Small Island Nation Homeland Defense Corps
From BluWiki
The Small Island Nation Homeland Defense Corps (the Corps, or the HDC) is the permanent paramilliary establishment of the Small Island Nation. The Corps works under the direction of the Ministry of Homeland Defense and is the nation's first line of defense in the event of an attack. While the Corps is not a full-time military establishment, dismissing it as a mere militia would not do justice to its accomplishments and unique composition and role. The Corps is at once a customs and immigration enforcement agency, a government facilities protection force, and the established core of the Armed Forces of the Small Island Nation, around which the whole is built.
Organization
Unlike other world militaries, there are no upper echelon officers comperable to Colonels or Generals or Admirals. Operational control passes from the President, Prime Minister, and Parliament through the Minister of Homeland Defense to each of the eight Operational Offices. Each Operational Office is responsible for a particular geographic area, and has an appropriate number of HDC men assigned to it.
The functional (and indeed, only) unit of the HDC is the patrol. The six to nine men who comprise a patrol will operate a ship, crew a land vehicle, man a post, or service an aerial vehicle. A patrol is lead by an officer appropriately known as a Patrol Leader. Major operations involving more than one patrol will be lead by an Operational Officer. When not in command of a major effort, an Operational Officer will function as a Patrol Leader within his area. Overal coordiantion of efforts within the boundaries of the Area of Operation is the responsibility of the Director of the Operational Office.
Military Transition
When a military emergency arises and Parliament deems it necessary to mobilize the Armed Forces, members of the HDC are absorbed into the armed forces to lend their experience and technical abilities. In order to train and control the eager new recruits, HDC men are usually given higher rank and position then the equivalents they held in the HDC. A regular Patrolman, for instance, would enter the Army/Air Force as a Sergeant and the Navy as a Petty Officer. A Patrol Leader will gain the rank of Lieutenant or Captain on land or sea, based on seniority. An Operational Officer will likely be commissioned a Major. An officer with a special skill set or seniority will also be considered for the rank of Major (for example, the Major of the artillary battery is Patrol Leader responsible for them in peacetime.) Genrals and Admirals are political appointments, and are rarely part of the HDC before appointment.
