Thread:Ecoraptor3339/@comment-5496489-20160524151005/@comment-25309944-20161014230336

''"The Grand Navy has changed and adapted in response to changes in the French Empire's political and strategic situation over the two decades since the Great Xonexian Schism. With no major rivals to face and a public eager to enjoy the dividends of peace, the enormous wartime Grand Navy was cut down to a small peacetime force of professional soldiers aided by some of the best military technology in the Gigaquadrant. The Navy's capital fleet was similarly cut down, though maintained the a sizable enough force to balance against potential rivals in the four corners of the universe. From 2807 to 2816, the awaited challenges to French power failed to materialize, leading to further cuts in defense spending and the adoption of a relaxed defense posture. As a cost-saving measure for non-deployed troops, personnel were often allowed to return home and hold day jobs while receiving half of their military salary, large scale military exercises were rarely held, and many types of military investment and development ceased. Small-scale crises such as the Commonwealth Civil War and Borealum Crisis in 2810, the Hutter Incursion Conflict in 2812, among others, seemed to validate existing French military practice. Precise uses of naval and air power in concert with French allies were more than sufficient to keep the peace and maintain French interests."''

^ France's military before 2816