Al-Bawaaba Security Force
The Al-Bawaaba Security Force is a local defence force patterned after the Albion Army's Infantry units. It's primary role is to assist local law enforcement and perform border security, shifting to a defensive “fight until relieved” footing in the event of an invasion. Every member of the ABSF is a regular full-time soldier and can be deployed throughout the province in contrast to the local police teams.
In terms of training, ABSF units frequently rotate through the main Albion Defence Colleges, using training exercises to improve coordination with the Commonwealth’s forces and become used to large scale engagements featuring armoured vehicles, artillery and air support. Back at home, observers have noticed how intensely ABSF soldiers are trained in the more mountainous regions; a highlight being the notorious Serpent Test, a 10 mile march at high altitude in full kit which includes terrain such as loose shale slopes, thick forests and, as deemed by the name, the traditional range of the local viper population.
The ABSF also recruits a large number of former Albion Army soldiers, specifically targeting senior enlisted and offering them officer positions along with recruiting enlisted with a significant pay increase. These “Alzubun” soldiers are spread throughout the ABSF, often getting time with several units in order to spread their skillset around. After their initial terms of service conclude, they are then offered to become Al-Bawaaba citizens, allowing them to settle in the province on a more permanent basis.
Equipment wise, the ABSF takes on second line equipment from the Albion Army such as the L85 assault rifles and older patterns of body armour. Despite its age, all of the equipment is well maintained and in working order. Recently, the L85 rifles went through a repair process, bringing them closer in quality to the standard rifles of the Albion Army including the purchase of several rail kits to allow the mounting of force multipliers such as grips and lasers. Currently these kits are only issued to those ABSF teams based in the towns and cities of Al-Bawaaba, leaving rural units to soldier on the battered green plastic handguards. In terms of support weapons, ABSF infantry sections can access Light Machine Guns, GPMGs and underslung grenade launchers, with limited numbers of bolt action marksman rifles issued to the better shots.
The ABSF has not received the Armoured Patrol Vehicles that the rest of the Albion Commonwealth has introduced. Instead, armoured humvees are still the most common military vehicle, capable of withstanding small arms fire and mounting a mix of Heavy Machine Guns and Multiple Grenade Launchers. The age of these Humvees is becoming a concern - it is not uncommon for “Alzubun” soldiers to often find their vehicle still sporting graffiti on the inside from before they were seized during the Civil War.