Community Defence Forces

The Community Defence Forces are the all-environment armed forces of Sober Thought. Service in peacetime is voluntary.

Combined Staff

The nominal Commander-in-Chief of the CDF is the Community Conscience of Sober Thought. In practice, control is exercised by the Combined Staff containing the five chief marshals of the CDF. The five positions are Chief of the Combined Staff, Deputy Chief, Chief of the Land Staff, Chief of the Air Staff and Chief of the Naval Staff, and only the latter three must have had their main military experience serving with the environment they represent.

The combined staff is tasked with recruiting, training and organizing troops. It also makes strategic plans, then assigns the operational plans to the command, formation or unit it has designated to execute it.

Operational Command

It is a central principle of the CDF that those who make operational plans should execute them. Therefore, the subordinate commanders of the Combined Staff actually make the detailed plans and put them into practice so that staff errors are borne by themselves in combat.

As an integrated armed forces, operational commands may combine air, sea and land elements without specific distinction. The chief of each of the three environments have only a support role and do not interfere with operations directly. Furthermore, after the House of the Provinces has voted to make it so, the provincial Civil Guards may be directly integrated into the CDF for tactical or strategic purposes.

Warships

(As conceived when the nation's population was still counted in millions rather than billions)

Combat Ships

1 missile cruiser
 fleet flag ship, 11 000 tonnes, 550 crew under a Commander
3 destroyers
 squadron flag ship, 5 400 tonnes, 320 crew under a Vice Commander
15 anti-submarine frigates, 4 000 tonnes, 210 crew under a Chief Officer
12 minesweeping boats, 800 tonnes, 30 crew under an Officer
15 attack boats, 400 tonnes, 35 crew under an Officer

Combined Operations and Support Ships

1 troopship
 strategic transport of 4 000 soldiers, 540 crew under a Commander
3 assault ships
 amphibious landing, 250 soldiers, 100 sailors and 100 air crew under Vice Commander
6 supply ships
 strategic supply (food, fuel, ammunition, stores), 100 crew under a Chief Officer
3 boat tenders (modified frigates exchanging weapons for storage)
 tactical and boat flotillas supply, 110 crew under a Vice Commander

Civil Guard

Each province maintains its own Civil Guard, which may be directed by the provincial government in times of unrest or emergency. Additionally, the guards may be called upon for service with the CDF in times of war or tension.

Obviously, the size of the civil guard differs as widely as the population of each of the provinces. Listed below is the rank of the head of the Civil Guard and the approximate strength of the guard:

• Central Province, Marhsal, three operational divisions and assorted independent units totalling about 70 battalions
• Hochelaga, Marhshal, two operational divisions totalling about 40 battalions
• Thuvia, Vice Marshal, four operational brigades and a few independent units totalling 26 battalions
• Western Province, Vice Marshal, three operational brigades and a few independent units totally 20 battalions
• Lakes Province, Chief Commander, one operational brigade and two independent units totalling seven battalions
• Plains Province, Chief Commander, one operational brigade and one independent unit totalling six battalions
• South Island, Chief Commander, one operational brigade and one independent unit totalling six battalions
• Capital Province, Commander, four independent battalions with a central staff
• Braunekuste, Commander, four independent battalions with a central staff
• North Island, Commander, three independent battalions with a central staff
• Potato Island, Vice Commander, three independent companies with a central staff in a battalion equivalent

Rank, typical posting

Chief Marshal, serving only on the Combined Staff
Marshal, commanding land corps, land armies, air forces, naval fleets
Vice Marshal, commanding land divisions, air divisions, naval squadrons
Chief Commander, deputy commander of above
Commander, land brigades, air groups, the largest naval ships
Vice Commander, land battalions, air wings, large naval ships
Chief Officer, land companies, air squadrons, smaller naval ships
Officer, deputy commander of above, air flights, naval ship divisions, naval boats
Vice Officer, deputy commander of above, land platoons, naval boats
Chief Warrant Officer (land): Brigade Sergeant Major, Battalion SM, Base SM
Chief Warrant Officer (naval): Fleet Petty Officer, Squadron PO, Base PO
Chief Warrant Officer (air): Group Sergeant, Wing Sergeant, Base Sergeant
Warrant Officer (land): Company Sergeant Major
Warrant Officer (naval): Ship Petty Officer
Warrant Officer (air): Squadron Sergeant
Vice Warrant Officer (land): Platoon Sergeant Major
Vice Warrant Officer (naval): Boat Petty Officer, Division Petty Officer (ships)
Vice Warrant Officer (air): Flight Sergeant
Sergeant (land), Petty Officer (naval), Sergeant (air)
Corporal (land), Leading Sailor (naval), Corporal (air)
Private (land), Sailor (naval), Flier (air)