Bandit-hunting (Benacian Union)

In the doctrinal system of the Benacian Union, bandit-hunting is a form of punitive rural law enforcement normally conducted against communities and individuals suspected of resistance activities or the attempted evasion of mandated tribute payments. At its heart is the principle of collective reprisal, which is applied at a graded scale from the application of a writ of cudgelling at the lowest level, which is barely distinguishable from normal community policing, all the way up to a level of applied destruction that is barely distinguishable from counter-insurgency warfare.

Although normally the responsibility of local auxiliary forces, bandit-hunting missions can sometimes be utilised by the Benacian Union Defence Force as a form of live-fire training. Additionally, for BUDF personnel as well as for aspirant members of the Humanist Vanguard, the killing of an individual who can be plausibly claimed to have been a partisan is the surest way to attain the coveted "red hand" enameled lapel badge, which is the foundation of all subsequent career advancement in the military and political services. That the numbers of credible partisans active in the rural locales do not uniformly meet the requirements of local cadres is an unfortunate matter, which is usually addressed by the ambitious seeking short-term postings to resistance hotspots - as well as by the occasional instance of entirely more regrettable solutions, which are officially discouraged.