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My Little Pony: Warfare is Magic

North Equus Independent Group of Herds Treaty Orgaization: Ranks



NEIGHTO has a universal rank system. While the names of the ranks may change across nations, reflecting local languages, and the responsibilities might change, the ranks themselves follow structured order. Some nations don't assign certain existing ranks at all, while others make liberal use of them.


Kingdom of Equestria
As the largest NEIGHTO member - more or less a Fantasy United States - Equestria sets the tone for all the NEIGHTO partners, and since General K is the only real expert on warfare, much weight was given to his initial guidelines. Equestria makes liberal use of "Warrant Officer" ranks, as anyone with a rank of General or above can create someone to the rank of Warrant Officer 1 through 5, or spot-promote anyone below WO-5 up to that rank without Royal consent. Commissioning an Officer requires a Commission from the Royal Defense Advisor, Princesss Luna, or Princess Celestia.
(Click here to open) Equestrian Rank Insignia



Crystal Kingdom
The Crystal Kingdom is largely behind the times, and working out a proper rank structure took a little doing. Within the archaic rank structure of the Crystal Kingdom, existed "Ordinance Ranks" or, "Ordinance" in the Crystal Kingdom means "by Royal Ordinance (law), this designee is elevated above their peers." Thus, they were, by Ordinance, superior to others of the same rank. With the NEIGHTO standardization, these became separate ranks on their own. The tradition remained, however, and "Ordinance Ranks" are generally reserved for Team Leaders or administrative duties.

Interestingly, the Crystal Kingdom made use of something similar to "Warrant Officers" in antiquity, though they bore a different title - "Keeper." Keepers in ancient Crystal Kingdom culture were those that, literally, kept control of things. Before universal education in 807 B.C., the first Keepers were educated ponies largely from Equestria, Ambleion, and Prance. Since then, the title of "Keeper" in each major unit ("Lines" or modern Regiments) went to educated Ponies in charge of specific administrative affairs - lodgings, pay, equippage, recruiting, medicine, and so on. The tradition continues, with "Keepers" in the Air Navy retaining the title, while the Aero Marines, Army, and the newly formed Provincial Guard (Militia), would use the term "Warden" (Warden of Knowledge).

Considering that the first Crystal Kingdom only existed from about 682 B.C. to about 3 C.S., under Princess Amore, the level of martial culture that arose is rather well entrenched, even if the rank insigna are a little unusual. The officer ranks follow the precedence of gemstones - Sapphire to Emerald to Ruby, then all three with gold appointments, and finally, the Crystal Heart itself for the Lord General.

For obvious reasons, the Crystal Kingdom does not have a seperate Air Force - the Air Navy performs the functions of both an ocean-going navy and an Air Force.
(Click here to open) Crystal Kingdom Rank Insignia



Kingdom of Ambleon
As the second largest NEIGHTO member by military force contribution (virtually tied with Prance), Ambleon has had a long standing martial tradition. Both a small free standing army, and their "honourable troops," combined with Shetland Yard national police, and even a Territorial Guard (Town Guards), Ambleon already had a military force in place. They were, however, small before the war, and relatively poorly armed. The ranks that existed in the Ambelonian Forces were unequal, with some units even having their own rank charts within them entirely independent of the rest of the force. NEIGHTO standardization changed all of that.

Ambleon Warrant Officers were originally integral to the Enlisted or "Other Ranks." Seniormost NCO's would perform Warrant Officer-like functions and have a specific job, while still holding a senior NCO rank. Again, the NEIGHTO standardization changed this, and forced them to separate. The terms invented by the Ambleonian Air Force were partly replicated by the Equestrian Air Force and vice versa. Note that the Ambleonian Navy has different rank insigna.

The "Honourable Troops" of the Ambleonian Military include: The Royal Horse Guards Regiment, The Honourable Regiment of Artillery, The Grenadier, Coldstream, Ironish, Scots, Welsh, Manx and Cornish Guards Regiments, and finally, Her Majesty's Own Troop of Pony Guards (a Regiment as well). It should be strictly noted that the Royal Horse Guards, Grenadier, Coldstream, Ironish, Scots, Welsh, Manx, and Cornish regiments are front line combat units. The Honourable Regiment of Artillery and Her Majesty's Own Troop of Pony Guards perform the same functions as the Equestrian Royal Guards - defenders of the palace, Princess, and royal properties. They are, however, combat ready.
(Click here to open) Ambleonian Rank Insignia



Kingdom of Prance
Prance does not invest as much responsibility into its NCO classes. At the start of Prance's involvement in the war, Prench Combat Companies of 60 Ponies were led by a Lieutenant Colonel or Commandant, with a Capitane-Major or Commandant beneath them, then a Capitane, and two Lieutenants. Regiments are led by Colonels, and Battalions by a Colonel en Chef. Brigades are commanded by a Général de Brigade, and Divisions by a Général de Division - any superior formation is commanded by a Général de Division, but with a special designation (Général de division commandant un corps or commandant un groupe d'armées.) Prench Foreign Legion Companies would be staffed with both Legion and regular army officers, and nominally of one rank superior to the normal billet (Companies commanded by Colonels), as the Legion was initially not organized any higher than the Brigade level.

Prance's Gendarmerie uses the same ranks as the Army and Militia.

Prance is one of several European nations that doesn't make use of the Warrant Officer ranks except in Administration and Specialist roles. A Combat Regiment will have 2 Warrant Officers in the Headquarters Unit as Administrative Specalists overseeing logistics. Engineer Regiments often substitute junior Lieutenants for senior Warrant Officers. Medical Regiments will often rank Doctors with less than 2 years experience as an Officer Designate or OF-(D), and nurses with more than 8 years experience as Warrant Officers or Officers.
(Click here to open) Prench Rank Insignia



United Kingdom of Germaneigh
Germaneigh has a martial tradition, but one primarily maintained by what used to be parade formations and peace keepers. As with much of Europe, Germaneigh led a very peaceful existence the last several hundred years. They did maintain a professional police agency - Polizeigewerkschaft Deutscher Länder - that covers the greater German kingdom and its smaller political entities (Archduchy of Austridia, Archduchy of Danemark, Duchy of Bitvaria, Duchy of Sireaxony, Duchy of Markingsburg, Duchy of Harnesse-Rhine). Germaneigh itself may be a unified political entity on the top level, but much power is ceded to its constituent Duchies, and smaller local independent cities and counties.

Royal "Germane" land spans 65% of the nation's territory, but with the remaining 45% being quasi-independent, semi-autonomous entities, certain functions being strictly the domain of the Royal government are rare. Even the Germane Army wasn't initially an entity that covered all the Duchies and independent regions. It wasn't until War Day 512 that ALL of the semi-independent territories agreed to contribute to the unified Germane Army and Air Force. The Duchies still insisted on fielding their own "home" regiments and brigades, raised and funded entirely within those Duchies and ostensibly independent of the national command structure unless mobilized. They did, however, agree to recognize only one Admiral or Marschall der Konigsreich - provided that a sub-rank of "General der [Duchy]" also existed, as an OF-10+ rank, superior to the unified Royal rank of "Generaloberst."

The Germane Navy has always been a Royal institution. With the creation of the Germane Marines (Marinekampftruppe) and Air Force (Luftwaffe), they, too, became Royal level entities, though the Archduchies of Danemark and Austridia did create their own Air Corps Reserve (Herzogliches Fliegerkorps Reservetruppen) commanded by an OF-09 (General der Herzoglichen Flugkorpsreserve). The independent town militia forces were organized into regional Städtischer Grenzschutz (Town Border Guards), and each Duchy and each County of Royal Germaneigh has their own command structure. The Germane Royal Guard is an independent, unified entity that provides close protection to both the Prince and the Dukes/Duchesses of the Realm, and Royal properties. They are not a front line combat force, though they are combat trained and ready.
(Click here to open) Kingdom of Germaneigh Rank Insignia



Roaman Empire
The Roaman Empire is a little odd. For them, all "special operations" type missions - amphibious landings, paratrooper assault, alpine assault and so on - are performed by the Legions of Rome. Thus, they replace the Marine Forces as well as special forces and Airborne troops. The Legion has its own rank titles, as a result. The Air Force, Army, National Guard, and National Police (Carabinieri) all use the same rank system. Unlike some other European nations, Roam made use of something similar to a Warrant Officer Corps - the "Marshals" (Maresciallo). Formerly named "Camp Marshals of Order and Keeping" (Marescialli del campo di ordine e mantenimento), the Camp Marshals once had the duty of ensuring everything from lodgings, to food preparation and management, paymasters, and so on. This used to be a system of 24 different ranks with different orders of precedence, but NEIGHTO standardization reduced this to 5 ranks, while retaining the titles.

Roam has always had far less responsibility placed in its NCO Corps than it did Camp Marshals and Officers. Even in front line combat units, it's very likely that a Maresciallo will be in a leadership position, instead of a Sergeant or Corporal. Only the senior-most Sergeants are entrusted with any serious leadership responsibiliy. Again, the Legions are different, where the Tesserarius are assigned only to administrative and logistical roles, while the upper six NCO ranks take on senior leadership responsibility over the Enlisted troops, and even an OR-5 is capable enough to command a Squad.

Vastly different from every other European nation, Roam does not have a seperate Royal Guard. Unlike Earth's Rome, where the Legions were forbidden from entering the City of Rome itself, the Praetorian Guard of Rome is a Legion Cohort in the Empire of Roam. As such, they use Legion ranks.
(Click here to open) Roaman Rank Insignia



Empire of Neighpon
Neighpon had a small military before the war began, including a proper Navy. The military, unlike most of Europe, was both armed and somewhat experienced in what little combat was to be had before the war started. However, they were horribly outmatched in arms and numbers by Tirek's multiple divisions that invaded. General K helped reorganize the Neighponese military into a more professional fighting force, along modern lines, after the initial invasion.

As Neighpon's military originated with an Army and grew from there, with each branch spawning directly from it, all the ranks are fairly similar in name. They're a generic descriptor of the rank itself, in Neighponese. Neighpon has a very strong martial tradition, stronger than even Germaneigh, with the original Bushin being the leaders of the military as a council, and each one being assigned to tasks as situations arose, making them the chiefs of whatever operation they were assigned to. The lower ranks were strictly trained, and drilled. The officer corps were made of educated middle class and higher members of society that were (initially) granted officer rank after some years as enlisted soldiers, and then recognized for their higher levels of education. Warrant Officers - here called "Regulatory Officers" - performed roles very similar to the Regulator Corps of Vulpesylvania, but without the assumed authority or cross-branch cooperation. Since the war started, officers have been raised from the ranks based on combat aptitude.

The NCO Corps in Neighpon doesn't start until OF-07. Anyone who has less than two years of service, that joined after the Liberation of Nieghpon, cannot become an NCO unless they display absolutely extraordinary skill. Any personnel that were a part of the Neighponese Liberation Force is qualified to be an NCO automatically, and most were either promoted to that rank to lead the expanding army, or were moved up to Regulatory Officer (Warrant Officer), or Officer Candidate or Field Officer positions by 1005 C.S., with any who hadn't retired from service for medical reasons, largely joining the unarmed Civilian Auxiliary Corps to assist with reconstruction of the country, and its production of military equipment.

Neighpon does not have a Royal Guard like the other nations. Instead, the Army guards where needed, and the Bushi were the direct protectors of the Imperial Highness. The National Police also have a division that is specifically tasked with protection of royal and governmental offcials. This unit may both be in National Police uniforms, or in plain clothes.
(Click here to open) Neighponese Rank Insignia



Principality of Vulpesylvania
Taking most of their cue from Poleland, and observing their NEIGHTO standardization, Vulpesylvania prepared itself to join NEIGHTO by aligning its force and rank structure with the NEIGHTO standard before ever coming to Canterlot in 1004 C.S. to request membership. An interesting division of rank and department, is that the Commanding Flag Officer of the Vulpesylvanian Military inherits their department's specific "Chief" title, but is the only flag officer of that grade (OF-11). Upon induction of the Vulpesylvanian Military in 1004 C.S., the military as a whole was commanded by Ordained Knight Sienna Sharpeye.

The "Regulator Corps" within the Vulpesylvanian Military are an interesting study in the "Warrant Officer" concept - any Fox from any Branch promoted to the rank of Regulator for being and advanced or highly experienced specialist in their field of study, may be assigned to ANY Department (Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, National Police or Royal Guard), regardless of their Department of Origin, based on a required need of such a technical specialist within that unit. Several "Joint Offices" such as the Miltary Judge Advocate Corps, Miltary Central Arsenal Corps, and Military Corps of Engineers and Fabricators, also exist that mix personnel from multiple branches, based on what's needed at a specific location. As such, "Regulators" command a great deal of respect, and while they are not afforded an Officer's seniority automatically, they may be placed senior to Officers equal to or lesser than their comparitive "WO-0#" number (i.e. a WO-04 Chief Regulator can be placed senior to an OF-04 Captain Prime or below), for very specific and narrowly-defined reasons. Examples include a WO-04 Chief Regulator from the National Police serving as a Judge in a Disciplinary Hearing, where the Prosecutor and Defender are both Army OF-04 Captain Primes or below, the two Army Officers must treat the National Police Regulator as senior to them while in the court room, during proceedings.

The rank "Stratarches" is special, and ancient, and was last used as the rank designation of the commander of all Vulpesylvanian forces back when they had a king. The rank was resurrected as the rank designation for General K during the Vulpesylvanian-Macedonkian War of Reconquest in 1005 C.S.
(Click here to open) Vulpesylvanian Rank Insignia



Griffon Kingdom
One of the later entrants to the NEIGHTO Alliance, the Griffon Kingdom had a very eclectic mish-mash of Town Guard forces that functioned as everything from a local militia to a police force. The Royal Guards were a collection of 102 of the toughest birds in the flock - the former Council of Lords each having an entourage of personal Royal Guards and Attendants all to themselves. When the Griffons joined NEIGHTO, King Gorcat I aligned the officer ranks with Equestria's, as no actual "officer class" existed, other than designated leaders of town guard formations, and the Lords or Ladies being the "commanders" of their individual guard teams. The terms "Hatchling," "Aviant," "Tectrix" and "Hunter" were generalized slang terms for Town Guards at different levels of experience, but not official ranks by any means. "Filoplumers" were an old term used for inspectors and administrative advisors to Royalty, and the term was re-used for the Warrant Officer ranks.

Since the Griffon Kingdom is land-locked and did not develop a seperate "Air Navy" like the Crystal Kingdom, it has no equivalent of, nor did it organizationally require, thus, a "Marine Force." The doctrinal responsibility of shock troopers, specialized assault forces, and so on - the nominal job of a Marine force - instead fell to the Army's Airborne Regiments. With such a consolidation, the Griffon Kingdom didn't bother to establish multiple seperate rank systems, instead using a single unified one. Royal Guards append the suffix "of the Guard" to their rank, to denote their elite status, but are entirely reserved to close protection duties for the Royal Family, Royal Palace, and Royal Estates, making them a very small force component. Former Town Guards add the prefix "Municipal Guard" and newly-designated Gendarmes add "Gendarmes" or "Detective" (if so assigned) to their ranks for similar reasons - to denote them as the equivalent of Miltia or Law Enforcement.

A civilian law enforcement organ exists within the Griffon Kingdom, that of the "Marshal of the Courts." These special deputies are Griffons of high reputation that are granted the position of "Deputy Marshal" or "Marshal" by the Supreme Court of the Griffon Kingdom. Besides the designation of "Deputy Marshal" or "Marshal" (specifically for leaders of Deputies within specific court circuits), no other rank exists.

The Officer, Warrant Officer, and the two highest NCO ranks use collar insignia, while the lower NCO and Enlisted use sleeve insignia.
(Click here to open) Griffonic Rank Insignia



Kingdom of Navarre
Navarre started out with a regulated military that served as a constabulary force to keep peace in times of national crisis, as well as a parade troupe, and as a ceremonial force for official functions. While they were trained in close-order drills, they were largely inexperienced in combat tactics. When the Civil War came, the nation was undergoing a transformation, with its first locally produced firearms and its first combat-trained brigade beginning to seriously take shape. The Civil War destroyed a lot of this progress, but also opened Navarre up to introduction to NEIGHTO command style, and leadership. Navarre emerged from the war as a NEIGHTO partner, but one that took time to reconstruct its military force into something serious.

Navarese officers are just as likely to come from high society as they are from the middle classes, as the former bar to entry was simply completion of full secondary school education, and completion of an officer's course if they displayed specialist skill in some area. Line officers attended the Royal Military Academy in Barcelona, which usually required a note of introduction from the local Alcalde, or a Royal official. As such Officers are expected to be educated both in military arts, as well as comprehensive general education. Certain persons during the Civil War that displayed aptitude for leadership were given battlefield commissions, but attended Officer School at the Academy after the war concluded.

The NCO Corps of the Navarese Army are generally made up of skilled tradesponies who display leadership skill and talent at organization and pony management. As such, they're quite professional, and entrusted with tasks to a greater degree of responsibility than some other NEIGHTO European forces. They're skilled enough to be entrusted to lead platoons at a high enough rank and with enough experience, if no officers are immediately available. This is in contrast to most other European armies that demand an Officer command a Platoon, and even a Squad be led by at least a Warrant Officer or Officer Candidate, or a fresh OF-01.

The Navarese Royal Guard is somewhat unique, in that the lowest ranked actual Knighted Goats are equated to Warrant Officers, and command formations in the Royal Guard itself. The Navarese Royal Guard performs various important combat functions, from Elite Shock Troops, to Deep Reconnaisence/Cavalry Scouts, to missions requiring Elite Light Infantry. In this way, Navarese Special Forces are smaller, more highly specialized units. As such, Navarre has more actual Knights than any other NEIGHTO nation that recognizes such a title as anything other than an honorific.
(Click here to open) Navarese Rank Insignia


Kingdom of the Neigtherlands
The Royal Armed Forces of Princess Wilhelmina and the Ponies of the Neigtherlands have a long history of colonization far from Europe. While this was largely peaceful, the Dutch were an ancillary participant in the Cervine Wars, and developed a more professional military as a result. While the nation was embroiled in intrigue soon after the Tirek War began, it became a member of NEIGHTO eventually, after the East Indies Campaign. Its military ranks were already fairly close to NEIGHTO standards, and were adjusted slightly once the alliance was formalized.

The Dutch Officer Corps are professionally trained, and often have a lot of experience in military management, and at least some exposure to risk, though little actual combat. The Officer Corps are made up of the middle and upper classes, and have received excellent general education as a result. The NCO Corps are usually tradesponies or skilled laborers. All of the Regulators are ponies of education - the Regulators performing oversight and leadership of important logistical, administrative, and highly complex technical units and offices. It's not unusual to find a Regulator in a specialized management role with a Doctorate, and a Master's Degree is the minimum level of required education. In this sense, they have much in common with Equestria's take on the Warrant Officer concept.

Generally speaking, the Dutch military reserves combat command roles for those of Sergeant rank or above, in line with other European militaries, and does not shy away from assigning Candidate Officers to command even Fire Teams of two Squads, with Officers always leading Platoon and higher formations. While the Dutch do have Native Troops from the East Indies, they use identical rank structure and titles as their parent organizations, and simply have a special assignment designation to denote their service in a Colony unit. They are armed and equipped as well as National troops, and usually led by them as well, at the Company and Battalion level.

The Neigtherlands has no Royal Guard force. Instead, the Neigtherlands Army has a specific unit - the Royal House Guard Regiment - that performs the basic ceremonial and security functions of a Royal Guard force in other European Militaries, along with the Royal Marechausse (Gendarmes) having their own Royal Protection Unit that directly protects the Princess and other Royal figures. The term "Marechausee" derives from the Prench word for "Marshalcy" - referring to Royal Court Marshals that once patrolled the land as a centralized law enforcement agency. While the Prench term evolved into "Gendarmerie," the Dutch use the original Prench word, though the functions are identical - a militarized police force.

As the islands of the Neigtherlands are a rather small territory overall, they have no local militia units. Protection of the homeland is entirely entrusted to the Military proper, and the Marechausse, locally. Colonial forces are usually based at the towns and cities the units are drawn from.
(Click here to open) Neigtherland's Rank Insignia


Republic of Canida
The Republic of Canida was founded by Canids as a Representative Parliamentary Republic thanks to some influence from Ambleion in antiquity, but are nor part of the Ambleonian realm. They still have some slightly similar inclinations to Ambleion in a few cultural aspects. One of which was military ranking. The titles are fairly similar in many aspects, and have some similarity to Equestria as well. Despite Canida's fairly small population, they field a sizable military that is capable of punching far above its weight.

As Canida does not have an aristocratic class, officers can be from any walk of life, though they're likely to be from middle and upper middle class families. Some of the lower class can easily achieve officer status through field commission, which automatically guarantees them entry into the National Military Academy. NCO's are normally very experienced, and unlike European military forces - and more like Equestria - a highly ranked NCO might be in command of a full Platoon of soldiers, depending on the unit in question, and NCO's are entrusted with command responsibility and comparitively lower rank than in Europe. The Non-Commissioned School at Kinston, Skandario provides professional skill training to Professional NCO's (rank of OR-06 or higher), both in command and combat tactics, as well as professional education in trades. Warrant Officers in Canida are much like those in Equestria - educated professionals performing administrative command over enlisted specialists in specific roles, and providing collegiate-level educational experience and training to those duty posts. Warrant Officers in Canida are also the lower ranks for specific job posts, such as new pilots, Navy navigators graduating from the Naval Academy, and so on. These personnel are on track to become Officers, but are set as Warrant Officers until completion of an apprenticeship under more experienced command officers.

Canida's defense system works on two levels. First is the Canidan Forces, or the professional military. The Canadian Forces consist of seven numbered units - 1st through 7th Combat Commands. Nominally, these are staffed by Brigade-sized active duty formations. When a Combat Command needs to be readied for deployment, they call up the Canidan Republic Militia to fill out the numbered Combat Commands. Militia units are trained and set up like Active Duty units, but are based locally and entirely drawn from their local population, and often have geographic titles - like the Yellowknife Highlanders, which consists of 2 Infantry Battalions, 1 Cavalry Battalion, and 1 Logistical Services Battalion. Each one of those subordinate units "slot in" to one of the numbered formations, and can be placed anywhere on the organizational table they're needed. So, the Yellowknife Highlanders 1st Infantry Battalion could be in 1st Combat Command, while the 2nd Battalion could be in 2nd Combat Command, and so on. This grants Canida the flexibility of fielding 2 Field Armies oof different composition as the need arsise, with a reserve Combat Command to offer immediate replacement for battered units. For obvious reasons, Canida does not have a Royal Guard unit, though the CF 1st Combat Command has a Ceremonial Fife, Pipe, and Drum Regiment and the Parliament's Own Fencibles unit to provide ceremonial duty.

Below the Militia formations are the Fencibles - these are local-only self defense units of the Canidan military and are not to be deployed outside of the country. Fencibles are trained as well as the regular military, but may contain personnel too young, too old, or suffering from some injury or condition that would not allow them to serve in the Canidan Forces or Militia. It may be led by former CF or Militia personnel that have retired from active service, or by chance, local elected officials.

Unlike many militaries in NEIGHTO, Canida does not have a separate Marine Corps. Instead, it has the CF Army Maritime Division. Itself a CF national level unit, the 1 Maritime Brigade is an active duty CF unit, while 2 Maritime Brigade and 3 Maritime Brigade are militia units from Barkover (Barkover Marine Fusiliers), and Thunder Bay (Thunder Bay Longshoredogs). All Air Force units are either Fencibles or national level active duty CF units. The Canidan Navy is entirely a national level organization, though the Canidan Coast Guards is another unit under the command of the Navy Department that focuses on ocean search and rescue, but with the war, now field armed Cutters for coastal protection duties, and function similarly to Fencibles units, as they're all locally based.

The Police Services of Canida are divided between units based in major cities such as Otterwa and Terrieronto, and the Canidan Sled and Mounted Police (CSMP). The CSMP provides both national level law enforcement, and policing services in remote areas that don't have a local police force. They are a fusion of the former Northern Sled Patrol and the Canidan Republic Mounted Constabulary, and were unified in 825 C.S. The CSMP also staffs rural fire departments and ambulance services as needed. The original "Mounted Constabulary" referred to an old term for a canid carrying a large amount of supplies and gear on their backs for long trips - or being "well mounted" for explorations into the wilderness, before Canida was largely settled.
(Click here to open) Canidan Rank Insignia