The Brigade, unlike the Squadron, maintains a standing army with a system of compulsory service, as well as requiring nobles to contribute household troops in time of war. Brigade forces use rifle-muskets, which are primitive compared to the Armory breech-loaders used by the Civil Government Army. All Brigadero's carry a basket-hilt broadsword in conjunction with cap and ball revolvers. The Brigade do not field infantry, but only cavalry and a few brass or bronze cast siege cannon. Cavalry units are split between mounted dragoons and lancers, who also carry two-meter long lances. "Brigadero" soldiers wear front-and-back breastplates, which are resistant to the hollow-point lead bullets fired by Civil Government rifles; this leads the Civil Government army to switch to brass-tipped bullets to puncture such armor. Residents of The Brigade speak the dialects of Spanjol and Namerique, remnants of Spanish and French/English respectively. This state is modeled on the Ostrogoths of Belisarius's time.