Samsonite Air Service

The Samsonite Air Service (Samsonite Flugdienst; Abr. SFd), founded in 1911 under Kaiser Laurentz V's military reforms, was the first aerial branch of any nation's armed forces in history. Coinciding with the dissolution of the Imperial-Royal Cavalry Corps, the Samsonite Air Service was created to fulfil the former duties of the Imperial-Royal Cavalry Corps. The SFd was intended to conduct reconnaissance missions, as well as perform aerial strikes on defensive positions in future conflicts. Given the relatively long period of peace in Elgenea, Aeronautical engineering advances allowed aircraft to evolve into much more versatile weapon systems, resulting in the re-organisation of the SFd in 1929. Throughout the Samsonite Civil War and the ensuing Second World War, the SFD remained a loyalist force and was temporarily merged with the Samsonite Royal Navy until 1950. After the re-installment of the loyalist government, and the ascension of Kaiser Wilhelm III, the SFd was greatly expanded and became the most favoured military branch for the Samsonite Government. The Volksversammlung, in cooperation with Wilhelm's policy of innovation and autarky, began subsidising local aircraft manufacturers to produce new designs for the SFd, notably in the realm of support aircraft and helicopters.

In 1975, a new subdivision of the SFd was created, named the "Special Operations Group," which was intended to act as an airborne special forces group specialising in hostage rescue and search-and-destroy operations. The SFdSoG wouldn't see substantial use until the Krymnea Embassy Incident in 1984, in which SoG forces were deployed to the Cyralian capital of Kremnea under WCPC jurisdiction, to rescue several hostage ambassadors and statesmen held captive by rogue anti-statist insurgents. In 1994, SoG forces were involved in the capture of Arzhang Jafarnejad, an Almohadi separatist responsible for several attacks on public places in Mutawfqah. During the Winter of 2000, SoG forces were seen throughout the Broeklands, following the Lahrenburg Incident, operating alongside SIRI Operatives in several raids following the arrest of Heinrich Lahren.

Following the 2014 Ultranationalist Spring which resulted in the collapse of several governments worldwide, the SFd was placed firmly under WCPC jurisdiction to operate in logistical and support roles, while the SoG was assigned to be used for target acquisition alongside the Slavic NSIF and Esloran Wolfpack Operators. Most notable among these is Major Friedrich Daimler, formerly an SFd Fallschirmjager who joined the SoG just prior to the Ultranationalist Crisis, and served across all the major theatres of the conflict.