Barsburg Armed Forces

The Barsburg Armed Forces encompasses the army, the navy and the air force of the Barsburg Empire. Its base is located at Hohburg Fortress. Members of the Barsburg Armed Forces have been seen acting as soldiers, as well as everyday law enforcers such as police officers, in every continent of the Empire. They play a crucial role in the storyline of the 07-Ghost series, being responsible for many of the events that have damaged the main characters emotionally (e.g. the case of Teito Klein, Ouka) or physically (e.g. the case of Weldeschtein Krom Raggs, Mikage).

Barsburg's military force is seen as the strongest and most advanced one in 07-Ghost, as it was able to conquer more than half the world in the series. Despite its intended purpose, (or its purpose on the surface) to defend and act in the best interests of the Empire, many of those in the higher positions have been shown to be corrupt (e.g. using the military's finances to pay for their dinner, manga chapter 8), taking advantage of their positions in the army to get the Eyes for their personal wish (e.g. Ayanami), or giving the masses false information so as to conceal the military's real actions (e.g. Wakaba Oak), as well as violent (e.g. Ayanami killed a soldier for disobeying him).

Many of the characters serving in the army also serve as the antagonists in the 07-Ghost series, such as the case of Ayanami (used to be the Chief of Staff of the Army), Chairman Miroku (the former field marshal and the current Chairman of the Army) and Wakaba Oak (the field marshal since the Raggs War until his death in manga chapter 74), who have all participated in the Raggs War.

Origin
It is virtually unknown what date the Imperial Army was founded and by whom, but it is definite it was many decades before the Raggs War, as by then the military already boasted advanced equipment and trained soldiers.

During the War with Raggs
The Imperial Army of Barsburg played an enormous role in the Raggs War, being their opponents, and the ones responsible for Raggs's destruction and the cleansing of the Raggs bloodline. The Imperial Army were deployed by the King of Barsburg soon after the War was declared; their heavily armed ground troops attacking the Black Beast Squadron from the ground, and their Ribidziles levelling buildings from the skies.

Due to the far more advanced equipment and weaponry (including the use of the Ribidzile), greater numbers and the element of surprise, Raggs proved an easy target for the Imperial Army.

Post Raggs War
After Raggs, the Imperial Armed Forces continued to expand its Empire over the course of 10 years and was powerful enough to conquer more continents before the series began.

The Sky Pirate Subjugation
During this 10 year gap the Imperial Amy waged War on the Sky Pirates in their bid to control the skies, and this resulted in the number of Sky Pirates dwindling.

Antwort War
After Barsburg conquered Raggs, she started to search for the other Eye not only in the territories that had belonged to Raggs, but also the allies of Raggs (hence invading them). Antwort was one of the allies of Raggs. The daughter of King Antwort, Princess Vanessa Antwort, married King Weldeschtein Krom Raggs, and she became the queen of Raggs (manga chapter 68). When war broke out between Barsburg and Raggs more than ten years ago, Antwort seceded from the alliance (manga chapter 26).

The earliest mention of the conflict with Antwort was during one of the military meetings, where the Barsburg officers discussed how Antwort was amassing its army. Eventually, the then Chief of Staff Ayanami was sent to Antwort, and Barsburg took Antwort within a week, thereafter taking it as part of the Barsburg Empire.

Army (陸軍 Rikugun)
The Barsburg Army is comprised mostly of foot soldiers, this army being undoubtedly the most powerful in the 07-Ghost universe.

Notable figures

 * Miroku Barsburg (Currently chairman, formerly field-marshal)
 * Wakaba Oak  (Field-marshal until his murder)
 * Ayanami  (Currently field-marshal, formerly Chief of Staff)
 * Ogi  (major-general in the first fleet)
 * Shiroki  (major-general in the second fleet)
 * Nabiki  (major-general in the third fleet)

Air force (空軍 Kungun)
Named characters from the air force have not appeared so far, but it is presumed that Barsburg must have an air force, as in Tiashe's memories (manga) it is shown that large aircrafts have been used to bombard Raggs during the Raggs War.

Navy (海軍 Kaigun)
Information unknown, but because Barsburg has a long marine border, it is presumed that she must have a navy.

Border control
The border control are the guards stationed at each border of the Districts. Their job is to monitor who enters and exits the Districts, possibly to prevent wanted criminals escaping the Empire (as the first Drama CD suggests). If faced with someone trying to cross the border illegally, they have no qualms about open firing.

Uniform
The standard uniform consists of a black, or dark blue, ankle-length overcoat with golden trimmings on the chest, sleeve cuffs and neck guard. They wear black trousers, knee-length, black, buckled boots, and white gloves. They also wear plain white shirts under their overcoats, and have a small half mantle hanging off the left shoulder emblazoned with the Barsburg military insignia and a golden shoulder board on the right.

Admission
Trained since teenagers, the Imperial Army's impressive war record has been due to the combination of effective soldiers and advanced equipment. The army makes use of military boarding schools such as the Barsburg Military Academy to train potential soldiers to a notably high standard, where students are required to pass a final test in combat in order to graduate from student to cadet begleiter.

Those with a Zaiphon are trained to release sudden bursts of energy so they can eliminate opponents in the shortest time possible.

Criteria
Soldiers-to-be are required to keep a cool head during all situations and are required to work well in groups seen during the final exam as those who panic and/or abandon their comrades are (normally) disqualified and refused entry into the army until improvement. The exam is notably difficult to ensure only the best succeed, with a pass rate of 1 in 25.

Once the candidate has proven themselves to be an effective combatant, they begin the cadet Begleiter stage where they must prove themselves responsible, punctual and good at following orders, with those who fail the criteria being forced to repeat the exam.

Weaponry
The Military displays advanced equipment such as holograms, radars, regeneration tanks, large containment chambers, etc. A research team is responsible for providing most of the information or technology related to the Eye of Raphael. It is yet unknown whether only some parts of the research department (e.g. where the regeneration tanks are placed) need security access or the whole department is restricted to only some people (e.g. the researchers, Miroku). But it seems that even the army's field marshal cannot enter (at least) a part of the area if he has no pass (manga chapter 62). This research team also seems to be responsible for supporting Barsburg's nation-wide campaign of replacing the traditional fuel, like oil and gas, with zaiphon.

Trivia

 * In the original Japanese version of 07-Ghost, it is stated that Ayanami is the Chief of Staff of the army (陸軍), not of the navy. So, the Black Hawks, Ayanami's direct subordinates, should also hold the ranks in the army (e.g. lieutenant colonel, colonel) instead of the ranks in the navy (e.g. commander, captain).
 * The Barsburg Armed Forces do not appear to have any issues with accepting females and have made efforts to increase the number of female members, but despite this, male members still greatly outnumber female members.
 * It is apparently common for royals and nobles to serve in the Barsburg Armed Forces.