Space or Click As the United Kingdom of Parrots entered the 1960s, it had declined from being a small but mighty nation to a mere small nation. Its parliamentary monarchy had deviated from its original charter’s roles, and the royal family were now powerless figureheads watching the power hungry parliament aristocrats fight one another. Political infighting and questionable acts and propositions signed into law left the citizens of the UKOP thirsting for change- and change the 1960s would bring. Equipment Shown: -M61 Parrot Battle Uniform (PBU): A rugged green combat uniform designed with utility, cost effectiveness, and durability in mind. Used by all branches throughout the decade. -M61 Parachutist's Smock and Trousers: The trousers are just reinforced M61 PBU trousers, but the smock is a modernized design from the 40s. Very durable and utilitarian, good at keeping the trooper warm in the cold and okay at almost keeping them cool in the heat. Very desirable piece of kit even for non-paratroopers, especially in the decades that followed. -M59 Jungle Boots: Utilizing a UIS sole attached to black leather and OD canvas with drain holes on the side, the jungle boots were rugged boots capable of use in a variety of weather conditions. -M58 Webbing, Operational Load Carrying (WOLC): A canvas belt and suspenders with a suite of pouches including 7.62 mag pouches, bandage/compass pouches, and several storage pouches. Included for certain units is the WOLC Rucksack Frame, a frame designed to carry a ruck up top and a poncho roll on the bottom. Worn in place of the standard kidney pouches. -M55 Improved Steel Helmet (ISH): a simple steel helmet really only good at some shrapnel protection. Both the standard and airborne configurations are shown. Weaponry Shown: -Down DRS51 Mk. family of rifles, including: *Mk.1A1 (40th ID 1966) for normal army rifleman use *Mk.1A2 (1st MARDIV) collapsible stock for compactness in amphibious operations *Mk.2A1 (40th ID 1962) shortened barrel for specialized roles in the army, such as officers or people carrying heavier loads *Mk.2A2 (2nd AB) shortened barrel and collapsible stock, issued exclusively to paratroopers Notable Operations: ---UKOP Constitutional Crisis (March 1962)--- *March 8th, 1962, parliament went off the deep end. Under threats of removal from power and arrest, they barricaded the royal palace, and took the royal family hostage. When protestors surged the perimeter, attempting to break down the fence, parliament called in the army to break them up. The army instead joined in. For three days, the army attempted to get the parliament members to give up. On March 11th, they'd had enough, and stormed the building. The royal family was rescued, and all members of parliament were arrested. In the period that followed, the new acting parliament (with the approval of the king and queen) drafted a new constitution, reinstating the UKOP as the United Nation of Parrots- a Republican Democratic Federation of states. This constitution was signed into effect on April 3rd, 1962, and remains the UNOP's system of government to this day. ---Operation Sovereign Resolve (1966)--- *The UNOP and Scratch Town State have not always been close allies. Their first wars date back the the 15th and 16th centuries, an empire searching for more resource's heel being bitten by a snake- a group of nations inhabited by birds, whom the rest of the world knew little about. 1883's Third Parrot-Cat War was immensely costly for both sides. However, only one side was able to sustain these costs. The two powers settled for conditional surrender: fighting would cease, but Scratch Town would receive the UKOP state Ckokasas, a mountainous region with rich mines that had elicited most of the fighting between the two countries. The people of the Ckockasas did not want to be a part of Scratch Town. People who misunderstood their language and culture filled their towns and drained their mines. Discontentment was brewing. Around the turn of the 20th century, the Ckockasas Revolutionary Army (CRA) was officially formed. Though it kept quiet at first, it grew in the the shadows. Signs of its existence began in the 1920s, with explosions in not only Scratch Town settlements inside Ckockasas, but cities in the Scratch Town Empire itself. By the 1930s, STE had officially labeled the CRA a terrorist organization, and had announced its cause to squash it like a bug. For citizens of Ckockasas and the UKOP, the CRA was a beacon of hope for a reunited nation. As the second half of the 1950s came and went, the CRA seemed to have disappeared. No attacks, no sightings, nothing. Many lost hope. They weren't gone, though- they had been building strength. February 1966, the Ckokasas Revolution truly began. News reports went up around the world of STE cities in the East burning, S.T.A.F. soldiers under attack. The still new UNOP, fresh of the heels of its own revolution, rallied. (Continued in Notes)
Paratroopers dropped in, Marines spearheaded a ground invasion. Six months later, STE conceded, deciding the Ckokasas was no longer worth the effort, and the UNOP jubilantly welcomed its mountain state back into the federation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's obviously got a decent bit of Vietnam era US Armed Forces inspiration from it, but I also had the British Armed Forces of the time in mind, especially with the paratroopers. The rifle is like kind of FAL-ish? I wanted to make a FAL sort of thing because of love FAL, so I converted my old Down Rifle System into a FAL on an AR-10 ish receiver and it sort of became a G3, especially with the stocks. Oh, also for the officer he's just holding my old 1911 model since I didn't feel like making a new pistol lol Song is "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
