Jack of Harts

South Ostremek has no cultural ties with the Gorgas people, and they don’t want any. They instead want to be reunited with their cousins in North Ostremek, one of the Donovian Republics. They took steps to do that nineteen years ago after the Gorgas/Donovian War weakened Gorgas. Gorgas attempted to reconquer them immediately, but the Donovians came to their long-lost cousins’ aid and helped them fight the conquers off. Gorgas came for them again three years ago, and the Donovians helped them once more. Their determined resistance weakened Gorgas enough that Zabzimek was able to push out the pro-Gorgas militias from their territory. Donovian peacekeepers now monitor the enforced cease fire between Ostremek and Gorgas, but there is still a great deal of chaos and crime in the area. That makes it another very interesting fictional place for American troops to train in.

Kalaria, or Kemalia as it was originally known, was a third major power in the Decisive Action Training Environment. They were perhaps a too-accurate fiction of Turkey to remain in the training system given recent relations with the real nation. They were a major trading partner of Gorgas and Atropia, and had official embargos against Limaria. Early versions included a genocide against Limaria, though later treatments changed that to the massacre of a Limarian scientific expedition to Mount Ararat. That resulted in the conquering of that territory in the 1940s, a sin Limaria never forgave them for. Their other main focus was as the terminus of the Atropian oil pipeline that went through Gorgas. They were a key to riches in the zone. They also had some territorial ambitions that made Ariana distrust them. They were entirely removed in more recent treatments.

The United Republics of Donovia are one of the Big Bads in the Decisive Action Training Environment. They are an obvious stand in for modern Russia, right down to the fact that they used to be a world power and are working diligently to be a top tier power once again. They are an authoritarian state led by a small elite class with no political opposition who harness government and private sector corruption to increase their own power. They are perfectly willing to “support independence movements” in other nations, and “Donovian mercenaries” or advisors are common throughout the region. As I understand it, most training missions are not in Donovian territory, but Donovian interests are pervasive throughout all scenarios that may be conducted. They should never be dismissed.