Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty
Overview_________________________________________________________________________
ZAFT is a military organization and the official military of the PLANT colonies. Unlike the Earth Alliance' OMNI Enforcer, ZAFT is a militia made up of civilian volunteers and thus has no formal rank structure. Instead the "ranks" of its members are distinguished by the colors of the uniforms, while people in leading positions are referred to as "commander" and "captain." Most ZAFT forces are organized into independent teams which are named after their commanders. Since nearly all ZAFT members are Coordinators, they are able to fight the numerically superior EA forces on equal grounds, thanks to their superior physical and mental abilities. ZAFT is controlled by the PLANT Supreme Council, with its members reporting directly to the chairman of the National Defense Committee. The headquarter of the military is the ZAFT military station, a large cylindrical space station in the PLANT homeland.
Uniforms________________________________________________________________________
As stated above, military achievements and ranks of individual persons are shown by the color of their uniforms.
Green: Worn by common soldiers, technicians, or mobile suit pilots. The jackets on the standard green uniforms stretch to just past the pelvic areal; they are shorter than the mid-thigh length of the other uniform colours. There are three known styles of standard uniform that vary in style upon stationing:
· Space Forces (Standard): This is the most commonly seen style in SEED. This style is angled at the bottom of the uniform with a thicker white band down the chest and a thick and mechanized belt.
DaCosta in the Desert Forces standard uniform.at is black in color, like the shoes. The angled white cuffs on the sleeves are long, coming nearly to the elbows, like nearly all of the other uniform styles. · Desert Forces: This uniform is only green and black and lacks any trim whatsoever, as well as the gold ZAFT insignia on the collar. The collar is black and turned down and appears to zipper straight down and ends (or remains unzipped) after the straight black belt with silver clasp. The bottom of the uniform is angled, but only angles downward and the sides of the uniform do not overlap, they are left open. The sleeves are short and do retain the angled style of the other uniforms, however they are short and black and come nearly to the shoulder badges. The boots are also different, they lack the sleek look of the Space style, however, they, like the entirety of the uniform with its 4 pockets (two on the chest, two at the waist), seem to be designed appropriately for the terrain. Short brown gloves and a round-styled hat are available.
· Ground Forces: This uniform is seen almost never throughout the series and makes an appear
ance in episode 19 of Destiny during Meer's psuedo-Lacus concert. It has the standard white-trimmed collar of the Space forces, however, the white trim is rectangular, meeting at a 90 degree angle on the right breast. The trim itself follow straight down in a thin line to a straight-cut uniform which has the same straight black belt of the Desert Forces. The white shoulder area only comes to the stitching in the shoulders, leaving the standard ZAFT badges stitched to green cloth. The sleeves are long, however the white straight-cut cuffs only come a quarter of the way up the arm. A hat that is identical to the Desert Forces is available. No noteable characters wear this uniform. Tan: Worn by command officers in the ground forces who are stationed in warmer climates, such as the desert. Andrew Waltfeld wore this color of uniform.
Bright Green: Worn by mechanics only.
Red: Worn by elite soldiers or mobile suit pilots, typically the top graduates from ZAFT's academy. Although they are respected, soldiers who wear red do not necessarily have higher positions than their green-clad comrades. In many respects though (such as with the Le Creuset Team's relation with Miguel Aiman, their mentor), Reds fill the same function as noncomissioned officers in a traditional military. While Shiho Hahnenfuss wears a uniform identical to male ones, there seems to be some flexibility in terms of customizing uniforms among female Reds: Lunamaria Hawke wears a very short pink miniskirt, and Riika Sheder wears a slightly longer skirt that matches the uniform. Currently no female red has been seen to wear the knee-length skirt worn by common female recruits. These red-wearing pilots are often referred to as "Red Coats" (not once in the anime). Though not shown anyother time, except in Destiny's special ending, these uniforms also have hats, the same as all other uniforms.
Black:
Worn by the vast majority of officers, including most ship captains. This is also the color worn by the ZAFT's military bureaucracy. White: This coat is the next step up from Red and is worn by those who hold the rank of captain
and commanders, who have their own unique gold markings on the black sections of the uniform, such ash Commander Le Creuset . It's important to not that the rank badge on the chest is also different between the two ranks. Yzak most likely did not receive his white and gold commander's uniform in SEED due to lack of experience.
Purple: General/Member of the PLANT Supreme Council, or space navy task force commanders, or officers otherwise above black-garbed ship captains and garrison commanders. Patrick Zala wore a modified version of this uniform with enlarged, ornate epaulets.
Custom Color Uniforms: Anyone in the ZAFT army that proves him or herself in combat are allowed to have a custom colored flight suit. These pilots have no distinct rank, as ZAFT encourages freedom of thought and action, to an extent, in battle, but are usually better than their counter-parts. For example, Rey wore a white pilot suit, however he was not above the command of Talia and still had to follow commands like regular green uniform soldiers. Another example is Andrew "Andy" Waltfeld. He was known as the Desert Tiger, and wore a special tiger-striped orange-and-black pilot suit while fellow submarine commander Marco wore the regular green uniform. Andy was above the command of most other commanders and generals at the time. Usually, the custom uniforms also came with a custom suit. Heine had an orange coloured ZAKU Phantom and GOUF Ignited to match his pilot suit, Lunamaria remained with her Red uniform and had her ZAKU repainted in the same color and hue. Andy had a special BuCUE armed with fangs and claws made to match his "Tiger" outfit and an orange colored LaGOWE, complete with Beam "Fangs" and claws. Typically, pilots who wear green or red uniforms wear the matching color of pilot suit and commanders, when piloting, still wear white
Ranks_________________________________________________________________________
Chairman: Leader of the military
Member of the PLANT Supreme Council: General/Member of the PLANT Supreme Council, or space navy task force commanders, or officers otherwise above black-garbed ship captains and garrison commanders.
Admiral
Rear Admiral
Captain: Title, with which officers in charge of a particular military vessel, such as battleships, land carriers, or submarines, are addressed with.
Commander: Title given to people who are in charge of one of ZAFT's teams, which are frequently formed, dissolved, and rearranged. The team is identified by the name of its leader, hence "Le Creuset-team", "Zala-team", and "Joule-team". A commander will usually be given control of one or more vessels, whether space, land, or sea-based, and/or a number of mobile suits. He or she will be responsible for developing the appropriate strategies to use those resources to carry out the tasks assigned to him or her by the chairman or high-ranked military officers.
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant
Lieutenant Junior Grade
Elite Soldier (MS Pilot): elite soldiers or mobile suit pilots, typically the top graduates from ZAFT's academy. Although they are respected, soldiers who wear red do not necessarily have higher positions than their green-clad comrades.
Command officers (ground forces): who are stationed in warmer climates, such as the desert.
Forces: Space Forces, Desert Forces, Ground Forces
elite soldiers or mobile suit pilots, typically the top graduates from ZAFT's academy. Although they are respected, soldiers who wear red do not necessarily have higher positions than their green-clad comrades.
Mechanics
Ranks (Highest to Lowest)_______________________________________________________
1) Chairman
2) Member of PLANT Supreme Council
3) Admiral
a) Rear Admiral
4) Captain
4.1) F.A.I.T.H Captain
4.2) Vessel Captain
5) Commander
5.1.) F.A.I.T.H Commander
5.2.) Vessel Commander
5.3.) Command Officers of the Ground Forces
5.4.) Lieutenant Commander
5.4.1.) F.A.I.T.H Lieutenant Commander
5.4.2.) Normal Lieutenant Commander
5.5.) Lieutenant
5.5.1) F.A.I.T.H Lieutenant
5.5.2) Normal Lieutenant
5.5.3) Lieutenant Junior Grade
6.) Elite Soldier
6.1.) F.A.I.T.H Soldier
6.2) Normal
6.3.) M.A. Pilots
7.) Forces
7.1) Ground
7.2) Space
7.3) Desert
8.) Mechanics
ZAFT is a military organization and the official military of the PLANT colonies. Unlike the Earth Alliance' OMNI Enforcer, ZAFT is a militia made up of civilian volunteers and thus has no formal rank structure. Instead the "ranks" of its members are distinguished by the colors of the uniforms, while people in leading positions are referred to as "commander" and "captain." Most ZAFT forces are organized into independent teams which are named after their commanders. Since nearly all ZAFT members are Coordinators, they are able to fight the numerically superior EA forces on equal grounds, thanks to their superior physical and mental abilities. ZAFT is controlled by the PLANT Supreme Council, with its members reporting directly to the chairman of the National Defense Committee. The headquarter of the military is the ZAFT military station, a large cylindrical space station in the PLANT homeland.
Uniforms________________________________________________________________________
As stated above, military achievements and ranks of individual persons are shown by the color of their uniforms.
Green: Worn by common soldiers, technicians, or mobile suit pilots. The jackets on the standard green uniforms stretch to just past the pelvic areal; they are shorter than the mid-thigh length of the other uniform colours. There are three known styles of standard uniform that vary in style upon stationing:
· Space Forces (Standard): This is the most commonly seen style in SEED. This style is angled at the bottom of the uniform with a thicker white band down the chest and a thick and mechanized belt.
DaCosta in the Desert Forces standard uniform.at is black in color, like the shoes. The angled white cuffs on the sleeves are long, coming nearly to the elbows, like nearly all of the other uniform styles. · Desert Forces: This uniform is only green and black and lacks any trim whatsoever, as well as the gold ZAFT insignia on the collar. The collar is black and turned down and appears to zipper straight down and ends (or remains unzipped) after the straight black belt with silver clasp. The bottom of the uniform is angled, but only angles downward and the sides of the uniform do not overlap, they are left open. The sleeves are short and do retain the angled style of the other uniforms, however they are short and black and come nearly to the shoulder badges. The boots are also different, they lack the sleek look of the Space style, however, they, like the entirety of the uniform with its 4 pockets (two on the chest, two at the waist), seem to be designed appropriately for the terrain. Short brown gloves and a round-styled hat are available.
· Ground Forces: This uniform is seen almost never throughout the series and makes an appear
ance in episode 19 of Destiny during Meer's psuedo-Lacus concert. It has the standard white-trimmed collar of the Space forces, however, the white trim is rectangular, meeting at a 90 degree angle on the right breast. The trim itself follow straight down in a thin line to a straight-cut uniform which has the same straight black belt of the Desert Forces. The white shoulder area only comes to the stitching in the shoulders, leaving the standard ZAFT badges stitched to green cloth. The sleeves are long, however the white straight-cut cuffs only come a quarter of the way up the arm. A hat that is identical to the Desert Forces is available. No noteable characters wear this uniform. Tan: Worn by command officers in the ground forces who are stationed in warmer climates, such as the desert. Andrew Waltfeld wore this color of uniform.
Bright Green: Worn by mechanics only.
Red: Worn by elite soldiers or mobile suit pilots, typically the top graduates from ZAFT's academy. Although they are respected, soldiers who wear red do not necessarily have higher positions than their green-clad comrades. In many respects though (such as with the Le Creuset Team's relation with Miguel Aiman, their mentor), Reds fill the same function as noncomissioned officers in a traditional military. While Shiho Hahnenfuss wears a uniform identical to male ones, there seems to be some flexibility in terms of customizing uniforms among female Reds: Lunamaria Hawke wears a very short pink miniskirt, and Riika Sheder wears a slightly longer skirt that matches the uniform. Currently no female red has been seen to wear the knee-length skirt worn by common female recruits. These red-wearing pilots are often referred to as "Red Coats" (not once in the anime). Though not shown anyother time, except in Destiny's special ending, these uniforms also have hats, the same as all other uniforms.
Black:
Worn by the vast majority of officers, including most ship captains. This is also the color worn by the ZAFT's military bureaucracy. White: This coat is the next step up from Red and is worn by those who hold the rank of captain
and commanders, who have their own unique gold markings on the black sections of the uniform, such ash Commander Le Creuset . It's important to not that the rank badge on the chest is also different between the two ranks. Yzak most likely did not receive his white and gold commander's uniform in SEED due to lack of experience.
Purple: General/Member of the PLANT Supreme Council, or space navy task force commanders, or officers otherwise above black-garbed ship captains and garrison commanders. Patrick Zala wore a modified version of this uniform with enlarged, ornate epaulets.
Custom Color Uniforms: Anyone in the ZAFT army that proves him or herself in combat are allowed to have a custom colored flight suit. These pilots have no distinct rank, as ZAFT encourages freedom of thought and action, to an extent, in battle, but are usually better than their counter-parts. For example, Rey wore a white pilot suit, however he was not above the command of Talia and still had to follow commands like regular green uniform soldiers. Another example is Andrew "Andy" Waltfeld. He was known as the Desert Tiger, and wore a special tiger-striped orange-and-black pilot suit while fellow submarine commander Marco wore the regular green uniform. Andy was above the command of most other commanders and generals at the time. Usually, the custom uniforms also came with a custom suit. Heine had an orange coloured ZAKU Phantom and GOUF Ignited to match his pilot suit, Lunamaria remained with her Red uniform and had her ZAKU repainted in the same color and hue. Andy had a special BuCUE armed with fangs and claws made to match his "Tiger" outfit and an orange colored LaGOWE, complete with Beam "Fangs" and claws. Typically, pilots who wear green or red uniforms wear the matching color of pilot suit and commanders, when piloting, still wear white
Ranks_________________________________________________________________________
Chairman: Leader of the military
Member of the PLANT Supreme Council: General/Member of the PLANT Supreme Council, or space navy task force commanders, or officers otherwise above black-garbed ship captains and garrison commanders.
Admiral
Rear Admiral
Captain: Title, with which officers in charge of a particular military vessel, such as battleships, land carriers, or submarines, are addressed with.
Commander: Title given to people who are in charge of one of ZAFT's teams, which are frequently formed, dissolved, and rearranged. The team is identified by the name of its leader, hence "Le Creuset-team", "Zala-team", and "Joule-team". A commander will usually be given control of one or more vessels, whether space, land, or sea-based, and/or a number of mobile suits. He or she will be responsible for developing the appropriate strategies to use those resources to carry out the tasks assigned to him or her by the chairman or high-ranked military officers.
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant
Lieutenant Junior Grade
Elite Soldier (MS Pilot): elite soldiers or mobile suit pilots, typically the top graduates from ZAFT's academy. Although they are respected, soldiers who wear red do not necessarily have higher positions than their green-clad comrades.
Command officers (ground forces): who are stationed in warmer climates, such as the desert.
Forces: Space Forces, Desert Forces, Ground Forces
elite soldiers or mobile suit pilots, typically the top graduates from ZAFT's academy. Although they are respected, soldiers who wear red do not necessarily have higher positions than their green-clad comrades.
Mechanics
Ranks (Highest to Lowest)_______________________________________________________
1) Chairman
2) Member of PLANT Supreme Council
3) Admiral
a) Rear Admiral
4) Captain
4.1) F.A.I.T.H Captain
4.2) Vessel Captain
5) Commander
5.1.) F.A.I.T.H Commander
5.2.) Vessel Commander
5.3.) Command Officers of the Ground Forces
5.4.) Lieutenant Commander
5.4.1.) F.A.I.T.H Lieutenant Commander
5.4.2.) Normal Lieutenant Commander
5.5.) Lieutenant
5.5.1) F.A.I.T.H Lieutenant
5.5.2) Normal Lieutenant
5.5.3) Lieutenant Junior Grade
6.) Elite Soldier
6.1.) F.A.I.T.H Soldier
6.2) Normal
6.3.) M.A. Pilots
7.) Forces
7.1) Ground
7.2) Space
7.3) Desert
8.) Mechanics