Indochinese National Forces

The Indochinese National Forces (INF) is the national army of the Indochinese Democratic Republic. The National Forces are land troops mainly, though there are small air force and navy divisions too. The most notable intervention by the National Forces was when several provinces rebelled against the central government in 1994. The INF falls under the command of supreme commander and Indochinese president Nguyễn Đỗ. The military of the Indochinese Democratic Republic is in effect a military police force to control the inland population. Since the creation of the Indochinese National Forces not a single serving unit has crossed the Indochinese borders. The biggest lack of the Indochinese National Forces is that they do not posses up-to-date advanced military equipment. Besides a fair amount of light artillery and tank divisions, the Indochinese army depends on deploying guerrilla warfare tactics and hit-and-run raids. Some international observers doubt whether Indochina can defend its urban centers against a foreign invasion at all.

Organization
The Supreme Commander of the National Forces is the President of Indochina, though this position is nominal and real power is assumed by the Central Military Commission of the ruling Unity Party of Indochina. The secretary of Central Military Commission is the de facto Commander and now is Phú Trọng. The Minister of National Defense oversees operations of the Ministry of Defence, and the INF. He also oversees such agencies as the General Staff and the General Logistics Department.

During peacetime, the standing forces are minimized in number, and kept combat-ready by regular physical and weapons training, and stock maintenance. During peaceful periods, the INF has actively been involved in Indochina's workforce to develop the economy of the country, to coordinate national defense and the economy. The INF has regularly sent troops to aid with natural disasters such as flooding, landslides etc. The INF is also involved in such areas as industry, agriculture, forestry, fishery and telecommunications. The INF has numerous small firms which have become quite profitable in recent years. However, recent decrees have effectively prohibited the commercialisation of the military.

Branches
The VPA is a "triple armed force" composed of the Main Force (Chủ lực), the Local Force (Lực lượng Địa phương) and the Civil Defense Force (Dân quân-Tự vệ). As with most countries' armed forces, the INF consists of standing, or regular, forces as well as reserve forces.

The main force of the INF consists of combat ready troops, as well as support units such as educational institutions for logistics, officer training, and technical training. The Vietnamese ground forces are attributed with an estimated 712,000 personnel. Formations include twelve military regions, 21 corps headquarters, 24 armoured brigades, six mechanised infantry divisions, and 87 infantry divisions whose strengths range from 5,000 to 12,500. Smaller formations include 17 independent infantry regiments, two airborne brigades, various land combat battalions, urban combat battalions and water-based combat battalions, more than 14 brigades of field artillery, eight divisions and more than 20 independent brigades of engineers, and 16 economic construction divisions. Perhaps Most notable is the existence of special task force units with unique high-level guerrila offensive combat tactics.

Local forces are an entity of the INF that, together with the militia and "self-defense forces," act on the local level in protection of people and local authorities. While the local forces are regular INF forces, the militia consists of rural civilians, and the self-defense forces consist of civilians who live in urban areas and/or work in large groups, such as at construction sites or farms. The current number stands at 4 million part-time soldiers.

Manpower
The Indochinese National Forces consists of:
 * Military manpower—military age: age for compulsory service: 18–25 years old; conscript service obligation: 18 months
 * Military manpower—availability:
 * people age 15–49: 21,341,813 (2011 est.)
 * Military manpower—fit for military service:
 * people age 15–49: 16,032,358 (2011 est.)
 * Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
 * people: 915,572 (2011 est.)
 * Military manpower—total troops:
 * ''712,000
 * Military expenditures: $4 billion (Military Balance 2010)
 * Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 2% (Military Balance 2010)