As I use these guys as the butt monkeys and cannon fodder of many of my stories, I thought it'd be good to go into detail about that whacky bunch of nutjob islamic terrorists, the GLA.

The (Not Very) Global (Most emphatically not in favour of) Liberation Army (in name only)

Despite the Order of the Talon's power, it is under constant threat from "primitive" islamic millitants who have organized themselves into the vast "Global Liberation Army" incorporating various groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the Taliban, Al Queada, and more under it's umbrella to form the greatest islamic terrorist organization ever seen. This situation has only become more dire following the Talon's near extinction following a disastrous war with the Black Hand and the recent three way split.

The Global Liberation Army, or GLA as it's typically referred to, preaches a very strict interpretation of the Quo'ran, especially the more violent parts. Especially anything concerning "killing the infidels." Despite their seemingly ramshackle nature and usage of what should be laughably outdated weaponry, they have proven to be a dire threat even to mighty organizations like the Iberian Empire, the Order of the Talon, S.H.I.E.L.D, H.Y.D.R.A and anyone else who falls under the staggeringly large category of "Oppressors" and "Infidels" whenever they try to intefere in the middle east.

The Black Hand has long supported the GLA to bolster it's finances and provide it with choice examples of high technology and ensuring that they never seem to run out of supplies for their army, even though much of their weaponry hasn't been in production for years if not decades. They are especially fond of Black hand microbial weapons, such as their lethal super anthrax, and their cloaking fields; allowing them to spread mass terror and then slip away before any retaliation can be mounted.

Forming not long after Hussein's execution, the GLA grew to it's present size as it exploited the vacuum created by the Fel Imperial evacuation of the Earth and the American evacuation of Iraq. Quickly swarming into Afghanistahn, the GLA shocked the world by overwhelming and defeating the coalition forces there within a short few months, only for the private military corporations of the Mediterreanean syndicate to keep them away from their sprawls.

But this was of little value to the rest of the muslim world, which rapidly fell under GLA control, supporting the Arab spring that allowed them to sweep into the rest of the arab world and beyond. Following the large withdrawal of foreigners from the middle east, the GLA has surged back into their homelands, and now have a tight grip over the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and Southeast asia, from where they go about picking at their foes in the name of "freedom." They would be a much greater threat to the world at large if they didn't spend most of their energy fighting themselves over every possible reason under the sun, so as of yet, the world's happy to let them have the muslim world and just pay off GLA bands to stay away from their business.

Rebels:

"I will be remembered for this!"

-Unknown Rebel

While the world is politically speaking, dominated largely by those who side with One metahuman run nation or the other, there are some who agree with neither side. One such groups, the GLA, which is based in the Middle East and North Africa, sees its objective as the expulsion of NATO, Black Hand (Ironically, despite their protests against the Black Hand, they're still the ones lining their pockets most of the time), Talon, Syndicate, and whomever else dares set foot in their lands, whom they view as "godless invaders", and to secure their freedom. Wanting to fight for what was right and filled with religious fervor, many young men joined the GLA as a way to show their devotion to Islam.

These young men, while devoted, are a combination of poorly trained and poorly equiped, and fanaticism can only get one so far. Among such men, very few survive long after joining the GLA. Insanely brave, resolute, and pious, Rebels form the backbone of the GLA, and can be seen in any conflict with the GLA.

While there is no shortage men to volunteer for the GLA, there is a shortage of arms to supply these fresh recruits. Looking for the cheapest alternative, they armed their men with AK-47s, which in the wake of what some would argue is still ongoing; the third world war, still remains the world's most popular assault rifle, with production rising to a billion units by 2009. While the AK-47 is one of the oldest assault rifles around, it is easy to reload, extremely reliable, has respectable stopping power, requires little training to use, and more importantly (for the GLA), extremely cheap and easy to acquire.

The GLA purchased millions of these weapons through various backers and handed them to eager recruits, to be used against their enemies. There is one catch, however. The GLA are not very good at maintaining weapons, meaning the average rebel generally recieves a set of weapons that is not in very good condition, though the AK's legendary durability means that this is not too much of a problem. However, they're so cheap that in the unlikely case that one fails, Rebels can just pick up another one.

The Rebels also have a few other tricks up their sleeves to make up for their generally poor combat performance. For one, since the GLA enjoys support in larger areas, they can shift into civilian crowds, slipping away from the eyes of their enemies just as easily as they appear elsewhere again. Their mastery of stealth has allowed them to launch ambush after ambush on invading soldiers, wearing down even the most advanced attackers. With black hand bullets, the rebels can threaten things that the AK-47 usually would not, and with an added underslung grenade launcher; also provided by the black hand, their firepower increases dramatically.

Terrorist:

"They do not understand our ways, ignore our traditions, and bad of all disgrace our faith! They are an evil amoeba upon the world and force their secular ideals on your very uncles! Were they men they would talk, they would negotiate, they would have taken some action to re-compensate our people for the damages they had caused during their battle! But they are not people, they are packs of rabbit vikings! They enslave our women, eat our children, and rape our goats! They think us monsters, backward, and tiny. But we will show them one or two things. Come my brothers! We must make Jihad on these Infidels!"

-Terrorist trying to incite his village to join the GLA cause, laughter drowned out most of his words.

Surprisingly, the GLA finds no shortage of fanatics willing to die for the cause. Therefore, terrorists can be trained and armed at low cost. A deadly tactic that GLA commanders used was to have Terrorists be transported by Technicals to the enemy base, for a quick and deadly attack.

However, the best use of terrorists was in a surprise attack. Rockets and cannon shells will detonate their explosives upon death, but fortunately being run over by vehicles or tanks will do the same. In combat, terrorists stay at the rear or in ambush positions, to await for superheavy units such as mobile shield bases, Talon crawlers, Fel Imperial Apocalypse tanks, or the rather bulky examples of Stark Enterprise's Mechs and War walkers.

Terrorists do not carry weapons in the conventional sense, rather, they strap themselves with as many high explosives and fanatical faith as possible and take as many lessons in stealth and running as they can before getting close and promptly blowing themselves up. They are even capable of wiring cars with even more explosives to make an even more catastrophic bang, leaving foreigners in GLA lands constantly paranoid.

Gun Truck/Technical:

"Only three things are infinite, the Omniverse, Human stupidity, and the number of bloody Technicals the GLA can pull out of it's arse."

-Anonymous British soldier.

A Gun Truck or Technical is a type of improvised fighting vehicle, typically a civilian or military non-combat vehicle, modified to add an offensive capability. It is usually an open-back civilian pickup truck or four-wheel drive vehicle mounting a machine gun, light anti-aircraft gun, recoilless rifle or other weapons. Among irregular armies, often centred around the perceived strength and charisma of warlords, the prestige power of gun trucks are strong. It is a small truck with large tripod mounted machine guns mounted on the back. A warlord's power is measured by how many of these vehicles he has.

In the tradition of militias in developing nations, the GLA used Cobra Gun Trucks, also referred to simply as gun trucks or Cobras, for transport and anti-infantry purposes. Resourceful GLA fighters would upgrade the Gun Truck's weaponry with parts scavenged from destroyed enemy vehicles. They are ridiculously cheap to acquire, and can transport up to five members of the rebellion in the flatbed.

Unlike other transports however, the passengers must hold on for dear life as the Cobra batters its way across mountain trails and empty cities. The only benefit from hitching a ride on a Cobra is the fact that if the truck were to be disabled by an enemy combatant, then all of the passengers would be spared from serious injury. Most of the time the blast of the gas tank exploding is enough to propel the terrorists off the Cobra, away from danger. While typically no match for a professional army's equivalent vehicles, such as the Humvee, they are a great deal cheaper and faster to produce, allowing the GLA to swarm their foes with them. With black hand upgrades, they can really "rip it up."

Scorpion Tank:

"This scorpion's got a nasty sting!"

-Anonymous Scorpion tank commander.

When International Inc brought out the Desert Filter pack based on technologies first employed in countless wars and skirmishes in North Africa, they were bombarded with orders from the Middle East. It was easy to see why; the oversized high-pressure intakes acted like superchargers for the Scorpion's engines, and the new flexible rubber connectors on the tracks gave the machine a larger footprint and much more traction over sand. When combine with new torsion-bar suspension, heat-reflecting metallic paint, and solid cast return rollers, a so-called Sand Scorpion was faster than any other variant and completely immune to the harsh effects of the desert.

Because of the focus on armoured combat in the desert, the Sand Scorpion's Stinger cannon comes with a complimentary load-out of AP rounds. Based on anti-tank rockets, each of these rounds consists of a lead shell with a half-size, directed explosive payload, enhanced by a seven and a half-inch brass spike in the nose of the round. When it strikes armour, the brass rod is driven back into the explosive, setting it off and driving the now-molten spike through enemy armour. This seriously enhances the performance of the 76mm gun against heavy armour while retaining the same size and tracking abilities that make it lethal against light vehicles, but the reduced explosive payload has made the weapon less effective in other areas, especially against infantry or structures.

Fortunately, an add-on provides a solution; the Eradicator 5000 high-impact rocket kit. This simple weapon rail bolts onto the turret of the Scorpion tank, carrying a 12-inch high-impact rocket fired by electric impulse. In addition to good armour-piercing capabilities, the large explosive within makes short work of nearly any target.

Unsurprisingly, a great many Sand Scorpions have ended up in GLA hands, purchased through proxies with oil money from the occupied fields or smuggled in by GLA-affiliated arms dealers. These tough little vehicles, with their great gas mileage and ability to cross any terrain with ease, are core to the GLA war effort, as they can easily run circles around enemy forces, striking hard with their light cannons and bolt-on rockets before fading into the desert. Of course, they are no match for practically any main battle tank employed by any of the major powers, due to their small caliber guns and light armor; or at least, in a straight up fight.

In an engagement with an American armored division in 2008 in Iraq, the M1A2 Abrams pilots found that while the Abrams was more than capable of blowing a Sand Scorpion to hell with one shot and could shrug off hits from the Sand Scorpion with ease while their superior and advanced command and control technology allowed them to coordinate easily, they were hideously outnumbered by the cheaper tanks which could virtually tap dance around them to pummel their rear armor into submission.

And they were most surprised to find that the Eradicator 5000 missile was very much capable of blowing apart the mighty Abrams with a single direct hit or crippling it on a glancing strike. One Abrams hit on the glacis plate of it's turret found it's entire turret ripped out of it's socket while the chassis splintered and deformed like plastic hit with an sledgehammer. In concert with other GLA vehicles, the seemingly primitive terrorists managed to tear apart a full American armored division and inflict the most humiliating defeat upon American forces since the battle of the Kasserine pass.

Experienced Sand Scorpion crews kit out their vehicles with a second Eradicator rail on the opposite side of their tank, while upgrading the cannon with an more deadly 85mm gun with significantly more firepower, though still inferior to most modern tanks. The scorpion can easily be refitted to function in Jungles, Savannah, Marsh, Tundra, and Steppes, allowing them to take the fight in any terrain. Black hand weapons technology can further upgrade their machine guns, cannon, and rockets.

RPG troopers:

"Be on watch for the enemy!"

-Anonymous RPG trooper.

Rebels armed with the Type 69, a Chinese copy of the infamous RPG-7, and stinger anti-air missile launchers. The RPG Trooper was trained to fire at both ground and air targets. Like their AK-47 totting rebel counterparts, RPG Troopers are experts in stealth and warfare in the nontemperate climes that the GLA primarily dwells in. Capable of popping out of seemingly nowhere and ripping apart tank convoys with a barrage of rockets, or emerging from cover and pummeling any who fly over their heads with a deadly volley of missiles, they are warriors to be feared and respected. They can be upgraded with black hand warheads to drastically increase their potency.

Rocket Buggy:

"Macross missile massacre? Macross has nothing on us!"

-Anonymous buggy driver.

Interestingly, the GLA's choice of equipment for it's two fastest ground vehicles is the opposite of what the Black Hand chooses, rockets for it's buggies and machine guns for it's motorcycles. Nevertheless, the Rocket Buggy is perhaps the ultimate hit and run vehicle barring the Black Hand's hated Stealth Tanks. Capable of ripping through the terrain at over a hundred miles per hour, the Rocket buggy can leave virtually any conventional military ground vehicles in the dust, which is good, because it's armor is pathetic enough for the vehicle to be threatened by small arms fire.

Unfortunately for the foes of the GLA, the Rocket buggy makes up for it's lack of armor for it's devastating payload, three six racks of guided missiles lie in a rotating turret on top of it, promising rockety death to anything within the Buggy's very long range. Infantry and light vehicles are blasted with frag warheads, ripping them apart with shrapnel. Heavy vehicles and structures are ripped apart with Krak rounds that pierce their armor with contemptuous ease, especially in the large volleys buggies are famous for. Bunkers and other extremely hard targets are destroyed with bunker buster weapons that penetrate deep within before blowing them apart with a thermobaric blast.

Various other kinds of warheads allow the buggy to carry out virtually any role imaginable, and it's surprisingly sophisticated targeting systems, scanners, and missile guidance allows it to engage at very long range. Worse yet for it's foes, the black hand supplies upgrades to the GLA. Their rockets can be upgraded with black hand technology to drastically increase their potency and homing abilities. And worse yet, they can fit another trio of missile racks for no loss of speed. A general purpose machine gun is added, seemingly as an after though.

A dozen fully upgraded Rocket buggies, strategically positioned on a Mesa, managed to ambush and blast apart no less than seventy two stark enterprise battlesuits without a single casualty, retreating into the sands before any retaliation can be made and returning with fully reloaded racks to proceed to destroy virtually the entire convoy they were escorting, all accomplished in fifteen minutes, most of which was spent in transit to reloading stations, reloading, and returning to the battlefield.

Combat cycle:

"Aww hell naw...."

-Anonymous American soldier upon seeing a formation of combat cyclists driving towards his unit.

"Batshit Insane" is perhaps the best way to describe the fanatics who drive combat cycles. Providing virtually no protection to it's rider but offering them unparalleled speed and maneuverability, Combat Cycle drivers can rip across the battlefield. Though by default equipped with twin machine guns to blow apart infantry and soft skinned vehicles, they can be replaced with missile launchers, super-anthrax sprayers, large caliber anti-materiel sniper rifles, or be packed with explosives for suicide attacks.

Armed with this, an fanatical devotion to radical islam and the GLA, and an obsession with going insanely fast just as strong as their devotion to Allah, Orks have taken to calling them "'Umie Speed Freakz." And indeed, cyclists have taken to painting their vehicles red just like the orks do when the greenskins wish to go faster, earning them derision and curiosity in equal measure from the brutish aliens.

Driving easily reaching two hundred miles per hour, far beyond what is even remotely safe for normal humans to be going on a motorcycle, cyclist attacks come with little warning. Bases in GLA territory frequently find that by the time they can detect the cycles, they're already mere seconds away from them and will have already caused critical damage.

Cliffs and water are no obstacle, as their tricked out vehicles are capable of going so fast that they can simply run up cliffs that others would have to climb, and they can drive over water without sinking as long as they maintain speed. Experienced cyclists further trick out their rides with added weaponry, better engines, something actually resembling armor, but they always try to be careful to avoid lowering their speed and acceleration.

Coalition forces returning from the middle east tend to rate Cyclists as the enemy they fear the most. "The F***ers are completely god damned f***ing insane what kind of f***ed up moron drives a motorcycle so fast that apaches have a hard time keeping up? I mean jesus motherf***ing christ one day I was out on patrol, minding my own business, daft punk blaring on the humvee stereo and then I heard some batsh!t motherf***ers cackling like a bunch of stoned hyenas at a frat party driving loud as all f*** get out motorbikes coming at us from three o clock. Turned round the fifty cal and blew one of them up real nice but then bam the tank right next to me got blown to kingdom come by a pair of missiles, they blew out the tires on the humvee, gunned down the footsloggers, and brought down three bradleys with missile fire. What the f*** man!?!" One combat veteran said.

SCUD Launcher:

"Who the f*** was the idiot that said that they didn't have heavy artillery!?!"

-Understandably irate Fel Imperial Grenedier.

There is little to say about the SCUD launcher, it's a fairly conventional missile truck that bears an enormous SCUD ballistic missile with vast range. What does bear note is that the GLA is fond of cloaking them and upgrading it's missiles for increased range and firepower, additionally; they possess better armor. They function as the long ranged artillery of the GLA, in concert with the faster if less overtly destructive rocket buggy. Nearly a thousand of them were deployed in the GLA's siege of Jerusalem.

Bomb Truck:

"Like terrorists...except it's a f***ing truck that can turn invisible. Bloody f***ing hell!"

-British soldier.

Operating on the same principal as the terrorists only on a much larger scale, the Bomb Truck carries multiple tons of deadly explosives that can level entire city blocks or instantly cripple all but the heaviest of enemy units. To make matters worse, using black hand technology, they can disguise themselves as other vehicles of any size or make or become outright invisible. To make matters worse, they can be upgraded with even more potent explosives and biological warfare agents, just like terrorists.

Toxin tractor:

"Is that a tractor? What's next? Are they going to strap guns to a baby carriage!? AHAHAHAHAH-BLURAJHDZMZMDNAKAZAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

Last words of an Fel Imperial Grenedier.

Take a farm tractor, slap on some armor and large canisters filled with lethal super-anthrax that can be sprayed out in a thick stream that can melt flesh off of bones in seconds, corrode metal and stone over time, burn plastic, and rot the skeletal structure in record time. Additionally, it can sprinkle this deadly strain of microbe in lethal clouds that take noticeably longer to kill, but affect a much larger area than the concentrated spray.

Toxin trooper:

"Yeah...we're dead."

-Pessimistic trinity soldier.

Take the rebel, give him armor, give him the RPG trooper's kit as an added bonus, give him training, and then put two tanks of super-anthrax and a sprayer nozzle to function as a flamethrower equivalent. These soldiers are elites, more than a match for most soldiers in professional armies, and their NBC resistant gear gives them a fearsome aspect. Their warheads can be upgraded just like the RPG trooper, with the addition of super-anthrax to the mix.

Super Anthrax warheads:

"It may look like the Hulk's piss but believe me when I say you don't want to touch it."

-Talon Footman.

If it blows up, super-anthrax can be added to it, the explosion spraying out a short lived cloud of the virulent disease to eat apart flesh and material within seconds. To make matters worse, it can be upgraded from the green coloured Super-Anthrax Alpha, to the Cyan Super-Anthrax Beta which is over twice as deadly, making death instantaneous for normal humans caught under Toxin sprays. It can be further upgraded to the legendary magenta coloured Super Anthrax Gamma, which is twice as deadly still.

A weaponized clone of the hulk was sent to deal with the GLA. He did extremely well against their normal forces as the Hulk always did against conventional armies, but Toxin Troopers and Toxin tractors with Anthrax-Gamma sprayed him in their magenta death fluid and the microbes literally ate him into nothingness within seconds, overwhelming his healing factor with ease and rendering him down into purple goop.

Skysweeper Quad Cannon:

"Consider your wings clipped!"

-Skysweeper Ace as he downs a quartet of American F-15s.

Armed with four forty milimeter autocannons, the Skysweeper is a venerable but still very much deadly anti-aircraft vehicle capable of pumping out a massive amount of lead into the sky in seconds. Yet another International Inc invention, the Skysweeper can target both ground and air targets with equal ease, pumping them full of autocannon rounds at an obscene rate with stunning accuracy. They can be further upgraded, one upgrade improving their rate of fire massively, the next improving the rate of fire slightly more still and greatly increasing their firepower by increasing their caliber size to fifty millimeters. Furthermore, they can be improved with black hand shells for more destructive power. Skysweeper commanders take pride in the expensive infidel aircraft that they blow out of the skies, and mark their vehicles with kill tallies.

Armadillo Tank:

"WHY DOES THIS THING NOT F*CKING DIE!?!!?!?!!?!"

-Apache pilot.

Those who expect all GLA vehicles to be glass cannons or fragile speedsters are in for a rude awakening when they face the Armadillo tank, gifted to them by the government of Saudi Arabia, which ferverently supports the GLA in it's struggle to create a new caliphate, with the King at it's head, or so he hopes. Fortunately his hopes are well founded, and his gifts to the GLA are well appreciated.

The Armadillo's main gun has a caliber of one hundred milimeters, seemingly small, but with the same international inc technology as the scorpion, it's quite deceptive, as the revolutionary shells allow for greater punch with a smaller caliber. It's machine guns and Eradicator rocket rails are not it's true strength either, formadible as they may be.

No the true strength is the fact that the Armadillo is ridiculously well armored and durable. An apache gunship once unloaded it's entire sixteen hellfire missile payload and twelve hundred 30mm high velocity autocannon rounds onto an approaching armadillo tank to try and stop it after no less three abrams tanks firing at one simultaneously failed to pierce it's frontal armor after a minute of continuous firing.

Shockingly, the Armadillo's wreckage was analyzed, and it was found that the machine was still operational even after all the hellfire missiles hit, the 30mm autocannon only penetrated after repeatedly shooting at a spot where three APDS shells and two missiles hit until it broke and penetrated While no faster than an Abrams, the Armadillo is much tougher and can withstand attacks from most metahumans, who fall in the street level category. With Super-anthrax shells and rockets, it can threaten them as well.

Saracen Transport:

"We're doomed!"

-British soldier.

An APC equipped with dual 40mm autocannons, six machine guns, and strong armor along with firing ports and twin eradicator missile racks, this IFV is a strong rival for the M2 Bradley used by America. Made by International Incorporated, the Saracen is a peerless IFV, the finest money can buy that still uses conventional technology. And thus, the cash ladened Saudi Arabian Government and Black Hand were able to acquire them in bulk.

Capable of carrying twelve soldiers, this vehicle is considered to be a harbinger of death that can turn the tide of battles. The GLA quite frankly loves the vehicles and is quite careful with them despite the fact that they are very well armored and possess devastating armament. The Black Hand is less cautious with their Saracens, but even their pilots are very fond of them.

Royal Guardsmen:

"Aww crap...I forgot my brown pants."

-Talon footman upon seeing a squad of Royal guardsmen.

The cream of the GLA infantry crop, equipped with International INC bought Mameluke class power armored suits, the Guardsmen are terrifying combatants, equipped with two power fists or energy claws, thunder shields, storm hammers for melee weapons, two six racks of missiles on the shoulders, Heavy Super Anthrax Sprayers, twin barelled 0.75 caliber machine guns, 0.5 caliber miniguns, or shortened twin barelled 60mm autocannons. Additionally, with teleporters, they can take the fight to the enemy with ease, especially with their hugely enhanced strength and durability that lets them go toe to toe with most metahumans and come out on top with many of them. Fortunately, they are rare, but they tend to make enemies who catch sight of them "sh!t bricks" as one Talon footman put it.

Marauder Tank destroyer:

"The final word in destroying enemy armor, this vehicle can punch holes through even superheavy tanks and take the punishment back! Endlessly modular, this is the best buy for your nation's emerging army! Satisfaction guaranteed!"

-International Inc advertisement.

The Marauder Tank Destroyer earns it's name, these vehicles eat tanks and spit them out with contemptuous ease. Their massive one hundred seventy six millimeter main gun can pierce through even superheavy tanks fielded by advanced armies at a good distance, while their heavy armor can defend them from returning attacks. Equipped with six eradicator rockets and a massive number of machine guns, the Marauder has few weaknesses, well, save for it's lack of a turret.

However, with it's vast firepower, which can be further upgraded by increasing it's caliber to 220mms, allowing it to blow through virtually any target, especially with the lengthened barrel providing even more velocity. To make matters worse, it can have up to two more barrels, twelve more eradicator rockets and twelve more machine gun added to turn it into a tri-barrelled grim reaper on the battlefield. Furhter more, it can be upgraded with super-anthra shells. And it's decently fast on top of that.

A single marauder tank ace with the maximum upgrades once fought an entire British tank company singlehandedly, admittedly using clever usage of cover and a strategic ambush position. In the course of an intense ten minute engagement, it wiped out all thirty Challenger II tanks and roughly fifty other assorted vehicles it faced without suffering any more than some chipped paint.

Truly it is the final word in the GLA's anti-armor capability.