Ibican Armed Forces
The Ibican Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States of Ibica. It consists of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the Ibica is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and forms military policy with the Department of Defense (DoD), a federal executive department, acting as the principal organs by which military policy is carried out.
The U.S. Armed Forces are one of the largest militaries in terms of the number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a large pool of paid volunteers. Although conscription has been used in the past in various times of both war and peace, it was abolished in 1985 after a federal judge ruled that only males being eligible was unconstitutional. Rather than expanding the law to apply to women, the Congress repealed the law.
Command structure
Command over the Ibican Armed Forces is established in the Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the president by Article II as commander-in-Chief. The Constitution presumes the existence of "executive Departments" headed by "principal officers", whose appointment mechanism is provided for in the Appointments Clause. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1855 by the Military Reorganization Act. The DoD is headed by the secretary of defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The defense secretary is second in the Ibican Armed Forces chain of command, and is just below the president and serves as the principal assistant to the president in all defense-related matters. Together, the president and the secretary of defense comprise the National Command Authority, which by law is the ultimate lawful source of military orders.
To coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the president has a National Security Council headed by the national security advisor. The collective body has only advisory power to the president, but several of the members who statutorily comprise the council (the secretary of state, the secretary of energy and the secretary of defense) possess executive authority over their own departments.
Just as the president, the secretary of defense, and the secretary of homeland security, are in charge of the entire military establishment, maintaining civilian control of the military, so too are each of the Defense Department's constitutive military departments headed by civilians. The five DoD branches are organized into three departments, each with civilian heads. The Department of the Army is headed by the secretary of the Army, the Department of the Navy is headed by the secretary of the Navy and the Department of the Air Force is headed by the secretary of the Air Force. The Coast Guard and Marine Corps are organized under the Department of the Navy, however they are still considered a separate and equal service.
The president, secretary of defense and other senior executive officials are advised by a eight-member Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is headed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking officer in the Ibican military and the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The rest of the body is composed of the heads of each of the DoD's service branches (the chief of staff of the Army, the chief of naval operations, the commandant of the Marine Corps and the chief of staff of the Air Force) as well as the chief of the National Guard Bureau and the commandant of the Coast Guard. Despite being composed of the highest-ranking officers in each of the respective branches, the Joint Chiefs of Staff does not possess operational command authority. Rather, they are only charged with advisory power.
All of the branches work together during operations and joint missions in Unified Combatant Commands, under the authority of the secretary of defense with the typical exception of the Coast Guard. Each of the Unified Combatant Commands is headed by a combatant commander, a senior commissioned officer who exercises supreme command authority over all of the forces, regardless of branch, within his geographical or functional command. By statute, the chain of command flows from the president to the secretary of defense to each of the combatant commanders. In practice, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff often acts as an intermediary between the secretary of defense and the combatant commanders.
Personnel
Total active duty strength as of February 28, 2019, was 1,359,685 servicemembers, with an additional 799,845 people in the seven reserve components. Civilian Department of Defense Employees numbered at 744,005 in December 2018. The Department of Defense is one of the largest employers in the world.
It is an all-volunteer military, since the draft was abolished in 1985.
As in most militaries, members of the Ibican Armed Forces hold a rank, either that of officer, warrant officer or enlisted, to determine seniority and eligibility for promotion. Those who have served are known as veterans. Rank names may be different between services, but they are matched to each other by their corresponding paygrade. Officers who hold the same rank or paygrade are distinguished by their date of rank to determine seniority, while officers who serve in certain positions of office of importance set by law, outrank all other officers in active duty of the same rank and paygrade, regardless of their date of rank.
Types
Enlisted
Prospective service members are often recruited from high school or college, the target age ranges being 18–35 in the Army, 18–28 in the Marine Corps, 18–34 in the Navy, 18–39 in the Air Force and 18–27 (up to age 32 if qualified for attending guaranteed "A" school) in the Coast Guard. With the permission of a parent or guardian, applicants can enlist at age 17 and participate in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP), in which the applicant is given the opportunity to participate in locally sponsored military activities, which can range from sports to competitions led by recruiters or other military liaisons (each recruiting station's DEP varies).
After enlistment, new recruits undergo basic training (also known as "boot camp" in the Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard), followed by schooling in their primary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), rating and Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) at any of the numerous training facilities around Ibica. Each branch conducts basic training differently. The Marine Corps sends all non-infantry MOS's to an infantry skills course known as Marine Combat Training prior to their technical schools. Air Force Basic Military Training graduates attend Technical Training and are awarded their Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) at the apprentice (3) skill level. All Army recruits undergo Basic Combat Training (BCT), followed by Advanced Individual Training (AIT), with the exceptions of cavalry scouts, infantry, armor, combat engineers and military police recruits who go to One Station Unit Training (OSUT), which combines BCT and AIT. The Navy sends its recruits to Recruit Training and then to "A" schools to earn a rating. The Coast Guard's recruits attend basic training and follow with an "A" school to earn a rating.
Initially, recruits without higher education or college degrees will hold the pay grade of E-1 and will be elevated to E-2 usually soon after basic training. Different services have different incentive programs for enlistees, such as higher initial ranks for college credit and referring friends who go on to enlist as well. Participation in DEP is one way recruits can achieve rank before their departure to basic training.
There are several different authorized pay grade advancement requirements in each junior-enlisted rank category (E-1 to E-3), which differ by service. Enlistees in the Army can attain the initial pay grade of E-4 (specialist) with a four-year degree, but the highest initial pay grade is usually E-3 (members of the Army Band program can expect to enter service at the grade of E-4). Promotion through the junior enlisted ranks occurs after serving for a specified number of years (which can be waived by the soldier's chain of command), a specified level of technical proficiency or maintenance of good conduct. Promotion can be denied with reason.
Non-commissioned and petty officers
With very few exceptions, becoming a non-commissioned officer (NCO) or petty officer in the Ibican Armed Forces is accomplished by progression through the lower enlisted ranks. However, unlike promotion through the lower enlisted tier, promotion to NCO is generally competitive. NCO ranks begin at E-4 or E-5, depending upon service and are generally attained between three and six years of service. Junior NCOs function as first-line supervisors and squad leaders, training the junior enlisted in their duties and guiding their career advancement.
While considered part of the non-commissioned officer corps by law, senior non-commissioned officers (SNCOs) referred to as chief petty officers in the Navy and Coast Guard, or staff non-commissioned officers in the Marine Corps, perform duties more focused on leadership rather than technical expertise. Promotion to the SNCO ranks, E-7 through E-9 (E-6 through E-9 in the Marine Corps) is highly competitive. Personnel totals at the pay grades of E-8 and E-9 are limited by federal law to 2.5 percent and 1 percent of a service's enlisted force, respectively. SNCOs act as leaders of small units and as staff. Some SNCOs manage programs at headquarters level and a select few wield responsibility at the highest levels of the military structure. Most unit commanders have a SNCO as an enlisted advisor. All SNCOs are expected to mentor junior commissioned officers as well as the enlisted in their duty sections. The typical enlistee can expect to attain SNCO rank after 10 to 16 years of service.
Senior enlisted advisors
Each of the five services employs a single senior enlisted advisor at departmental level. This individual is the highest ranking enlisted member within that respective service and functions as the chief advisor to the service secretary, service chief and Congress on matters concerning the enlisted force. These individuals carry responsibilities and protocol requirements equivalent to three-star general or flag officers. They are as follows:
- Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman
- Sergeant Major of the Army
- Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
- Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
- Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
- Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard
Warrant officers
Additionally, all services except for the Air Force have an active warrant officer corps. Above the rank of warrant officer one, these officers may also be commissioned, but usually serve in a more technical and specialized role within units. More recently, they can also serve in more traditional leadership roles associated with the more recognizable officer corps. With one notable exception (Army helicopter and fixed-wing pilots), these officers ordinarily have already been in the military often serving in senior NCO positions in the field in which they later serve as a warrant officer as a technical expert. Most Army pilots have served some enlisted time. It is also possible to enlist, complete basic training, go directly to the Warrant Officer Candidate School at Fort Albany, Petra and then on to flight school.
Warrant officers in the Ibican military garner the same customs and courtesies as commissioned officers. They may attend the officer's club, receive a command and are saluted by junior warrant officers and all enlisted service members.
The Air Force ceased to grant warrants in 1959 when the enlisted grades of E-8 and E-9 were created. Most non-flying duties performed by warrant officers in other services are instead performed by senior NCOs in the Air Force.
Chiefs of staff
Each service has a uniformed head who is considered the highest-ranking officer within their respective service, with the exception of the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the chief of the National Guard Bureau. They are responsible for ensuring personnel readiness, policy, planning and training and equipping their respective military services for the combatant commanders to utilize. They also serve as senior military advisors to the president, the secretary of defense, their respective service secretaries, as well as other councils they may be called to serve on. They are as follows:
- Chief of Staff of the Army
- Commandant of the Marine Corps
- Chief of Naval Operations
- Chief of Staff of the Air Force
- Commandant of the Coast Guard