Codex: The Military Branches
The Survey Corps
The Survey Corps, also known as the Scouting Legion, Scout Regiment, or Recon Corps, is the driving force of humanity as it is the branch of the Military most actively involved in Titan combat and human expansion. Despite having little success, they still symbolize 'the hope of mankind', their insignia being known as 'the Wings of Freedom'; they hope that someday, their efforts will change the world known for humanity's better, and recover what had been lost.
Duty
A Survey Corps expedition.
This military division is in charge of the exploration and the eventual reclamation of human territory from Titan-infested lands. Prior to the breach of Wall Maria, they explored the land outside of the Wall, though never getting that far due to the heavy casualties suffered by Titans.
Presently, they have been laying down supplies from the Wall Rose Frost District to Wall Maria Shinganpony District in preparation to seal the breach and reclaim Wall Maria.
A more recent unofficial duty has been Titan observation and research. Given the safer nature of exploring within Wall territory (since Titans can only enter the Wall at one point), a wealth of information has been revealed such as their tolerance of pain, sunlight dependence, and intelligence.
Structure
The Survey Corps are the smallest branch of the military, with a maximum size of 300 soldiers. This already limited number is further lowered by constant losses on expeditions.
Shining Armour is the 4th Commander, with 4 Squad Leaders (including Dawn, Rainbow, and Nanaba) serving directly beneath him. A single Senior Team Leader serves beneath them, supervising 8 Team Leaders in the field. The Legion also has 6 specialized Medical Officers, 5 Veterinary Officers in charge of caring for their horses, and 5 Remuneration Officers that serve concurrently with Team Leaders. This structure leaves 270 regular soldiers, divided into 10 Teams.
Their stables also include a total of 600 specially-bred horses. These horses are noted to be exceptionally valuable, and bred for great speed, stamina, and calm temperament.
The Garrison
The Garrison, also known as the Stationary Guard, is the largest of the Military divisions which protects and maintains order near the Walls and is commanded by Dusk Shimmer. Given the fatality rate of the Survey Corps and the limited entry of the Military Police Brigade, most soldiers join the Garrison. As they often have close contact with both Titans and human civilians, they are proficient over a wide variety of tasks such as Titan combat (defensive battles), cannonading, security detail, crowd control, and rifle usage.
Duty
The Garrison takes care of all defenses for the Wall whether it be patrols, repairs, or improvements. As such, they spend most of their time preparing for attacks against the Wall. The Garrison mans the cannons on the Wall that are often used for long-range Titan defense. They must also deal with civilian evacuation and have emergency plans for dealing with scenarios for when the Wall is breached.
Structure
The Garrison is the largest of the three branches, with a total of 30,000 soldiers. Members of the Training Corps are considered in this total, until their graduation and enlist in a chosen branch. Their total number of combat-ready personnel is a mere 3rd of this total, at 10,000 soldiers.
Their structure consists of Regiments, Brigades, and Divisions. A regiment is the smallest unit, consisting of 1000 soldiers. A Brigade consists of anywhere between 2,000 and 3,000 soldiers, or 2-3 regiments. And finally, the largest units are Divisions, which consist of 2 Brigades.
The Military Police
The Military Police Brigade is the most prestigious due to their work allowing them to live safely within the Inner Wall, abundant resources, and higher authority over other military sectors; their commander is River Lix. However, in reality it is the most corrupted military sector due to a lack of oversight compared to the other sectors of the military. Due to their misuse and abuse of authority, the Military Police Brigade is also at odds with Garrison and especially with the Survey Corps. Only the top ten graduates from the Training Corps can apply for the Military Police Brigade.
Duty
The Military Police Brigade is the primary police force within human territory. Not only do they maintain order, they serve as the Princess's guard. Since they do not normally come in contact with Titans, they must have special permission to use Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear and usually carry firearms such as rifles instead. They are also in charge of tax collection and land distribution. They usually abuse these duties to exploit resources and food from civilians.
Structure
The Military Police Brigade is an organization with 2,000 members, with direct command over 3,000 additional personnel from the Garrison. This brings their total potential manpower to 5,000 soldiers. Their forces are divided between the major Districts, with 200 officers assigned per District.
The Central Branch operates completely separate from the main group, with their own command structure and duties. Little is known about them, with even River Lix admitting to knowing little about them. They are involved in numerous conspiracies that supposedly maintain order within the walls, and stated to be completely above the law. They are rarely seen outside the Capital.
Codex: Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear
The Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear, also called Vertical Maneuvering Equipment or Omni-directional Mobility Gear, is a set of gear developed by humans that allows great mobility when facing the Titans in combat. The gear allows the user to fight in a 3D space as opposed to a 2D one. The gear itself takes the form of a body harness that encompasses much of the body below the neck. Although the Gear can grant a skilled user tremendous mobility, it is a demanding art that requires strength, and skill, both of which must be honed through constant practice. Some tools involved in the apparatus include:
Handgrips
Piston-shot grapple-hooks
Gas powered mechanism
Iron Wire Propeller with Plug in Blades
Usage 1:
The simplest move possible with the 3DMG is simply aiming and firing the grapple hooks at an object and then activating the gas mechanism to reel oneself toward said object. They can then disconnect the hook and continue moving forward.
Usually however, soldiers must be able to move around in order to navigate in general. Therefore, they tend to use their momentum in order to swing around targets.
Usage 2:
The Gear is only ever worn by soldiers who have either trained or are in training. To have the ability to wield the contraption the user must have an aptitude of balancing and a high level of core strength for they must be able to keep themselves upright whilst flying through the air and withstand the G-Forces provided by the enhanced mobility. The Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear is most commonly used by the Survey Corps due the to fact that their duty is to venture out into titan territory. It is least commonly used by the Military Police who barricade themselves within the Inner Walls where titans can never reach.
Origin:
Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear was invented between 775 and 788 (Over a hundred years before the events of this story) by Angel Fire-Smith, a first-class weapons craftsman who worked closely with the Survey Corps.
