Kalistan

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Kalistani News in Brief:  Princess Margaret prepares for National Service
Kalistan visits Hutori about Frigates; Princess Carolina enters Hospice
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
July 15, 5631


Kalistan seeks to purchase up to 28 Hutorian Bekenial II ASW Frigates (shown here) as Fleet Upgrades

Her Highness Minor Princess Margaret Prepares for National Service
Having completed Secondary Schooling, Her Highness, the Minor Princess Margaret-Carolina Nicolette Ananto-DeLaurentis is preparing to enter National Service in Ananto.  She will join the Ananto Corps on August 1, and will do basic training in the Blue Grass Valley.  There was some debate as to whether the Minor Princess would take a year off to wait until she was 18, but she has decided to go directly into National Service and will celebrate her 18th Birthday in Basic Training.  "I think I would like to build things," said the Minor Princess.  "But who knows:  I might end up becoming a cook.  It depends on what they think I am good at, and matching that and my interests with what the Service needs."  

Unlike her sister, Her Highness the Grand Duchess of Ananto Mary Natalia Ananto-DeLaurentis, the Minor Princess Margaret has decided to remain in Ananto.  "I know I want to stay close to my mom and my grandma.  If anything happens to either of them, I want to be able to get here and help them.  So I can stay in Ananto to do my service."  The Minor Princess thinks she may take some courses while she is in the service so she can get started on her post secondary education while she is in, and hopes to have most of a college degree program completed by the time she leaves National Service.  She will be given leave in October, where she will be inducted into the Ancient Order of Gray Smoke and will be titled Countess of Luxon by Her Highness, Princess Regent Michelle Ananto-Sandoval.

Kalistan Visits Hutori to Inquire into Frigate Technology
Her Imperial Majesty's Minister of Defense, Admiral Harry Reals, has been dispatched to Hutori to continue discussions about the potential purchases of up to 28 Hutorian Bekenial II Class Frigates to assist Kalistan in its continuing efforts to upgrade its ASW assets.  The Bekenial Frigate is an 8,000 tonne ship that utilizes electric motors fed by diesel electric generators and can travel up to 26 knots per hour with a max range of 7,000 nautical miles.  It's crew is between 150 and 160 sailors, and has several weapons options, including anti-Air missile, ship to ship cruise missiles, as well as a 5 inch main gun, 2 30mm batteries, and a 20mm Phalanx System for anti-aircraft and small vessel defense.

"The main strengths of the Bekenial II is that it is the premier Antisub ship on the waves at the moment, and as Kalistani defenses are leaning heavily on anti-sub technology, we think this would be a perfect addition to our fleets," said Minister Reals.  "We saw demonstrations of several of Hutori's ships when they visited Port Swedes last year, and this was the one that caught our eye."  Reals said that the Kalistani government expressed interest at the time in the potential purchase of multiple of these ships, and this was the follow up meeting from that initial discussion.

"We are also interested in partnering with the Hutorian defense industry," said Reals.  "There are some improvements that we could theoretically make to their hull technology, propulsion systems, and electronics to be able to produce lighter and more maneuverable ships of the same class that, if they test well, could move anti-submarine technology the next step in detection and counteraction of the danger posed not only by rogue nations, but also missile armed subs that could pose a threat to the world.  This is something else we will discuss in Hutori, and could yield great benefits."  The discussions are expected to last for several months.

Princess of the Empire Carolina enters Hospice
Her Highness, Princess of the Empire and former Empress Carolina Ananto-Hulanevek went into hospice in Kaliburg this week.  The Princess was diagnosed with Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer.  "The cancer has a very low survivability rate," said Her Highness, Princess Regent Michelle Ananto-Sandoval.  "My mother is in her mid 80s now, and I think she has known something was wrong for a long time, but she went into the doctor complaining of abdominal pain and lack of appetite and the tests they ran confirmed the diagnosis.  So we're working with hospice care here in Kaliburg.  This way we can be close to her."

Hospice care is given to those who are terminally ill and in their final stages of life.  A patient may opt for compassionate end of life procedures from there, but hospice is usually designed for those who are not quite ready to go and want the opportunity to be as comfortable as possible as they say good bye to their family and friends.  "My mom knows she's dying, and she has lived a very long and eventful life.  I think she just wants to make sure she has the opportunity to go out on her own terms, and then when the pain gets too bad, I think she will have some choices to make."

Her Highness, the Grand Duchess of Ananto is expected to visit the Princess later this summer for a week before completing her final year of National Service.

@TheRepublic