Meridonian Army

The Meridonian Army is the land warfare component of the Meridon Defense Forces. It is composed of 106,482 active duty troops, and about 50,000 reservists as of 2022. It is the largest service branch in the Meridon Defense Forces.

The Meridonian Army, taking its roots from Amphian and specifically Anglian influences, was in its modern founded in 1739 by the Union Council in order to fight the Second Meridonian Civil War against the Sovereignist coalition, however it traces its origins back to the militia units of the original Amphian citystates. The Army, along with the Meridonian Navy, existed as independent forces without a real unified command structure until 1833, where it was subordinated under the War Office alongside the Navy. A need for greater joint forces command, realized during the Second Escar-Varunan War, resulted in the restructuring of the armed forces and the establishment of the Meridonian Defense Forces and the Defense Department.

The Army in its modern day form is a fully professional fighting force. It, alongside the rest of the Armed Forces (excluding the Air Forces and their predecessor, the Army Air Forces) conducted mandatory conscription from 1934 to 1960, but has since been able to maintain sufficient numbers through volunteers alone. The Army is designed around high mobility and expeditionary warfare, and has a good mix of unit capabilities to meet this goal. It is administered by the Department of the Army as a civilian oversight agency. It is commanded, however, by the Chief of Army Staff,a 4 star officer and the seniormost commissioned officer in the Army. It regularly conducts operations and exercises along other nations, including peacekeeping and training exercises especially with the Heian Cooperation Organization.

Organization
The Army consists of two components- Regular and Reserve. Regular formations compose the active-duty formations of the Army and comprise the majority of its strength, including all of its deployable brigades. Reserve formations consist of both part time soldiers and lower readiness formations that are generally relegated to defense support activities on an as-needed basis. Reserve soldiers, at a minimum, conduct training two days per month with their formation and three weeks of annual training a year.

The Army is headed by the Chief of Army Staff, the highest-ranking commissioned officer in the Army, who sits on the Defense General Staff as its seniormost representative. The COAS reports to the Army Secretary, who reports to the Defense Secretary, who primarily advises the President of Meridon on all defense matters and is responsible for implementing civilian policy into the Army.

Structure
All non-special forces land combatant units are organized under Army Forces Command. AFC consists of two non-operational organizations- Forward Forces Command (FFC), responsible for forward-oriented or actively deployed units; and Home Forces Command (HFC), which manages units directly tasked with maintaining homeland defense. The army consists of a total of 8 maneuver regiments, including one airborne, one armored, three mechanized and three light. These regiments, when deployed, will fall under the 2 divisions in FFC- 2 Division and 6 Division. Only 2 regiments are permanently assigned to FFC- these being 4 Regiment Airborne in 2 Division and 11 Regiment Taumako Light in 6 Division. Both of these units are considered as special operations forces. These divisions rotate regimental assignments regularly on an as-needed basis to suit deployments and national defense needs. HFC is also home to 3 Division, which administers the reserve component of the Army; and 1 Division, which maintains all permanent and semi-permanent home defense assets, including all non-deployed maneuver regiments. HFC is further delineated into several military districts, which are joint MDF commands and serve as the next highest operational level above the brigade, as 1 Division is not an operational organization.

Supporting forces, including medical, intelligence, and procurement, are organized under Joint Support Force Command (JSFC). Army special forces are organized under the Army Special Forces Group (ASFG), which is subordinated to the Meridon Joint Special Operations Command, a tri-service organization of special forces units.

Headquarters, Army (HQA)
 * Army Forces Command (AFC)
 * Forward Forces Command (FFC)
 * 2 Division
 * 4 Regiment Airborne
 * 60 Regiment Aviation
 * 6 Division
 * 11 Regiment Taumako Light
 * Home Forces Command (HFC)
 * 1 Division
 * 20 Regiment Redland Light
 * 26 Regiment Almsland Light
 * 10 Regiment Armored
 * 14 Regiment Kohaku Mechanized
 * 36 Regiment Stonewood Mechanized
 * 26 Regiment Galleston Mechanized
 * 12 Regiment Aviation
 * 3 Division
 * 23 Reserve Regiment Piermont Light
 * 9 Reserve Regiment Satton Light
 * 89 Reserve Regiment Coessa Mechanized
 * 51 Reserve Regiment Aviation
 * Cordelia Military District
 * Army Funerary Command/ Federal Memorial Segrano Hill
 * 1 Regiment Federal
 * Joint Support Force Command (JSFC)
 * Army Training and Readiness Command (TREDCOM)
 * Federal Military Academy
 * Army Maneuver Warfare Center
 * Army Recruit Training Center Wallowton
 * Army Medical Command (MEDCOM)
 * Army Procurement Command (PROCOM)
 * Army Enforcement and Investigations Command (EICOM)
 * Army Engineering Corps (AEC)
 * Army Intelligence and Cyberwarfare Command (INCYCOM)
 * Army Aviation Command (AVICOM)
 * Army Integrated Air Defense Command (IADECOM)
 * Army Personnel Command (PERSCOM)
 * Army Special Forces Group (ASFG)
 * 8 Regiment Commando
 * 41 Regiment Rangers
 * 10 Battallion Pathfinders
 * Ietero Smith Special Warfare Development Center

Special operations forces
See also:Special Operations Forces Command

Special warfare forces are organized under the Army Special Forces Group (ASFG), which regularly interoperates and reports to Special Operations Forces Command (SOFCOM). ASFG consists of a number of tenant special forces unit.

Equipment
See also:Modern equipment of the Meridonian Army

Personnel
See also:Military ranks of the Meridon Defense Forces