The Central Asian Republic Army

By James Boschma

Introduction
Narrative
Current Military Situation and International Relations
Order of Battle
Composition of CARA Divisions and Brigades
Selected Battalion and Company-Level Organizations
Conscription, Personnel, and Rank Structure
Equipment
Ethnic Composition of the Central Asian Republic, circa 2000 and 2300

Introduction

Site of the most significant armed conflict since the Twilight War, the Central Asian Republic remains a troubled and war-torn nation.  It's army is a large, though low-quality, organization dependent on French, Russian, and Japanese support to prevent national collapse.  With those nations increasingly pre-occupied with military affairs in the French Arm, the long-term viability of the CAR and its army is questionable, at best.

Narrative

Murgab was like no mining town I'd ever seen.  Commandant Alliot-Marie, my minder from l' Armée d' Asie Centrale told me that before the war it had been a bustling municipality of perhaps 100,000 people.  Though she didn't elaborate on that, I assume the war had been particularly unkind to get from there to the collection of burned out ruins, underground bunkers and stone sangars that greeted us on our arrival.

We'd made the trip from Dushanbe as part of a convoy carrying the month's payroll for the Central Asian Republic Army garrison that split the town with the miners and a groupement of French troops.  Both my bureau chief and the major told me this was the safest means of getting out to real "indian country" in the southern mountains.  In spite of this assessment, Commandant Alliot-Marie had insisted we bring our own security as well.  Though the commandant was, again, political in her explanations, I was left with the distinct suspicion that the squad of Senegalese Tirailleurs who accompanied us were there as much to protect us from the convoy's soldiers as from the rebels.  The southern provinces of Central Asia and their inhabitants are sometimes a bit too quaint.

Murgab was both a center for mining activity in eastern Tajikistan as well as a hub for military operations in the area, and the place seethed with a sort of energy and tension.  Military and civilian alike, people in Murghob didn't linger out of doors, and in the open moved with a curiously unnatural, fast, gait, staying close to walls and in the shadows.  Our first night there the rebels dropped a dozen mortar rounds on the CARA camp, causing little damage, I think.  The garrison responded in kind, firing what must have been a hundred rounds from their own mortars all through the remainder of the night.  I have no idea if they hit anything, nor if they even knew what they were shooting at.

The next day they sent out a patrol to sweep the suspected location of the enemy mortar from the night before, five range trucks bristling with machineguns and loaded with troops.  They were gone for some time before we heard firing; some hours later they came streaming back into the town, reporting having chased off a group of rebels.  We were meeting with the CARA commander, a Lieutenant Colonel Abdildin, when the patrol returned, and I was witness to a flurry of congratulations and back-slapping, as if the war had just been half won.

That evening in the French battalion mess, Colonel Beauvais, the groupement commander, informed me that their sensors had tracked the patrol  earlier in the day, noting that it had driven a short distance from Murgab and sat there until it was time to come back.  I asked him about the firing, to which he simply shrugged.

That night another dozen mortar rounds came raining down into the town from the surrounding hills.

                                                                                       -- Denise McKenna
                                                                                       A Pistol for Ismail Khan and Other Distressingly True Tales of Central Asia
 

Current Military Situation and International Relations

The Central Asian War stems, in large part, from the structural inequalities within the Central Asian Republic, where a minority population of Kazakhs and ethnic Russians have maintained political and economic hegemony at the expense of other ethnic groups in the nation for most of three centuries.  Though the CAW was the first time international forces intervened in the nation, the war is regarded by the Uzbek, Kirgiz, Tajik, and Turkmen inhabitants of the region as a continuation of periodic rebellions and attempts at self-determination dating back to the middle of the 21st century.

While the Treaty of Fremantle in 2287 marked the withdrawal of Manchurian forces from Central Asian and Russian territory, the treaty did nothing to abate the civil war spawned by the CAR's social situation, nor did it include any provisions (beyond a thin screen of international observers and peacekeepers) to block Manchurian support for indigenous insurgents.  Since the end of the war, the situation has essentially been one of conflict between the CAR's (dubiously) legitimate government, which enjoys massive French, Russian, and Japanese support, against a number of insurgent groups collectively referring to themselves as Agzybirlik (Turkmen, "Unity," the Uzbek cognate "Birlik" and Tajik, and Kirghiz counterparts are also commonly used) drawing support from Manchuria and, possibly, Iran, though this has not been conclusively proven.

Despite its name, Agzybirlik is unified only by a desire to see the central government, its forces, and its foreign supporters, ousted from the southern provinces of the CAR.  The government, fixated on maintaining the pre-war status quo, has to date been unwilling to pursue a political solution to the civil war and has failed to capitalize on ideological and political rifts within the rebel organization.  The government mindset has also prohibited attempts at winning over support of local populations in the souther provinces, and done much to render foreign attempts along these lines moot (particularly after two French civil affairs officers were shot to death by a CARA press gang in 2296).  At the same time, the CAR's newfound mineral wealth lies exclusively in Pamir and Tien Shan mountains in the southern provinces, forcing the government and international forces to maintain large garrisons deep in areas sympathetic to the rebels and, consequently, endure a steady stream of casualties.

With logistics support from Manchuria, safe havens to train and regroup in across the Manchurian, Afghan (and possibly Iranian) borders, plus large refugee camps in those three nations to recruit from, Agzybirlik seems unlikely to suffer outright defeat any time soon, even though a military victory is out of the question so long as foreign forces bolster the CARA.

To date the war has been characterized by small unit operations by Agyzbirlik's forces, commonly referred to as Biyoboniki (Russo-Uzbek slang, "desert dwellers," only used as a self-referent by Uzbek guerillas) or Charwa (Turkmen, "nomads"), in the southern provinces, most notably in the Pamir and Tien Shan Mountains, in the Ferghana Valley, and along the Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan borders with Afghanistan.  At the same time, bombings and other terrorist attacks carried out by Bilbilniki or Kamilniki (more slang, "nightengales" or "the perfect" respectively) are a problem throughout the CAR, particularly launched by Uzbek insurgents who can move with relative ease among the widely spread Uzbek populations throughout the CAR.

Government responses have been frequent combat sweeps through insurgent occupied areas by the CARA's Mobile Corps and the Central Asian Legion (almost always augmented by foreign forces), coupled with increasingly restrictive internal security measures elsewhere.  The failure of the government to successfully control guerilla and terrorist activities has also promoted the formation of loyalist militia groups, usually referred to as GDCs (from the French for "Community Defense Groups"), many of which have spawned their own terrorist wings for operations against suspected rebel sympathizers.

Circa 2300, the Central Asian Republic is, for all intents and purposes, an armed camp whose complete implosion and self-destruction is only prevented by the presence of foreign troops keeping the central government afloat.  Were that foreign support to be withdrawn, it is likely the nation would collapse in very short order.

International Relations

Most nations continue to recognize the Franco-Russian sponsored Kazakh regime as the legitimate government of the CAR, though national elections of dubious legality since the end of the war and various human rights abuses have prompted many to suspend diplomatic relations.

Afghanistan: Situated along the CAR' southern border, Afghanistan has long been something of a transition point between Manchuria and Iran, influenced by both nations.  At present it is the center of Manchurian assistance programs to Agzybirlik guerilla groups, with numerous fortified training camps and supply dumps  located in northern Afghanistan.  The Manchurian embassy is believed to host a special technical support section providing satellite reconnaissance and information warfare support to the guerillas as well.

France: The French presence in Central Asia stems from a mix of economic interest and concerns for national prestige, though there is increasing domestic debate about whether either justifies to financial and human cost of ongoing involvement in the region.  Regardless, France is the CAR's main patron, largely subsidizing the CARA and providing it with equipment and training, as well as deploying a sizeable force to Central Asia to assist the government's campaign to keep the mines open in the southern provinces.

Iran:  Though publicly sympathetic to ethnic nationalist groups at the beginning of the Central Asian War, Iran remained officially neutral during the conflict and since.  The nation has made it perfectly clear, however, that it can and will defend its sovereignty against incursions from the CAR, and Iranian forces have engaged CARA, French, Russian, and Freemantle Treaty forces for alleged territorial violations, resulting in some 27 known deaths (this excludes CARA losses, which are anyone's guess, as well as Iranian casualties, which are estimated at between 30-50).  The Iranian government has also attempted to discourage guerilla groups from crossing into its territory.  These attempts have been hampered by the presence of large Turkmen and Uzbek refugee populations in Iran's northern provinces along the Turkmen border, which have become prime recruiting grounds for Agzybirlik.

Japan: Of the victorious powers in the Central Asian War, Japan is the least willing participant in the current military occupation, maintaining a relatively small garrison on a fortified island in the Aral Marshes of southern Kazakhstan.  Though technically a reaction force intended to bolster CARA or other allied military operations, this unit is rarely deployed and Japanese participation is largely regarded as a face-saving gesture.  There are persistent rumors, however, of Japanese special operations forces being more involved in operations in the main warzones, though official Japanese policy is not to acknowledge the existence of such units, much less their activities.

Manchuria:  Officially, Manchuria does not recognize the government of the CAR, and, in fact, is the host to various exiled ethnic-national governments formed in the southern provinces during the CAW.  Unofficially, Manchuria is the main supporter of anti-government forces in the nation, providing them with arms, training, intelligence support, and other assistance, primarily through rebel camps in northern Afghanistan.  Manchuria appears less interested in toppling the current CAR government than in bleeding the French, Russian, and Japanese forces in country; a motive which sometimes leads to friction with its proxies within Agzybirlik.

Russia:  Russia shares some of France's combined economic/prestige motivation for its presence in the CAR, though this is further complicated by the presence of roughly 14 million ethnic Russians in the CAR (whose appeals for assistance during the initial civil war are what prompted Russian intervention to begin with) as well as Russian fears of having to share a border with a nation set on self-destruction.  The Russian public has gradually soured on the fighting in the CAR and the steady stream of dead and maimed soldiers it produces, which has prompted the Russian government to establish a mercenary Central Asian Legion to help cover its military commitments in the Republic.

INDEX

Order of Battle

Almaty Military District (Capital Security Zone) [HQ: Almaty, Kazakhstan]

    11th Tank Brigade
    3rd Air Assault Brigade
    346th Assault Battalion
    35th Air Assault Brigade (Special Operations)
    1st Aviation Brigade

Ferghana Military District (South-Eastern Region) [HQ: Bishek, Kyrgyzstan]

    1st Army [Bishek, Kyrgyzstan]
        2nd Motorized Rifle Division
        56th Motorized Rifle Division
        84th Motorized Rifle Division
        165th Motorized Rifle Division
        6th Artillery Brigade
    45th Army [Dushanbe, Tajikistan]
        3rd Motorized Rifle Division
        5th Motorized Rifle Division
        42nd Motorized Rifle Division
        360th Motorized Rifle Division
        1st Artillery Brigade
    3rd Mobile Corps [Samarkand, Uzbekistan]
        15th Tank Brigade
        91st Tank Brigade
        100th Tank Brigade
        101st Tank Brigade
        55th Assault Regiment
        2nd Artillery Brigade
    28th Air Assault Bde [Tashkent]
    32nd Aviation Bde [Tashkent]

Amu Darya Military District (South-Western Region)

    5th Army [Ashgabat, Turkmenistan]
        1st Motorized Rifle Division
        8th Motorized Rifle Division
        10th Motorized Rifle Division
        147th Motorized Rifle Division
        24th Artillery Brigade
    2nd Mobile Corps [Bukhoro, Uzbekistan]
        2nd Tank Brigade
        4th Tank Brigade
        7th Tank Brigade
        80th Tank Brigade
        56th Assault Regiment
        127th Artillery Brigade
    21st Air Assault Brigade (Motorized Rifle) [Turkmenbashy, Turkmenistan]

Kazakhstan Military District (Kazakhstan Region)

    4th Army [Astana, Kazakhstan]
        4th Motorized Rifle Division
        20th Motorized Rifle Division
        27th Motorized Rifle Division
        41st Motorized Rifle Division
        8th Artillery Brigade
    6th Mobile Corps [Saryshagan, Kazakhstan]
        102nd Tank Brigade
        110th Tank Brigade
        201st Tank Brigade
        313th Tank Brigade
        57th Assault Regiment
        7th Artillery Brigade
    22nd Air Assault Bde (Motorized Rifle) [Baykonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan]

INDEX

Composition of CARA Divisions and Brigades

Motorized Rifle Division

"Motorized Rifle" has a more literal meaning in the CARA than in other Russian/Soviet influenced or descended organizations, being primarily composed of truck-mobile infantry formations.  Each MRD is composed of one Motorized Rifle Regiments, one Rifle Regiment, an Artillery Regiment, and divisional support assets, including an engineering battalion plus assorted logistics elements.  Motorized Rifle Regiments have a single light tank battalion ("tank" in a loose sense, as the unit is equipped with wheeled ABR-76Es), a motorized rifle battalion (with VCIR light armored personnel carriers) and two truck-mobile rifle battalions.  Rifle Regiments are more austere, with four truck mobile rifle battalions.  Both regiments include an independent heavy mortar battery with six K-1 203mm heavy mortars and a reconnaissance company as supporting assets.

Artillery regiments are authorized two battalions, each of 18 self-propelled binary howitzers, though in many divisions one howitzer battalion has been replaced with a heavy mortar battalion, again employing the K-1 heavy mortar.

CARA Motorized Rifle Divisions are generally at between 50-66% strength (usually somewhat lower in the Motor Rifle Regiment, somewhat higher in the Rifle Regiment), and tend to have the lowest quality and least politically reliable personnel.  Desertion is a particular problem in these units, and they are regarded as only suitable for garrison duty and limited defensive operations.  In addition, the divisions lack various assets considered essential in modern low-intensity operations (no UAV assets, minimal military intelligence assets, and a shortage of night vision equipment, to name a few).

Tank Brigade

The Tank Brigades of the Independent Mobile Corps make up the bulk of the CARA's offensive capability, and are of higher quality than the MRDs.  Each tank brigade is made up of one hovertank battalion, two wheeled light tank battalions, and a motorized rifle battalion, with fire support provided by a mixed artillery battalion with two multiple-rocket launcher batteries and one howitzer battery.  Hovertank battalions use either a mix of French AC-8s and AVCI-3s (primarily the units of the 3rd Mobile Corps) or Russian NT-76 hovertanks and NV-86 hover IFVs, while the light tank battalions and motorized rifle battalions rely on a mix of French ABR-76Es and VCIRs.

Tank Brigades tend to be at 50-66% strength (with the units of 6th Mobile Corps in the Kazakhstan Military District the most understrength), primarily due to a lack of heavy equipment, but the units receive priority for logistics, ensuring that they are capable of field operations.  Though well below the standards set in-theater by French, Russian, and Central Asian Legion units, CARA Tank Brigades are at least considered viable units by foreign militaries.

Air Assault Brigade

CARA Air Assault Brigades are light formations originally intended for rapid airmobile operations, though a shortage of airlift has led to two brigades being re-roled as elite motorized rifle units.  The 3rd and 28th brigades, tasked as "pure" air assault units consist of three air assault battalions, supported by an artillery battalion, a reconnaissance company, a combat engineer company, and a light tank company.  The 21st and 22nd brigades, in the motor rifle role, consist of two motor rifle battalions, one air assault battalion (operating as truck-mobile infantry in the absence of airlift), plus the same supporting assets as the other two brigades.  Air Assault Brigades are among the best units in the CARA, made up of conscripts who volunteer for service in AABs, for which they receive higher pay and other benefits (monthly special duty pay for air assault brigades is slightly higher than a conscript's entire base salary).  Typical units run at roughly 75% strength.

35th Air Assault Brigade (Special Operations)

This unit is loosely patterned on and trained by Russian special operations units, and consists of three battalions, each made up of three 100-man companies, with a total authorized strength of 1000 men (the unit is at 80-90% strength).  Considered the most capable unit in the CARA, the 35th Brigade is tasked with reconnaissance and direct actions in those areas of the country most heavily infested by insurgent forces, as well as various other missions of a sensitive nature.  Though headquartered in Almaty, detachments of the unit may be found most anywhere.

Assault Regiment

CARA Assault Regiments are combat walker units configured to support other units operating in mountainous areas or other environments where the unique strengths of 'walkers can be capitalized upon.  The standard 'walker for the CARA is the obsolete French BH-18, though the 346th Assault Battalion in the Almaty Military District employs the BH-21.  It was planned that additional BH-21s would roll down to the CARA as the French military fields the BH-25, though high attrition among 'walker unis in service against Kafers in the French Arm appears likely to complicate this.

Assault Regiments are organized somewhat along the lines of French combat walker units, with each regiment having three subordinate battalions, each with a headquarters company (including the battalion commander's personal walker and a four walker security section) and three assault companies, each with 25 combat walkers authorized (two platoons of twelve, plus the company commander's walker), for a total authorized strength of 80 combat walkers per battalion and 250 per regiment (the additional ten being used by the regimental commander, various regimental staff officers who warrant a walker for prestige purposes, and another four walker security section at regimental headquarters).

The 346th Assault Battalion, operating the BH-21, has a fourth organic company, for a total authorized strength of 105 walkers.  It is the only Assault unit in the CARA at full strength, with other units tending to be at approximately 50% strength for 'walkers and 66-70% personnel strength (allowing relief and replacement pilots).  Most assault units have replaced the four-walker security sections at battalion and regimental headquarters with standard infantry platoons to focus combat power in line units, and line companies typically average roughly 10-15 walkers each, which usually operate as a single platoon.

Regimental headquarters are essentially administrative organizations, and standard CARA doctrine calls for assault battalions to be farmed out to support Tank or Air Assault Brigades.  Battalions in support missions tend to be used en masse rather than parcelled out as company or platoon level support, owing to the small size of CARA assault battalions.

Artillery Brigade

Providing heavy fire support for Armies and Mobile Corps, the Artillery Brigade is composed of two battalions of multiple rocket launchers and two battalions of wheeled binary howitzers, with each battalion being made up of three firing batteries of six howitzers or launcher vehicles plus ammunition carriers and other support vehicles.  Both Russian and French artillery systems are currently in service.

INDEX
 

Selected Battalion and Company-Level Organizations

All the following provide details of the authorized strength and organization of CARA battalions, though, as noted, most units are at nowhere near full strength.

Rifle Battalion

CARA Rifle Battalions are austere organizations with limited ability for sustained independent combat operations.  Basic organization is a headquarters company (including a transportation platoon with the battalions truck's assigned), a mortar battery, and three rifle companies.  Mortar  batteries consist of one heavy mortar platoon (three tubes, either French 105mm or Russian 120mm auto-mortars) and two medium mortar platoons (also three tubes, with magazine-fed French 80mm and Russian 82mm models in service, or, occasionally, French ML-80 light mortars).

Rifle companies are composed of a headquarters and three rifle platoons, each consisting of a headquarters (three men, including a platoon leader, a second officer or NCO as assistant PL, and a communications specialist), and three rifle squads.  Squads are of ten men and consist, in theory, of a squad leader, a light machinegunner, an assault gunner (with either a Type 81 storm gun or a plasma gun), a grenadier, and six riflemen.  In reality, most squads average five to seven men, usually with one or two support weapons (usually machineguns and grenade launchers, as plasma guns are in short supply and storm guns quite unpopular).

It is common for a Rifle Battalion to have a Heavy Machinegun Company, or portion of one, attached when operating in a defensive role.

Air Assault Battalion

Each air assault battalion is a light infantry formation, equipped with better logistics and command and control assets to allow greater freedom of operation than rifle battalions.  Standard organization is a headquarters company (larger than in a rifle battalion), a mortar battery, a grenade launcher company, and three air assault companies.  Mortary batteries are equipped with six 80 or 82mm auto-mortars, while the grenade launcher company has two platoons, each of six 30mm automatic grenade launchers (thirty men per platoon, authorized).

Each air assault company is made up of three rifle platoons, a combat engineer squad, and a nine man mortar platoon with two French ML-80 light mortars.  Each rifle platoon is similar to those found in rifle battalions, except that air assault units tend to have all their authorized squad-level support weapons and replace the machinegunner with a sharpshooter armed with an SVB laser rifle (typical squad consists of a squad leader with an assault rifle, plasma gunner, sharpshooter, grenadier and a 3-4 riflemen).

Motorized Rifle Battalion

Equipped with VCIR wheeled APCs, Motorized Rifle Battalions are more robust organizations than Rifle Battalions, with similar basic organization (HQ company, mortar battery, and three motor rifle companies), plus a light tank company with ABR-76Es.  The mortar battery is either equipped with nine ABR-76Ms mounting 105mm mortars (in Tank Brigade MRBs) or trucks towing Russian 120mm auto-mortars (in Motor Rifle Division MRBs).

Each rifle company has ten VCIRs, divided into three platoons of three plus a command vehicle with additional communications assets.  Rifle platoons are authorized 36 men (three two-man vehicle crews, plus three 10-man squads), with the platoon leader doubling as a squad leader and his assistant commanding the platoon's vehicles.  Platoons in Motor Rifle units tend to have similar manpower shortages, but better allocation of small arms, so most squads will have either a plasma gun or a sniper rifle as well as light machineguns and grenade launchers.

The light tank company is composed of ten ABR-76s, again broken down into three platoons of three vehicles plus a company command vehicle (this last vehicle is supposed to be an ABR-76C command variant, but in most units is a baseline ABR-76 with an extra radio fitted), with total unit strength of 30 men.  Each ABR-76 crew is authorized two PB-87 machine pistols and a Type 49 assault rifle for self defense, though the usual myriad of small arms are encountered in practice.

Light Tank Battalion

Light tank battalions are composed of a headquarters company (various soft-skinned vehicles and one ABR-76C command vehicle), three light tank companies, a motorized rifle company, and a mortar battery.  Motor rifle companies and mortar batteries are identical to those found in an MRB (all light tank battalions use the ABR-76M mortar carrier), while Light Tank Companies consist of ten vehicles in three platoons of three, as per the MRB tank company, except that one vehicle in each platoon is an ABR-76AT missile carrier (at least in theory, ABR-76ATs are in somewhat shorter supply than other version of the wheeled AFV).

Hovertank Battalion

Each Tank Brigade has a single Hovertank Battalion, organized similar to Light Tank Battalions, except that ABR-76s are replaced with either French AC-8s or Russian NT-79 gunsleds, VCIRs are replaced by AVCI-3s (in AC-8 units) or NV-86s (in NT-79 units), and the mortar battery is replaced by a battery of six MRLs (again, both French 120mm VALR-3s and Russian 2A225 160mm MRLs on NV-86 chassis are in service).

Standard infantry squad is reduced to eight men, in accordance with the capacity of both the AVCI-3 and NV-86 vehicles, with two riflemen removed from the usual squad organization.

Assault Battalion

The organization of CARA combat walker battalions is outlined above in the section describing Assault Regiments.  As noted, an Assault Battalion is authorized 80 BH-18 combat walkers, though most actually have approximately 40 operational 'walkers.

Artillery Battalions

Various tables of organization exist for artillery units, depending on their parent unit.  Unless otherwise noted, basic organization is batteries of six guns, mortars, or multiple rocket launchers, with three batteries per battalion.

In Air Assault Brigades, the artillery battalion has one battery of 203mm mortars and two batteries of either 120mm Russian or 105mm French mortars (generally weapons will not be mixed in the same battalion).  Tank Brigades field two multiple rocket launcher batteries (again, either French 120mm or Russian 160mm systems) and one battery of French-built 150mm binary howitzers.  Artillery battalions in Motor Rifle Divisions are authorized three batteries of 150mm howitzers though, as noted above, in many divisions one artillery battery is equipped with heavy mortars instead.

Organization of battalions within Army/Corps level Artillery Brigades is described above in the section pertaining to those units.

Heavy Machinegun Company

These independent units are Army-level assets assigned to Motor Rifle Divisions to support defensive operations.  Each company is authorized two heavy machinegun platoons, a heavy grenade launcher platoon, and a high energy cannon platoon, with each platoon having 30 men and six heavy weapons systems.  HMG platoons are armed with locally produced 12.7mm machineguns, while grenade launcher platoons either have Russian or French 30mm automatic grenade launchers.  High energy cannon platoons are armed with CLP-1A plasma cannons.  Some heavy machinegun companies are equipped with range trucks to serve as mobile escorts for convoys, secure lines of communication, etc.

Each Army is authorized ten heavy machinegun companies (three motorized, seven static), though, as always, some variation is encountered.  Both armies in the Ferghana Military District have closer to twenty heavy machinegun companies, with half being motorized formations.

Heavy Mortar Battery

Found in MRDs as regimental support assets, Heavy Mortar Batteries have proven popular in the CARA as a cheaper alternative to sophisticated MRL or howitzer systems.  Each battery is equipped with six towed 203mm heavy mortars, and soft-skinned support vehicles.  Total authorized manpower is sixty men (including six six-man mortar crews), though most units are understrength to some extent.

Reconnaissance Company

Brigade and regimental assets, reconnaissance companies perform the usual mechanized reconnaissance and screening roles such units are tasked with.  The company consists of a headquarters vehicle (ABR-76C commander vehicle) and three reconnaissance platoons (each with two ABR-76s, an ABR-76AT, and a VCIR with a full squad of infantry).  Note that the unit has standard ABR-76s with full sensor suites rather than the ABR-76Es used in light tank units.

INDEX
 

Conscription, Personnel, and Rank Structure

The CARA is a conscript army which has generally failed to live up to the reputation it had prior to the Central Asian War for various reasons.  In theory the force is made up of draftees serving four year service commitments (increased from the pre-CAW two year commitment), recruited by random drafts from age groups without regard to ethnicity or social status.

In practice, the ongoing state of national emergency, coupled with bureaucratic corruption, has rendered the draft system essentially unworkable.  Russian and Kazakh families with any political or economic clout can easily obtain unofficial exemptions for their sons, with over-representation of poor Russo-Kazakhs in the force, and consequent increasing social friction within those communities.  Other ethnicities are also over-represented in the force, despite dubious political reliability, which has led to both infiltration of the CARA by insurgents and draconian internal security measures for servicemen.  In addition, four year service commitments have proven to be mythical, with personnel being retained in service under the provisions of yearly presidential state-of-emergency decrees; for most conscripts the only way out of the CARA is through loss of life or limb, or desertion.

In an attempt to counter desertion, many CARA units are tasked with periodic sweeps of urban areas and the countryside in search of deserters.  There are frequent rumors, and no small number of documented cases, where able-bodied male civilians have been press-ganged into the army during these sweeps (foreigners who are ethnically distinct from Central Asian groups are probably safe from this practice, but a number of Turkish, Afghan, and Iranian nationals are known to have been kidnapped in this manner).

Prior to the Central Asian War, the CARA non-commissioned officer corps was a volunteer force with a reasonable reputation for professionalism.  The CAW extracted a particularly heavy toll on NCOs however, and qualifications for NCOs slipped steadily beginning in 2283, before a move to selecting NCOs from promising conscripts was instituted in 2293 and NCO quality plummeted.  In many units, a second, junior, officer is assigned to help compensate for the shortage of competent NCOs.

Rank Structure

The CARA employs a rank structure descended from Russian/Soviet models and has actually reverted more to Soviet style patterns since the CAW due to various personnel problems.

Prior to war, the highest rank a conscript could attain was Efrejtor (private first class), with both commissioned and non-commissioned officers being volunteers.  Officers were commissioned after having completed four years of study at the Central Asian Center for Military Studies in Almaty or its satellite campuses in Astana and Tashkent, while sergeants were soldiers selected for voluntary retention and additional training after service as conscripts.

The quality of leadership has dropped substantially since the pre-war era.  Currently, promising conscripts entering the army can be promoted up to the rank of Serzhant simply by completion of an additional six weeks of basic training above and beyond the three months all conscripts undergo.  The national military academies in Almaty, Astana, and Tashkent were all wrecked during the war, though the Almaty facility has re-opened, conducting a six month officer training school (partially staffed by French and Russian military advisors), and some limited professional development courses for higher ranking officers.

Due to the general weakness of the NCO corps in the CARA, the Army has re-introduced the Soviet-era rank of Mladshiy leytenant (junior lieutenant), with personnel holding the rank assigned to what would normally be NCO jobs (i.e. acting as platoon and company sergeants, etc.).  In theory a unit should have both a junior lieutenant and an NCO filling a given job, though most units are lucky to have either one or the other, and junior lieutenants are often seen acting as platoon leaders (as is the occasional senior NCO, though it is common in the CARA to commission such personnel if they are capable of performing the job and politically reliable).

Note that there is a marked preponderance of ethnic Kazakhs in the CARA officer corps, especially above the rank of Kapitan.  In addition it should be noted that Pulkovnik (colonel) has entered the lexicon in most of the CAR's Turkic languages to describe a warlord or militia commander, so it is possible to meet many "colonels" in the country with no affiliation with the army at all.  Finally, it should be borne in mind that while Russian is the official language of the CAR, most conscripts have only limited proficiency in the language and will often use rank terms from their native languages.
 
 

Central Asian Republic Army Table of Ranks
Enlisted and NCO Equivalent Officer Equivalent
Ryadovoy Private Mladshiy leytenant Junior Lieutenant
Efreytor Private First Class Leytenant Lieutenant (Platoon Leader)
Mladshiy Serzhant Junior Sergeant (Fire Team Leader) Starshiy leytenant Senior Lieutenant
Serzhant Sergeant (Squad Leader/Vehicle Commander) Kapitan Captain (Company Commander)
Stashiy Serzhant Senior Sergeant (Platoon Sergeant) Major Major
Starshina Master Sergeant (Company Sergeant) Podpolkovnik Lt. Colonel (Battalion Commander)
Polkovnik Colonel (Regiment Commander)
General-major Major General 
General-leytenant Lieutenant General
General-polkovnik Colonel General
General General

 

INDEX

Equipment

Uniforms and Personal Equipment

Standard CARA battledress consists of a locally manufactured khaki uniform, typically worn with a camouflage smock.  Only a portion of the army uses this uniform, however, as France and Russia have supplied a large number of uniforms to the CARA (French uniforms are the 2264-pattern desert fatigues pictured in the Aurore Sourcebook; Russian uniforms are similar), and they have also been copied by local manufacturers.  Away from the capital, it is common to see soldiers combining issue smocks and helmets with all manner of pants, boots, and other clothing items available commercially, especially in the winter.

Rank insignia on uniforms is worn on epaulettes for all ranks, with insignia being generally based on Russian models with some variation present.  On field uniforms, a narrow stripe on the epaulette identifies branch of service (light blue for air assault units, black for tank and artillery units, red for infantry, yellow for combat walkers and various other colors for supporting arms), as does a subdued branch-specific sleeve patch.  On service and dress uniforms the entire epaulette is of branch-specific color, augmented by a colored shoulder cord for NCOs and enlisted soldiers, and non-subdued sleeve patch.  Standard headgear is a brimmed cap in the field uniform or garrison cap in other uniforms, while Air Assault units maintain the Russian-derived practice of wearing light blue berets.

Small Arms and Light Support Weapons

The CARA is currently equipped with a bewildering hodge podge of small arms of Manchurian, French, Japanese and Russian origin.  While there have been periodic attempts to partially standardize this situation by equipping different units with different families of small arms, these attempts have generally failed, and it is not uncommon to encounter CARA infantry squads equipped with five or six different weapons.

Current service rifles include the Manchurian Types 49 (locally produced in the republic prior to the CAW, plus weapons captured during the war or since), the French FAA-73, and SG-77 assault rifles (both Japanese Type 79 rifles as well as surplus German weapons purchased in bulk by the Russian government for transfer to the CARA).  Light support weapons include the Manchurian Type 381, the French M-79, and the German MG-7 machineguns (same sources as the SG-77).  Heavier support weapons include large numbers of Manchurian Type 81 storm guns, as well as Type 1 High Energy Guns (both Japanese Type 21F and French Mk.2-A2 plasma guns are also used in small numbers, mainly by units in the Almaty Military District).  Sidearms are primarily Russian PB-87 machinepistols, though an assortment of other weapons are also seen.  Sniper weapons are relatively common (though often poorly employed) and are mostly Russian SVBs, with the French FTE-8 used in more specialized sniper roles.

Most infantry squads are equipped with 30mm grenade launchers, including the French M-3 and Russian GO-71 (essentially identical to the GW-12 described in the Adventurers Guide), as well as the Manchurian Type 23 rifle grenades designed for use with the Type 49 assault rifle.

Pistolet Bakunin PB-87 5.9mm Machine Pistol

Standard sidearm of the Russian military, the PB-87 is a light automatic weapon built on a heavy pistol frame, with a close combat sight, folding forward hand grip and collapsible stock added.  The weapon is light, reliable, and well thought of, though its performance against body armor is marginal.

Type: 5.9mm Machine Pistol, Country:  Russia, Weight (Empty): 1.0 kg, Length: 35 cm (stock collapsed, Bulk = 0), 55 cm (stock extended, Bulk =1), Action:  Single Shot or Bursts, Ammunition: 5.9x22mm fixed cartridge ball, Muzzle Velocity: 850 mps, Magazine: 20 or 30 round box magazines, Magazine Weight: 0.1 kg (20 rnd), 0.2 kg (30 rnd), ROF: 3, Aimed Fire Range: 40 meters (80 with stock extended), Area Fire Burst: 10 rounds (AFV = 1), Area Fire Range: 20 meters (40 meters with stock extended), DP Value: 0.4, Price: Lv 350 (Lv2 for 100 rounds, pre-packaged in disposable magazines)

Type 23 Family of Rifle Grenades

A family of rifle grenades developed by the Manchurian military for use with the Type 49 assault rifle and widely exported.  In the CAR they are employed by both sides (the CARA actually employs minimally different copies manufactured in Azania, though performance is identical).  The Type 23 grenades are bullet trap designs, and require no special ammunition; most weapons firing the 7.5x32mm cartridge can fire Type 23s.  A number of rounds are available, including the following:
  • High Explosive: Mass: 0.4 kg, Aimed Fire Range: 150 meters, DPV: As explosive, EP = 5 (armor penetration quartered for contact hits), Price: Lv1 each
  • High Explosive Dual Purpose:  Mass: 0.4 kg, Aimed Fire Range: 150 meters, DPV: As explosive, EP = 4 (normal armor penetration), Price: Lv1 each
  • High Explosive Anti-Tank: Mass: 0.5 kg, Aimed Fire Range: 75 meters, DPV: As tamped explosive, EP = 4, Price: Lv2 each
  • High Explosive Proximity Fuse:  Note this is not a programmable round, it simply incorporates a tiny lidar sensor to detonate the round 2.5 meters above the ground.  Mass: 0.4 kg, Aimed Fire Range: 150 meters, DPV: As explosive, EP = 3 (airburst), Price: Lv2 each
  • Incendiary Smoke: Mass: 0.4 kg, Aimed Fire Range: 150 meters, DPV: As explosive, EP = 2 (incendiary fragments, DPV 0.3 in primary and secondary burst radii), creates cloud of smoke 10 x 30 meters after one round, Price: Lv1 each
  • Multi-Purpose Round:  This round is an adaptor which will accept any standard (Manchurian) hand grenade, turning it into a contact-detonated rifle grenade.  Mass: 0.2 kg (plus hand grenade mass), Aimed Fire Range: 100 meters, DPV:  Varies, Price: Lv1 each

Heavy Weapons

AGN-60 Automatic Grenade Launcher

An obsolete Russian support weapon used extensively during the CAW, though since phased out of Russian service.  The AGN-60 is found in the CARA both in vehicular mounts as well as in tripod-mounted versions used by Heavy Machinegun Companies.  Though the weapon generally feeds belted 30mm grenades it may also fire standard, non-belted ammunition at a ROF of 1.  All standard ammunition types are available in belted versions, including proximity fuzed rounds.

Type: 30mm automatic grenade launcher, Country:  Russia, Weight (Empty):  27 kg (+ 10 kg tripod when ground-mounted), Length:  113 cm (Bulk = 6), Action:  Single Shot or Bursts, Ammunition: 30mm propelled grenade, Muzzle Velocity:  Varies by grenade type, Magazine: 50-grenade belts (may be linked for sustained firing), Magazine Weight: 15 kg/belt, ROF: 2, Aimed Fire Range: 500 m, Area Fire Burst: 5 rounds (AFV = 0.5), DP Value: Dependent on grenade used, Price: Lv700 (grenade prices vary by type)

K-1 Abylai Khan 203mm Heavy Mortar

An indigenous weapon developed by the CARA prior to the Central Asian War (where it was used in limited numbers and proved poorly suited for high-intensity operations), the K-1 heavy mortar has proven highly effective as a regimental and brigade level support weapon during counter-insurgency operations.  The K-1 is a breech-loading 203mm mortar feeding from an integral three round hopper (which must be manually loaded by the gun crew), allowing the weapon rapid short term rates of fire.  Available ammunition types currently include High Explosive, High Explosive-Rocket Assisted, and a WASP round.

Type: 203mm Heavy Mortar, Country: Central Asian Republic, Weight (including integral carriage): 4 tons, Length: 275 cm (tube), Action: SA, Ammunition: 203mm Mortar Bombs (various ammunition types), Muzzle Velocity: 650 mps, Magazine: integral three round hopper, AmmunitionWeight: 50 kg per round, ROF (Magazine Fed): 3 (Max. ROF 3 RPM, Sustained: 1 RPM), ROF (Breech Loading/Single Shot): 1 rpm, Indirect Fire Range: 7.6 km (11 km with RAP), DP Value: Varies by ammunition type, Price: Lv 6600 (Lv50 per HE round, Lv65 per WASP or HERA round)

Munitions:  High Explosive: damage as explosive, EP = 250; WASP: Burst Radius 500 meters, DPV: 7, Rocket Assisted HE: EP = 150

Armored Fighting Vehicles

ABR-76E

An export version of the ABR-76, the ABR-76E is identical to the basic vehicle described in the Ground Vehicle Guide except that it has a less sophisticated sensor suite (10 km range, no sensor bonus), and is less expensive (Lv27,000).  In the CARA, the ABR-76E is used extensively as a light, wheeled assault gun; in other used nations the chassis has been adopted for various additional duties, including air defense vehicles, mobile command posts, etc.  

ABR-76AT

Similar to the "typical antiarmor variant" described in the GVG, the ABR-76AT used by the CARA is based on a conversion kit manufactured by the Sverdlovskaya Agricultural and Heavy Industry firm in Yekaterinburg, Russia.  The vehicle replaces the standard turret with a remote weapons station mounting a three tube launcher for Aero-12 anti-tank missiles (with nine additional missiles carried internally and manually reloaded), and a 30mm AGN-60 automatic grenade launcher, feeding from a single 50 round drum magazine, for self-defense.  The ABR-67AT has a two man crew, with the gunner/commander seated behind the driver on the right side of the vehicle and provided with his own hatch on the front deck of the vehicle.

NT-79 Hovertank

Replaced in Russian service by the tracked BT-94B, the NT-79 is the final derivative of the Russian version of the AC-8, initially adopted as the NT-66.  The NT-79 is quite similar to the AC-8, except for the following differences:
  • An AGN-60 grenade launcher with two 50-round ammunition boxes replaces the turret mounted 7.5mm machinegun.
  • Main armament is a Russian developed 76mm mass driver cannon, though performance is generally similar to the French 80mm model.
  • Two launchers for Aero-12 missiles are fitted to the remote turret, though only 6 reloads are carried internally.

NV-86 Hover Infantry Fighting Vehicle

tbc.

INDEX  

Ethnic Composition fo the Central Asian Republic (Historic and posited 2300AD)

 
ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF THE CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLIC (MAIN GROUPS ONLY),
HISTORIC AND ca. 2300
Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Nation, ca. 1996 Nation, ca. 2300
(Approximate)
Population, ca. 1996: 16,731,303 4,753,003 6,578,681 4,603,244 25,155,064 57,800,000  132,080,000
Ethnicity
(% and #)
Kazakh 53.4%
8,934,515
-- -- 2%
92,064
3%
754,651
16.9%
9,781,230
25%
33,000,000
Kirghiz -- 52.4%
2,490,573
-- -- -- 4.3%
2,490,573
5%
6,500,000
Russian 30%
5,019,390
18%
855,540
3.5%
230,253
6.7%
308,417
5.5%
1,383,528
13.5%
7,797,128
11%
14,500,000
Tajik -- -- 64.9%
4,269,563
-- 5%
1,257,753
9.6%
5,527,316
10%
13,200,000
Turkmen -- -- -- 77%
3,544,497
-- 6.1%
3,544,497
6%
8,000,000
Uzbek 2.5%
418,282
12.9%
613.137
25%
1,644,670
9.2%
423,498
80%
20,124,051
40.1%
23,223,638
35%
46,200,000
Total 90.59%
52,364,382
92%
121,500,000

 

Note:  2300 settlement patterns are posited to roughly parallel 20th century patterns, except for increased Kazakh presence in areas outside Kazakhstan, primarily in urban areas.  Minor populations (less than 2%) of various indigenous groups, Han Chinese/Manchurians, and others not shown.