History of the Carlysle Royal Military AcademyWithin a short time after his succession, Duke Leopold II was convinced of the necessity of a capable corps of officers. He turned this task over to his son Isidor. After all, the young man himself had fought Mad Leopold's armies as an officer with the Lasse army. Moreover, tension was high between Carlysle and the Hobertys. Even though a cease-fire had been called, no peace treaty had been signed yet. The need for well-trained officers was urgent. Isidor seconded lieutenant colonel Edouard Castille for this task, who in 3143 was given the task to establish an academy for the formation of officers. Already at the beginning of the 30th century there were academies in the Carlysle regions, where pages were trained in such skills as horseriding, mathematics and fencing, as a preparation to a possible career as an officer. Between 2970 and 3137 the ducal houses each had their own version of a military academy. Only after the ascendance of Leopold II in 3137 does the evolution take its proper course. The Military Academy was founded in 3143, at a time when Aquilan politics were still in a state of reform. Its first purpose was to form the officers of the artillery and the engineers. This is not surprising, because the appointment of lieutenant Colonel Castille, its first commander, a child of the house Minor Cavendish, meant that preference was given to the Cavendish model of the Escuela Político. Officers of other service only got practical training and usually came up through the ranks of NCOs. Only in 3158 did the general staff move to a yearly recruitment for the other services. Until 3187 the academy was situated in the Calle de Luces in the lands of Cavendish, but because of political reasons, it moved to the Terkameren Abbey. This occurence had the healthy side-effect of making the school a non-political entity, to the distress of the then current Duke Osgood III. The nearby city of Cerhous donated a plot of land, close to the former training grounds of Linthout. Moreover, a number of adjoining plots was purchased. In this way, the Military Academy finally arrived at its present location in the Avenida del Renacimiento. Upon the death of Leopold III, the new Maun Duke disbanded the Military Academy, its state only being restored after the attempted invasion of Aquila. Thus it was that when its worth was verified in the desparate years thereafter, its composition had to begin again almost from scratch. Military gear had been removed and its officers and NCOs had been dispersed across the different units. Yet, at the end of 3369 the new promotions made their entry into the academy. In 3383, House Carlysle celebrated the achievements of its academy along with all of Aquila, upon it was bestowed many honours amongst which a new name: from then on the Military Academy could be proud of its epithet "Royal". This did carry the side effect of adjuncting House Carlysle most heavily with the Ducal house. By the provisions of the commission, Carlysle became the only major house with no muster- it's military was considered indivisible from the military of Aquila. In 3443, the academy celebrated its tri-centenary by introducing many innovations: among these was the agreement of 3443 forming the Carlysle Dragoons, a series of mercenary companies to serve offworld; this was meant to give practical combat training for the members of what had become the defense force for Aquila, and to introduce them to advanced weaponry. Recruiting was also expanded to include all houses, making the academy truly an Aquilan institution. In 3468 lectures were for the first time given in the native languages of the recruits to the 96th Artillery-Engineers and the 81st Infantry-Cavalry. As a compromise with Lasse objections, the Dragoons training and deployment section was moved off-world to a moon of the planet <x>. In addition, the Dragoons were prohibited from having a space arm; a Lasse outpost was implemented orbiting the moon. This had a two-fold effect. The Dragoons were dependent on the Lasse for all transport and orbital support, and the Lasse were spared having to maintain an infantry arm for their protections of Aquila. Another more unwelcome effect was that Lasse pilots were required to train for a limited time with the Dragoons to facilitate joint operations. Thus, a commission was created to plot a new course for the RMA on Aquila: a scientific formation at university level, complemented by a basic military training. Also the character building of the leader and his integration into a democratic regime were seen to be very important. Two streams of studies came into existence, each with its own specific aims. The Polytechnic division replaced the former Artillery-Engineering Section, with courses lasting five years. The pre-war Infantry-Cavalry section was supplanted by the All Arms division. Laboratories were equipped again for practical work and for scientific research. Basic military training was adapted to modern warfare and now started with a stint in the field. The academy introduced a new kind of discipline, which allowed the candidates to develop their personalities and moral defences. Also "godparenthood" and bonds of friendship with foreign military academies were to contribute to this aim. The new program of the Polytechnics division answered four needs: a wide scientific basis, a thorough general education, a practice-based orientation and an irrefutable military character. For the All Arms division, the commission, in charge of reorganising the Royal Military Academy, introduced a proposal to change the courses into a technical training adapted to the ever-increasing mechanisation of the armed forces. Others were more in favour of a formation, based on a scientific education, and "in which military discipline finds its roots". In the end, a compromise was reached: a three-year programme with exact and behavioural sciences. Only three promotions were to follow this programme. During the Ossian War, the Royal Military Academy was temporarily obliged to reduce the All Arms officer training to two years. In 3485 the curriculum was again expanded to three years, whereas in 3492 the Minister of Defence decided to add another year to the All Arms formation, making it four years: equivalent to a "licence" in social sciences. As it became apparent that the studies needed for the support of such a large company could not be engendered at the technical level maintained on the homeworld, the advanced training levels of the course were moved offworld, making a final promotion inevitable- the fifth year studies to be held at the Carlysle facilities offworld. Though all do not choose to take the road of the Dragoons, all are trained in the technologies necessary to support such. Though one would not think that this training would be in much demand on Aquila, the reverse is actually true- many of the exercises involve theories that are useful in much of Aquila's level of industry. Carlysle Polytechnic graduates are in demand in many non-military applications of Aquilan business ventures. For some time, the RMA has no longer educated gendarmes and any reference to the Polytechnic faculty refers in its stead to the faculty for Social and Military Sciences and the industrial engineers take their courses in the Special Division. Since 3497, the RMA has also adopted the bachelor-master system, with the bachelor degrees encompassing the first three years, and the master degree the last two. |
