has existed since humanity's first expansion into space but became especially evident after the Earth-Minbari War.

In terms of personnel, the Ground Forces branch is the largest component of Earthforce, comprising tens of thousands highly trained troops. Infantry units still have a valid role in the 23rd century and are used for policing duties and assault forces against enemy ships or planetary targets. However, they are well supplemented by air and armour assets, as well as the Fleet who provide transport and heavy fire support.

Despite the size of the Ground Forces, it is the Fleet that swallows the largest portion of the annual budget allocated to Earthforce. The Earth-Minbari War had a profound effect on humanity as a whole and political will was easily led to invest billions of credits into reconstructing and improving the space fleet that defends Earth and its colonies. The highly capable Hyperion and Nova-class warships of the past are beginning to give way to the brand new Omega-class destroyers, much larger vessels of incredible potency that are becoming the mainstay of the Fleet.

There are many pundits within EarthDome who believe that Earth now has the capability to fight on equal terms with any race in the galaxy, including the Minbari, although those on the front lines are far more cautious, knowing that Earth has a long way to go before it could even consider open war with the Narn or Centauri, let alone the technologically superior Minbari or Vorlons.