Overview of the AFFS
The AFFS is the largest, and on paper one of the strongest, military powers. The AFFS is composed of several layers, including National, Region and Militia forces that ultimately all answer to the First Prince.
Command Structure
First Prince: The military power of the AFFS resides in the hands of the First Prince. Since the days of Alexander Davion, the First Prince has been the ultimate commander of the military in the Federated Suns. In addition to determining the overall direction and strategy the AFFS will take, the First Prince is also responsible for all appointments to the High Command. This ensures that the High Command shares the same values and vision as the First Prince.
Prince's Champion: With the First Prince having so many responsibilities, beyond those of military, there is a need for someone who can speak for the First Prince in military matters when he is unavailable. That role is filled by the Prince's Champion, typically a senior Field Marshal, personally selected by the Prince. The current Prince's Champion is Field Marshal Bernard Rotengen. Field Marshal Rotengen served as Prince John's XO when he commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 4th Davion Guards. The two developed a close relationship, which has continued to the present day.
High Command: The High Command is composed of the senior officers in the AFFS. Currently the High Command includes 21 members. The membership is composed of the First Prince, his champion, the commanders of the Draconis and Capellan Marches, the commanders of each of the 8 Operational Areas, the Commanding Admiral of the Federated Suns Navy, the Commanders of the Dept of the Army and Navy, the Dept of Contractor Relations, the Dept of Military Administration, the Dept of Military Education, the Dept of Military Justice, the Intelligence Marshal and the commanders of MI2 (Intelligence) and MI3 (Operations)
The High Command is tasked with determining the military's goals and direction. Meeting regularly in person on New Avalon and by HPG, the High Command formulates directives and plans for the AFFS which are then disseminated down the Chain of Command. The High Command has access to some of the most advanced computer and holographic systems, allowing them to simulate any situation facing the AFFS. It is believed that the AFFS' apparent decision to move against the Capellan Confederation was based on simulations conducted by the High Command.
Regional Commands:
The Federated Suns is broken up into 3 region commands which correspond to the Crucis, Capellan and Draconis Marches. Each command is responsible for military operations in it's area. All military preparation and planning in the March is handled by the Regional Command staff. The Regional Commands also handle much of the bureaucracy needed to run the military. A large part of this bureaucracy is the Transportation and Resupply Command. Each region maintains it's own T&R Command to meet the needs of the units assigned to them. The T&R Command is responsible for the distribution of all supplies and replacement forces for the units in their area. During the peace of the Star League era, this did not prove problematic, however the complexity of these needs has increased dramatically as the Federated Suns moves towards war. This increase has greatly strained the system, especially along the Capellan and Draconis borders. It remains to be seen if the Regional Commands will be able to function effectively during the forthcoming war.
Operational Areas: With the Marches covering significant areas of space, they are each broken down into 2 or 3 Operation Areas. These smaller areas allow for a faster response to threats and crises, Each Operation Area is further broken down into between 2 and 4 Combat Regions. The Combat Regions handle the day to day operations of the AFFS, Regional Defense Forces and March Militias assigned to them. While in theory the AFFS and March Militia forces are under the command of the AFFS High Command and only temporary assigned to each Combat Region as dictated by the current military situation, budget cuts have reduced the transportation funding. As a result many line units have been posted to the same worlds for decades. As a result many of these units have developed great loyalty to their local region. This has caused issues when the AFFS has tried in recent years to redeploy units to new regions. Another issue facing the Combat Regions is a lack of communication between them. Currently should neighboring Combat Regions wish to coordinate operations with each other, they need to communicate through the Operational Area HQ. The situation is even worse when neighboring regions are in different Operational Areas or Marches, in these cases the communications must pass through the Regional Command HQs. The end result is that any efforts to coordinate operations between Combat Regions are slow and difficult.
Federated Suns Navy: While all of the ground forces and many of the planetary defense fighter and aerospace commands fall under the control of the Regional Commands and the Operational Areas, the Federated Suns Navy is under the direct control of the Commanding Admiral and the High Command. While there are numerous logical reasons why the Navy should not be under the control of the regional commanders, including but not limited to the fact that navy operations often spread across multiple Operational Areas and the navy's transportation and patrol duties, the main reason is to ensure the power of the First Prince. When reforming the AFFS, Alexander Davion sought to ensure that he remained the ultimate power in the Federated Suns. By directly controlling the Navy, which includes not just warship and offensive assets but all military transports, he ensured that he could control who could move where and when. While transport assets are assigned to the Transport and Resupply Commands of all 3 Regional Commands, those transports ultimately answer to the First Prince. Should the local lords seek to make a move against the First Prince, they would soon find themselves lacking the ships needed to transport their troops.
Military Departments:
The AFFS is composed of 6 departments. While the Regional Commands, Operational Areas and Combat Regions handle combat operations,the military departments are responsible for the administrative needs of the AFFS.
Department of the Army & Navy: The Department of the Army and Navy is responsible for handling all the personnel matters in the AFFS. Among the tasks handled by this department are the assignment of new troops to units, transfers, retirements and handling complaints from the field. The Department of the Army and Navy often works closely with Department of Military Justice in this last matter. When problems can not be handled unofficially, they are turned over to the DMJ for further investigation and prosecution.
Department of Military Education: The Department of Military Education handles the training of all new recruits, as well as advanced training for officers and NCOs. With so many soldiers in the AFFS, the DME faces the daunting task of ensuring that each new recruit receives the appropriate education.
Enlisted soldiers are trained at a number of boot camps spread across the Federated Suns. Many of these boot camps are run by either the local militias or the Combat Regions. As a result the quality and methods of training can vary greatly from one camp to another. The DME deploys a number of observers who regularly visit these training camps to ensure that the soldiers being trained there are receiving the education they need to function as members of the AFFS.
The DME is also responsible for the operation of the Federated Suns military academies. This includes both national schools such as NAMA and Albion, as well as the regional academies established by the Regional Defense Commands. While there is a fair bit of latitude in the curriculum, all course work must be approved by the DME. In addition to the military arts, there is a strong emphasis on history, especially military history. The DME also encourages the teaching of a pro-First Prince, pro-Federated Suns doctrine. While these programs are very obvious at NAMA and Albion, in many of the regional academies, there is a greater emphasis placed on loyalty to their local region. While officially frowning on these programs, the DME has generally turned a blind eye to them as long as the teachings focus on protecting the region and the people there, and not ideas of independence from the Federated Suns.
Department of Military Justice: The Department of Military Justice is responsible for all legal matters in the AFFS. This includes the investigation and prosecution of any violations of military law. To fulfill these tasks, the DMJ is staffed with judges, lawyers, legal aides and investigates. While the Federated Suns does not typically depend on Martial Law to maintain order, the DMJ does have a number of military police units. These are used to help maintain law and order, particularly on former Taurian worlds acquired during Reunification War, which have continued to be a hot bed of terrorist activity. The military police are also responsible for running the AFFS' military stockades and prisons.
Department of Contractor Relations: The Department of Contractor Relations is the newest department in the AFFS. Prior to the War of Davion Succession, the Federated Suns had little interest in hiring mercenaries, or Independent Defense Contractors, as they referred to them. Following the War of Davion Succession, IDCs were seen as a way to expand the Davion military while staying within the spirit of the Edict of 2650. Many of these early IDC's, which were composed of retired AFFS officers, were used to garrison periphery worlds and hunt pirate forces. Since the Coup and the collapse of the Star League, the role of mercenaries has greatly expanded. Following the exodus of the SLDF, the Department of Contractor Relations has negotiated a number of contracts with former SLDF units, greatly expanding the strength of the AFFS.
Department of Military Administration
The Department of Military Administration is a catchall for all of those services not handled by other branches of the AFFS. Among the tasks handled by this department are payroll, recordkeeping, the AFFS Historical Archives and Chaplain Service. Recently there has been some call to unite the various medical services found in the AFFS into a single Medical Corps, but this effort has faced strong resistance from numerous fronts.
Department of Military Intelligence: The Department of Military Intelligence is the primary intelligence gathering, analysis and covert operations force in the Federated Suns. While a number of civilian agencies are also responsible for intelligence gathering and operations, the DMI handles all military assignments. This includes both intelligence gathering as well as the security against foreign intelligence operatives.
MI1: Command
MI1 is composed of the Commander of the DMI, the directors of MI2, MI3 and MI4. MI1 is responsible for approving all operations.
MI2: Intelligence
MI2 is tasked with the gathering and interpretation of intelligence information. Intelligence gathering includes both SigInt (signal intelligence) and HumInt (human intelligence). SigInt operations include the monitoring of enemy communications and relaying that information to DMI intelligence centers. The collection methods include everything from simple radio receivers that transmit their data to the DMI via the local HPG to sophisticated surveillance dropships and jumpships that monitor entire systems. HumInt operations involve placing agents into positions where they can acquire needed data. As SigInt can result in rather random intel, HumInt operatives are used to gather specific intel needed for future operations. All of the data gathered by HumInt and SigInt operations is sent to the DMI HQ on New Avalon. There the data is fed into MI2s analysis and speculation computers which issues predictions based on the data that is provided. While there are some in MI2 that question the heavy reliance on the computer analysis, these predictions have proven so accurate in the past that many in the DMI consider them infallible.
MI3: Operations
MI3 is responsible for all counter insurgency and special operations. The Counter Insurgency division, the “Relentless Hounds†are responsible for identifying and neutralizing enemy agents operating in the Federated Suns. Depending on the situation, these enemy agents may be captured so that they can be interrogated or simply eliminated. The “Rapid Foxes†are elite special forces teams that are tasked with a variety of missions, ranging from abductions to assassinations to hostage rescue. While not publicly acknowledge by the Federated Suns government, their existence is a poorly kept secret.
MI4: Training
MI4 handles the training of all DMI agents. All recruits start with a common training curriculum before entering specialized training for their particular branch of service. During the initial training period the recruits are studied to determine if they posses any special traits or skills. In many cases recruits are reassigned to a different training program based on this review.
