1 post tagged “atef”
After the graffiti intermission (and the l33tspeak I couldn't resist), we will continue with Alliance military operations...
The Alliance has a special military branch named Alliance Treaty Enforcement (ATEF). At the time of the Emeki Civil War, roughly 300 Earth years ago, the ATEF had a very limited mandate in most cases, and was a small and inefficient force which rarely saw action due to the Alliance policy of non-interference. During and after the very bloody civil war, a consensus had emerged that change was necessary, and the ATEF was expanded. However, it was still not a rapid reaction force by any means, and it was still severely limited by the non-interference principle - usually by the time Alliance decision making sent the troops in, it was already too late in several senses of the word.
Another wave of expansion followed 160 Earth years ago, with the incorporation of special units showcasing the unique strengths of member worlds. Eren sent a unit specifically trained in māwal-based reconnaissance. Later, infantry units trained in māwal combat were also added, and the Alliance increasingly began to rely on these for the bulk of their operations.
The next big political shakeup happened approximately 120 Earth years ago (I should come up with a shorthand for this, or post my long calendar rant I have on my laptop... hmm), when an Ereni unit could not stop inter-ethnic violence and sustained losses itself because it did not have a proper mandate to intervene. The commander, Rāwamaurel, deeply shaken by what happened, renounced his Ereni citizenship and disappeared for months - only to reappear on Central and commit a very public suicide in front of the Alliance Central Assembly, injuring many. The event had shaken the public on many worlds, and soon large-scale reforms were implemented. (As to why this unfortunate event didn't backfire and ruin the reputation of Eren, I am planning on posting a quite detailed writeup of exactly what transpired.)
In most part thanks to these reforms, the ATEF is currently a powerful
force, which can and does engage in operations of a wide range, not
just conventional peacekeeping, but more often than not actual peace
enforcement. This also suits the general trend of the Alliance becoming
a truly supranational body, with member worlds ceding more and more of
their sovereignty to it. Currently, the Alliance most closely resembles
the European Union, if we need an Earth example; while 500 years ago it
was more like the United Nations. As to where this tendency of
unification will stop... who knows?
