Kolechian Armed Forces Council Negotiations, Round 1Kolechia’s annual Armed Forces Council is taking place over several days in the Republican Halls, an old sprawling monarchical-era palace refurbished to serve as the city hall for the capital city. The council is an opportunity for the Army and the Navy to jockey for funding and prestige, the former of which is jointly controlled by the Minster for War, Ludwik Mazur and the Minister for Industrial Revolutions, Kacper Kowalczyk. While the Halls have many rooms spread across seven wings, the KPAF design team has somehow been assigned to the tiny servants’ quarters in the annexe, with several engineers having to make do with makeshift bedrolls.
The morning of the first day consists of a series of soporific speeches by the various branch heads and ministers, all hearkening back to some revolution or the other whose revolutionary spirit must be honoured by winning the war against the Verusans. In the afternoon, however, discussions begin in earnest about how best to prosecute the ongoing war.
In one of the many sitting rooms, some of the lower-ranked generals and admirals are meeting with the Kolechian Peoples’ Air Force. The KPAF designers have a number of interesting proposals for them.
First off is the proposal for transferring control of the Hykib balloon squadrons to the army and navy, along with the plans to manufacture them, in return for the army and navy taking over the maintenance costs of those squadrons.
1916 Armed Forces Council - KPAF Proposal 1 - Balloon Transfer:
In light of their utility being primarily of interest to ground/naval forces, we propose that control over existing stocks of Hykib Observation Balloons be transferred to the Army and Navy (3 squads/1 squad respectively), along with their crews. Construction plans will also be handed over, in the event that either wishes to mobilise more balloon squadrons. Maintenance costs will be borne by the controlling agencies, but no cost will be incurred for the initial handover ((we don't want to get paid for the balloons, we just want to stop paying for them)).
Both the army and navy are generally accepting of this proposal, although some generals would like to extract a guarantee from the KPAF that their fixed-wing airplanes will also be deployed to defend the balloon squadrons wherever they might be sent. If this deal is signed, it might create some goodwill for the KPAF with the army and navy.
Another proposal raised is the possibility of a joint petition to get helmets and lifejackets issued as part of the standard uniform for the army and navy respectively.
1916 Armed Forces Council - KPAF Proposal 2 - Uniform Standards:
Following the successful mass deployment of Tactical Escape Parachutes amongst KPAF airmen, we would like to suggest a joint petition by all branches of the armed forces to have standard uniforms augmented with helmets for the army, and life jackets for the navy. The life-saving potential of both objects outweighs any cost concerns, and will no doubt aid our great republic in bringing a swift end to this war.
While promising, most representatives point out that soldiers and sailors are sent out to battle with helmets and life jackets already – the problem is that the army and navy are paying for them, not the Ministry of War, which issues the standard uniforms. Still, the consensus is that there’s no harm in trying, and the petition is drawn up on the spot. If the KPAF consents, the petition could be presented to the Ministry as soon as the very next day.
The last proposal that is presented by the design team is that of a mutual development fund for naval aircraft and equipment, between the KPAF and the Kolechian Navy.
1916 Armed Forces Council - KPAF Proposal 3 - Naval Development:
The potential for aircraft to influence the naval theatre has never been in question, however the exact mechanism by which they should do so has been a trickier thing to figure out. To hasten Kolechia's bid for salty supremacy, KPAF would like to dedicate a portion of its time exclusively to developments in the naval field. To aid in this endeavour, we request a mutual development fund paid into by both KPAF and the Navy, to be used to develop and deploy naval aircraft and relevant equipment.
After experiencing first-hand the ‘potential for aircraft to influence the naval theatre’ at the hands of the Sky Crusaders, the navy admirals don’t need much convincing to see the merits of such a proposal, even though relations with the KPAF are still lukewarm. They do insist on some conditions, however. The first is that design projects undertaken with the fund should be approved by the navy - to ensure that they are what the admirals think are useful. The second is that the KPAF make a commitment to devoting time on navy-related developments, which would entail spending at least 1 die every turn on naval designs or revisions. In return, however, the navy is willing to pay out 3 PP every month into the fund, to be matched by the KPAF.
The meetings adjourn for dinner in one of the many dining rooms of the Halls, and the design team takes the opportunity to regroup over a meal. Now is the time to bring up new proposals or agree on counter-offers and amendments to the existing ones, before the night meetings take place.
(I haven't done your side's design yet, because only two people have voted so far for starting the aluminum alloy project. If no one votes against in a couple of days, I'll roll for it.)
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Topic: Knights of the Skies: Kolechia Thread - Early Summer 1916, Production Phase (Read 54523 times)