Vespian Defense Forces

The Vespian Defense Forces, more commonly known as the VDF, are the federal military forces of the Unified Vespian Directorate. The VDF is responsible for the protection of the nation and its Vespian population, as well as protecting its interests throughout the galaxy. The federal military is under the commander of the Supreme Director of Vespia, who serves as the military's commander-in-chief. However, day-to-day management of the military is left to the Director of Defense Kiman Nazarova, and her military counterpart, Field Marshal Lisa Morgana.

Established in the wake of the Vespian Civil War, the VDF also serves to keep the Vespians in line by acting as peacekeepers whenever major households begin to fight over territory and resources within the Direcorate. Therefore, the VDF has an important role in the peacetime activities of the nation, ensuring that no household causes to much trouble that could potentially result in great harm to the Directorate as a whole. To date, the VDF has only been involved in two major conflicts, though maintains its each in combating Houseless pirates and mercenary forces located in the Outback Worlds.

Recruitment
The size of the VDF facilitates the need of the military to recruit billions of Vespians from all across the Directorate, giving rise to the largest military force ever assembled by the Vespian race. Drawing up Vespians from all ways of life and backgrounds, the VDF relies upon two forms of recruitment; volunteers and military household members. First off, recruitment into the Vespian Defense Forces is two-fold, entirely voluntary and entirely mandatory depending on one's background. Thanks to the plentiful supply of willing Vespian volunteers and the existence of the military houses, the VDF has never suffered from personnel shortages. Beginning with the volunteers, the federal government of Vespia maintains the right to recruit from any world regardless of one's gender or household, allowing for all Vespians to join the military freely. Millions of recruitment offices exist throughout all of the Directorate, and each doubles as a diplomatic mission as well. The moment one walks into the doors of a VDF recruiting center, they are governed by the laws of the Directorate, and not the laws of their homeworld. Currently, 65% of all personnel in the VDF are volunteers.

The second method of recruitment is through the military houses. During the time of the Great Solar War, the VDF was forced to rely upon the offspring of Vespian generals, who handed their children over to the military when several households, seeking to stay out of the war, refused to allow the recruitment of their family members into the military, and even used their relatives within the VDF to steal weapons and equipment. This practice of giving up millions of offspring to one's nation for the purpose of war and industry had been practiced in ancient times, and was revived during the war. Following the war, most of the VDF consisted of personnel belonging to one of twelve VDF commanders, who had all signed contracts agreeing to give up all of their offspring to the military in exchange for major postings within the armed forces. This resulted in the formation of the military houses, all households devoted entirely to the waging of war and conflict. Accounting for 35% of all personnel in the VDF, every child born in a military household is the property of the VDF, and trained for the entirety of their lives to serve in the military.

Because of the danger of households using family members within the military to gain political edges over their enemies, the VDF has often restricted certain postings to the military houses, while allowing for a certain number of volunteers to serve in certain positions to fill government-mandated quotas. This has resulted many criminals have a habit to flocking to VDF recruitment centers to avoid prosecution for their crimes, leading to a dangerously high percentage of VDF personnel hailing for criminal backgrounds. Men are rarely permitted into the military in spite of the federal government's recognition of complete equality in recruitment. The danger of having those responsible for producing the future generations of Vespians dying on the frontline has seen many VDF recruiting officers turn men away from their offices. However, in recent centuries, the government has made it easier for men to join the military, though often restricting them to desk jobs and low-risk environments. However, men have a much stronger chance at becoming officers than women do for very reason of keeping them out of danger.

All applicants to the VDF must pass a series of qualification tests before being considered for the military. First are the aptitude tests which last for about half a day, helping to discern the applicant's reasoning skills. Next is the personality profiling and assessment of the applicant's moral character. The VDF doesn't have high standards with regards to morality, but acknowledges the need for the federal military forces to present a certain face to the public, a face that is represented by its personnel. The rest of the tests involve physical fitness and the ability to work as a team, which are conducted over the span of a week. Only if the applicants can complete the last two successfully will they be considered for recruitment into the military. The tests conducted by the recruitment centers vary based on the branch of the military the applicant is signing up for. Those seeking to join the aerospace wings of the three major branches have lower physical fitness requirements, while those joining the marines have a higher bar they must pass to be deemed physically fit enough for that branch of the VDF.