Armed Forces of the Asari Republics
From FABT
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Active: |
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Organization: |
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Affiliation: |
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Branch: |
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Type: |
Armed Forces |
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Role: |
Defend and protect the Asari Republics |
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Size: |
59.3 million (active) |
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Part of: |
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Headquarters: |
"Long Table", 2.3 kilometers below Serrice, Thessia (726 BCE - 2186 CE) |
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Nickname(s): |
Asari military |
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Motto: |
"Defenders of all that is right." |
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Colors: |
Black and dark green |
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Anniversaries): |
Unification of Thessia |
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Engagements: |
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Commanders: |
Aressphea D'lalis (last) |
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Notable: |
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- "Defenders of all that is right."
- — Motto of the AFAR.
The Armed Forces of the Asari Republics (AFAR), also known as the Thessian Armed Forces and Asari Armed Forces, was the military component of the Asari Republics responsible for the defense and preservation of the Republics. It consisted of four branches: the Army of the Republics, Navy of the Republics, Liberty Watch and Commando Corps of the Asari Republics. Under the direct command of the Armed Forces High Command, the Armed Forces performed numerous activities to which contributed the safety and security of the Republics' borders with a focus on defensive warfare over offensive, as the philosophy of the asari armed forces was keeping any war as far from asari space as possible, and when fighting it to minimize casualties as much as possible with surgical precision and advanced mobility. The Asari Armed Forces were unique in that its most famous and renowned special operations unit, the Asari Commandos, represented an entire branch, as the Asari Commandos were first line of defense utilized by the Asari Republics in terrestrial deployments, with the Army only being deployed when full-scale war was inevitable or offensive operations required more than just a surgical edge. As such, the presence of asari commandos was frequent during peacetime, assigned to protecting powerful matriarchs and/or officials, or performing dangerous and challenging operations in the name of protecting the Republics from any and all threats that may attempt to bring it down. The Liberty Watch was the Armed Forces' dedicated search-and-rescue, interstellar security and law enforcement branch, performing a role closely associated to that of a space-faring equivalent of a coast guard.
The Armed Forces fought in numerous conflicts throughout its long history, the most notable of which being its first major war when it joined the Rachni Wars during its second phase to assist its salarian allies, and the two subsequent conflicts that followed up on it. After the Rachni Wars, the Asari Armed Forces went through serious organizational and attitude changes to more adequately fight alien aggressors, as it had utilized tactics normally reserved for fighting other asari that had proven wholly inadequate for fighting the hordes of the rachni. It also participated in the Krogan Rebellions, where it provided the bulk of the Council's military forces and thus suffered the brunt of the Tuchankan Empire's attacks until the arrival of the Turian Hierarchy forty-nine years into the war. This represented a turning point in the Armed Forces' history, as the Council began to rely heavily on the turians for martial power, and with the Turian Hierarchy assuming near total peacekeeping responsibility, the pressure on the Asari Republics decreased and it was able to begin focusing on more internal issues, as well as its responsibilities on the Council. This led to asari military spending being slashed over the centuries as more and more defense responsibilities were handed over to the turians, until eventually the asari practically relied upon them. The Army was neglected, with the Navy, Liberty Watch and Asari Commandos receiving most of the funding, with the commandos in particular being relied heavily upon to project asari strength, with the Navy in close support: the Ascension-class dreadnoughts built in 2115 CE, while the most powerful of their time, demonstrated the reckless attitude of the asari high command who were then beginning to rely on the production of dreadnoughts to project asari military power in the absence of its physical presence, and the new asari "free-spirited" attitude that had begun to take root since the Krogan Rebellions had seriously weakened the asari military, with recruitment numbers by 2183 CE being utterly pitiful as asari chose instead to sign up to mercenary bands or become strippers due to the more "no strings attached" policies surrounding them, with asari youth valuing self-gratification, entertainment and pleasure over service to one's country and people.
While these issues weren't immediately dangerous at the time, the Reaper War exposed them for all asari to see, with the Asari Armed Forces left paralyzed by indecision and disagreement on tactical policy that led to it reacting lethargically to the Reaper threat. Instead of using its enormous wealth and resources to go on the offensive, the Republics became insular and retreated within their own borders, abandoning their allies while the Asari Armed Forces were directed to only perform hit-and-run attacks on any Reaper forces entering their territory. Measures were taken by President Parcela M'kila to attempt to rectify some of these issues, the most controversial being the Thessian Emergency Conscription Act (2186) that introduced mandatory military service for all asari, including reinstatement of retired asari military personnel no matter what age, as well as bringing traditionally non-military but combat-based organizations, such as the Justicars, into the fold and granting their members high-ranking positions in the military and special powers. This and other actions helped to better prepare the Asari Armed Forces, but while their effectiveness improved over time, it was too litte too late by the time the Reapers finally began their offensive against the asari, especially once they lost their homeworld. After the war, attempts to act on the lessons learnt during the Reaper War failed due to their devastated economy and the additional sanctions placed upon them by the New Council for illegally harbouring prothean technology. This left the Asari Armed Forces in a pitiful state by the Post-Apocalyptic War, but High Command made use of what they had, and managed to marshal a fairly successful force out of what they had, obtaining some success. In the end, they were still inadequate to win the war, and once Thessia was lost for good, the remaining armed forces surrendered to the Galactic Dominion, and they were dissolved. A new asari military wouldn't be founded until after the Dominion Civil War, where it was restored as the Thessian Armed Forces.