Occitan Air Force: When Occitania achieved independence in the 1848 Revolution, they quickly organized a military structure based on the practices of the Ancient Romans and the procedures of their German allies. When the First World War broke out, they maintained their neutrality until the Italian invasions of Savoy and Nice. Ultimately, Occitania ceded the territories to Italy and left the war. In the years that followed, they heavily militarized their borders with Italy and France. The Spanish Civil War erupted in 1935 and forced the neglected Occitan Air Force to modernize. Shedding the Golden Cross of Toulouse as their national marker, they adopted a more traditional roundel which incorporated the cross. Being forced to defend their airspace from possible attack, the Occitan Air Arm grew rapidly and became one of the most powerful of Europe, rivaling those of Italy and Germany. Given the ferocity of the air war over Spain, particularly at night, the Occitan Air Arm was one of the first to develop two distinct roundels. One they used for day time flying, and one they used for night flying. This was the first recorded officially designated use of what would later be termed as "Low-observable" roundels.
Air Force roundels and markings thread
- Thread starter False Dmitri
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In 2020, the Third World War broke loose. Many expected the end of the world. But, due to both the fear of mutually assured destruction and the efficiency of missile defensive networks, use of nuclear weaponry remained limited to but a few regions in the Middle East. Mecca and Jerusalem remained safe, but Tehran and Riyadh were both annihilated in atomic fire. The effects of the blasts compounded the unspoken barring of nuclear weapons from the Theatres of war, and from the Kiev Offensive and Operation Protokletos to the Battle of Hong Kong and the Reclamation of Alaska, both the American-led Alliance for Freedom and the Russian-led New World Order held themselves in check. But the removal of this trump card resulted in the war crawling to a Stalemate. The Treaty of Wellington and the subsequent Malta Peace Accords left all sides bitter, but exhaustion and misery led to agreement. Many would claim that the NWO had gained the most, having achieved partial victory on most of their war aims, but the Allied forces all claim their ability to hold back the enemy from complete victory counted as a win on their part.
Irregardless of who truly won the war, the subsequent Cold War(s) and political deadlock affected the world dramatically. But perhaps nowhere more than in the United States. During the war, not only had a draft been enacted, but attacks on both coasts and the occupation of both Alaska and Puerto Rico had allowed for the declaration of martial law across the nation. People accepted this; the enemy could be paratrooping in any day now, they often said. But many were angry, not at the measures taken, but at the government for getting into the war that had brought those measures in the first place. When the stalemate first came, protests begged for peace, but more than a year and a half would pass before that peace would come. Soldiers returned, many having been taken from their Senior years of High School and even more from their first few years in college; the sheer number of young adults attending college and the increasing complexity of weaponry and tactics had caused their protection from draft to be removed. But banks and the government had kept their students loans on going, still adding interest and debt, and many colleges were hesitant to take so many veterans, with depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, and Borderline Personality Disorder being so prevalent in soldiers from a generation that had the highest rate of mental illness than almost any prior. Of course, most would point to the government's refusal to end martial law as what truly began the Second American Civil War. The veterans and war protesters rioted numerous times in areas that had begun to demilitarize, some from rallies that had gotten violent, and some from people simply wanting to get their aggression out. In the eyes of the Federal government, they had to use the tools at their disposal to keep America stable, lest the Russians and their allies see their weakness as a time to renew hostilities. In 2027, two years since the end of the Third World War, the United States of America began its crumble.
By the war's end, where there was once a single nation, there were now three. West of the Mississippi, the Confederation of American Republics stands resolute, the leading force in the war against the Federal government. From the capital of Denver, CAR control of both NORAD and the American Air Force Academy were what truly turned the tide in most engagements. To the East, everything South of Tennessee is a part of the Second Dixie Republic, whose forces, while allied with the CAR, ultimately chose their own independence. The remainder is still the United States of America, but the largely demoralized nation has retreated inwards, leaving the world to fend for itself.
The Siege of Chicago and the Battle of Kansas City are some of the most memorable of the Second American Civil War. They also marked the greatest moments in the history of both the CARAF and the CARDF respectively. The CAR Air Force is the offensive aerial wing of the military, and fights only abroad and on the front lines of any conflicts the Confederation finds itself in. In contrast, the CAR Defense Force is one conjoined Navy, Army, and Air Force, but only operates in the capacity of homeland defense, repelling any attempts to attack the nation. While the North American continent has stabilized, independent terrorist groups and paramilitary organization are still a constant threat, and the CARDF still finds itself busy, the Air Force off supporting allies abroad as the Confederation gained control of nearly all former-US military bases, and even gained the US seat in the increasingly irrelevant UN Security Council, justified by their control of the majority of the US military forces and nuclear weaponry. When the war first began, aerial forces to be sent to fight on the front lines had their roundels marked with red, and those meant to defend secured areas marked in yellow. By the second year into the war, CAR forces had begun to formalize as the new government came into being. Inspired by the same nine red stripes of the Sons of Liberty that was a part of the CAR flag, the CARAF began using the stripes to mark their fighters. Adapting as well, the CARDF took inspiration from the CAR battle flag, which would also be the flag of the Defense Force itself; black and yellow became the base, with the letters "DTOM" used as a shortening for the CARDF rally cry "Dont Tread On Me". After the end of the Civil War in 2032, both roundels were changed again. A blue ring was added onto the Air Force Roundel, and the DF roundel was altered to be more uniform and similar to the AF. Lastly, the Presidential Honor Guard is the small group of elite pilots chosen to escort Eagle One, the President's personal plane, to and from any and every location. These pilots also act as the President's body guards when on the ground, and as such are often some of the most capable soldiers in the CAR Military.
How prophetic is this short alternative now? Is civil war right around the corner?
Current politics remains current politics, even if it’s not current politics at all. Belongs in chat, man, right?