The Asylum Army

Priorities:

1. To act as bodyguards, protecting the person, home, instruments, studio, etc, of Miss Emilie Autumn
2. To conduct combat operations against enemies of EA
3. To defend EA fandom against all enemy action
4. To endeavour to spread the Plague further

The Army’s basic tactical unit is the squad, consisting of 5 soldiers: 4 Muffins, commanded by a Plague Rat. Most operations are conducted at this level, mostly establishing security for EA fans against rogue Dethkolk-exclusivity gangs. Groups of squads may co-ordinate for such operations. Command devolves to the squad commander whose squad has greatest seniority within the platoon, 2^nd squad having the Plague Rat with greatest seniority, and 9^th squad having the Plague Rat with the least.

Large area-control operations may be conducted at the platoon level. The platoon, consisting of 50 soldiers, is divided into 10 squads. 2^nd through 9^th squads are combat squads. 10^th squad is a medic squad. 1^st squad is the headquarters squad, serving as guards and staff to the platoon’s commander, typically a Chambermaid. 1^st squad is not a merely administrative unit, however, and may often see combat. When, rarely, multiple platoons embark on operations together, command devolves to the Chambermaid with highest seniority, that of 1^st platoon having highest, that of 9^th platoon the lowest.

Platoons are grouped into companies. There are 6 platoons in a company, plus the company commander and an at-large squad, which serves as her or his staff, for a total of 306 soldiers. The company, typically commanded by a Mad Girl, is mostly an administrative unit, overseeing operations by subsidiary platoons. However, in rare instances, entire companies may be engaged in single operations, under the direct command of their Mad Girl commander.

Companies are grouped into battalions, which consist of 5 companies, and a headquarters of 10, for a total size of 1,530 soldiers. Commanded by a Gothic Lolita, battalions are almost entirely administrative, as no battalion has itself ever been involved in combat operations. Nevertheless, the tactical abilities of Gothic Lolitas are quite honed, both by planning operations for their subsidiary companies, and in a rigorous regimen of exercises, intended to prepare the Army for a the outbreak of a major “war” against major hostile forces. The 6^th Platoon of E Company within a battalion is a medic platoon, handling all but initial first aid for most combat injuries.

5 battalions constitute a regiment, which, with a headquarters of 20, consists of a total of 7,720 soldiers. Commanded by an Opheliac, the regiment is an almost purely administrative unit, and the largest units of the current Asylum Army. Like battalion commanders, however, the Opheliac of a regiment is virtually constantly honing her or his combat skills, in preparation for a potential war. E Company of 5^th Battalion in each regiment is a hospital company, mostly handling recovering cases from within the regiment.

Though the regiment is the largest normal unit in the army, plans exist to establish divisions in wartime, heavily based on militia troops. The details of a division’s structure have not been established, though in the current literature, the rank of General is often tentatively assigned to divisional command. However, no such rank exists in the current Asylum Army.

Due to the irregular nature of the Army’s current tactical environment, logistic duties are carried out by combat troops, with the exception of administration, which is handled by regular unit headquarters. There is thus no need for a dedicated logistic service, at present, beyond the full-time services of a few members of the General Staff.

There are, at present, 4 regiments within the Asylum Army: 1^st (Opheliac), 2^nd (Enchant), 3^rd (Fight Like a Girl), and 4^th (Unlaced). In addition to a General Staff (in which the ranks of Asylum Administrator and Asylum Director may be found) of around 50, the Asylum Army thus consists of approximately 30,930 members.

Squads are numbered within platoons, and platoons within companies. Companies are known by the letters A through E within a battalion, while battalions are numbered within regiments, which are themselves numbered. Thus, a typical soldier may serve in 3^rd Squad, 5^th Platoon, B Company, 2^nd Battalion, 1^st Regiment (Opheliac). Both platoon and squad numbers are often used by themselves, but in conjunction; thus, our soldier belongs colloquially to the 53^rd squad. Company letters are often related by the NATO alphabet, and thus she belongs to Baker Company. The honorific names of regiments are rarely used colloquially, serving more as official honors.

The rank structure of the Asylum Army, with NATO-equivalent status, is below:

Muffin: E-2

Plague Rat: E-6

Chambermaid: O-2

Mad Girl: O-4

Gothic Lolita: O-6

Opheliac: O-7

Asylum Administrator: O-8

Asylum Director: O-9

Note that there is no sharp enlisted/officer distinction. A Chambermaid is simply a promoted Plague Rat, not an “officer” to the Plague Rat’s “NCO”.

The ranks’ insignia are black cheekhearts. A Muffin is denoted by one heart under the left eye, a Plague Rat by one under either eye, and the succeeding ranks to Opheliac by one more for each rank, from left to right. A Gothic Lotita thus carries three under her or his left eye, and two under her or his right, while an Opheliac has three under either eye. Asylum Administrators have one large heart under their left eye, Asylum Directors have one under each eye. Black is the only color used for any hearts, the use of red being reserved for Miss Autumn herself.