Commonwealth Navy (NASC)

The Commonwealth Navy
The Commonwealth Navy
La Marina de la Manucomunidad
	File:NASCNavyJack.png Naval Jack of The Commonwealth
Founded	15. April. 2031
Service branches	The Commonwealth Navy The Commonwealth Navy Reserve
Headquarters	War Ministry Building, Veluna City
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	Nataliya Valinova
Commonwealth Navy Secretary	Rosalina Close
Chief of Defense	FANAV Celso Fry
Manpower
Military age	18-50
Conscription	None during Peacetime
Active personnel	420,120
Reserve personnel	328,726
Expenditures
Budget	$1,250,116,424,020

The Commonwealth Navy is the naval arm of The Commonwealth Defense Force. It is the second oldest of the CODFOR branches, though nominally, as all branches were formed on the same day. The Commonwealth Navy is the replacement of the Pre-Revolutionary US Navy. It believes itself the inheritor of that legacy, and aims to improve upon the brighter aspects of it.

The Commonwealth Navy's Mission is to "Protect the shores of the North American Socialist Commonwealth and its allies from foreign invasion by sea and to decisively project the military power of the Socialist Commonwealth to foreign shores... to represent the interests of the Commonwealth. To use that military power as a constructive or destructive force." With this mission, the Commonwealth Navy is the most aggressive of CODFOR's branches. The Commonwealth Navy is headed, government side by the Commonwealth Navy Secretary, and by extension, the War Minister. The Chief of Staff is the Fleet Admiral of The Navy. The FANAV's aide, and in absentia representative (assuming the FANAV is still alive) is The Master Chief Petty Officer of The Navy. During the 2063 fiscal year the Commonwealth Navy was stated to have 400,000 active and 300,000 reserve personnel alongside 80,000 related government officials.

Mission

In accordance with the law that formed The Commonwealth Navy, the purpose of The Commonwealth Navy is to, "Protect the shores of the North American Socialist Commonwealth and its allies from foreign invasion by sea and to decisively project the military power of the Socialist Commonwealth to foreign shores... to represent the interests of the Commonwealth. To use that military power as a constructive or destructive force". This overall mission statement in turn forms the tenants that form the basis of Operational Doctrine.

Prevent hostile Naval Forces from significantly breaching the Commonwealth's territorial waters by any means necessary.
Secure Commonwealth sea trade routes.
Engage in piracy and slave trafficking activities wherever they are encountered.
Use Carrier Air Power to engage and eliminate threats to the Commonwealth as the Parliament deems necessary.

History

Origins

The origins of the Commonwealth Navy is traced until after the revolution. Despite a goodly number of defections on the part of the Navy, there were no takeovers of fleets, rather the Revolution saw the United States Navy sit out. Those who did defect essentially prevented the navy from being used against revolutionaries during the conflict, and prevented Loyalists from sabotaging existing vessels, though the three Gerald Ford Class carriers under construction were essentially destroyed in dock. There was much debate in the forging the constitution over what form the Navy should of taken or whether a Navy should have existed at all. A Navy is after all the primary tool of aggressive force projection on a global scale. In the end, the Commonwealth did decide to form a Navy, even an aggressive one to act as a "Big Stick", in reference to the espoused "Teddy Roosevelt Doctrine".

Pre-Opening

The Commonwealth Navy was something of a disliked force in the time of "The Hermit Commonwealth", as a result it got no new equipment, instead having to rely on aging (in some cases dramatically so) equipment that was dated before the Revolution, training standards were maintained, but with equipment that was failing regularly there was only so much to be done. Things improved by 2040, but given the slow rate of ship construction, the Commonwealth Navy took quite the bloody nose in the rude awakening of The Northern War.

During the Northern War, the Navy found itself insufficient to discharge its duties. Despite having almost no meaningful resistance (what existed was an even more decrepit air carrier with a skeleton wing, and 10 missile boats), the Commonwealth Navy was beaten pretty badly. Though officially no ships were lost, at least 3 were functionally knocked out of commission and thousands of lives were lost. This embarrassment was devastating, and The Commonwealth Navy (and indeed the government) was given a rude awakening. After the opening, the Navy received a massive boost in funding, and has retained it to the modern day.

The Phonencian War & Coup

In the early phases of The Phonencian Conflict, the Commonwealth Navy played minimal part. Rather it was civilian merchant ships, that had been armed and issued Naval Ship's Troops that participated in most of the action. That was until the seventh and eighth were intercepted and destroyed by the Imperial Phonencian Navy, Commonwealth Naval vessels began to take over and engage the Phonencians directly. Despite several engagements, there was no decisive Naval Superiority.

In the Commonwealth the Navy was engaged in a civil war of its own. Several loyal to the War Minister were in the officership of the Navy, and essentially prevented any meaningful Naval intervention on the coup de tat as it progressed. Instead naval personnel fought amongst themselves, unless they were deployed in Phonencia, and otherwise distracted. When the original government had been restored Coup Officers were handed over, and later executed.

Arthuristan War and After

The Commonwealth Navy was the first to intervene in the Arthuristan Civil War, and the most heavily hit. A relative lack of preparedness, and some Rebel bombers resulted in a great reaping against forces intervening to help the Loyalists. Though the Commonwealth Navy was not to be considered the most heavily hit in this respect, it was heavily hit by the attack. After that engagement, the Commonwealth Navy launched a devastating counter-strike, likely in a fit of vengeance. The Navy was again battered in the only major naval engagement of the conflict where the Commonwealth fleet lost the carrier assigned to it as well as numerous other ships. After this point the Commonwealth Navy largely faded from the conflict as the Air Force arrived in force to take its place.

The Commonwealth Navy has perhaps been the most active since the Arthuristan War, engaging in several anti-piracy and slavery operations around its sea lanes. Through these operations, the Commonwealth Navy hopes to keep a fleet of veterans capable of fighting in future wars, and giving a better show than it has in previous conflicts.

Organization

The Commonwealth Navy is a strictly volunteer force, with a slight majority operating in active service to the Navy. The majority of reservists are former active service members. Commonwealth Navy members are referred to as members of "The Navy" as opposed to "The Naval Defense Force", which is a title held by Green and Brown water assets held by the Citizen's Defense Force. The Commonwealth Navy reserve has not yet been activated or put on alert since the inception of The Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Navy organizes along the following lines, with landbound facilities being subordinate to fleets:

Unit	Commanded By
Commonwealth Naval Ship (CNS)	Commander, Captain
Naval Squadron	Commodore
Flotilla	Commodore, Rear Admiral
Fleet Carrier Taskforce	Rear Admiral
Supercarrier Taskforce, Surface Taskforce	Vice Admiral
Naval Group, Submarine Group	Admiral Proper
Naval Fleet	Fleet Admiral

Components and Commands

The Commonwealth Navy is comprised of Service Components and Commands, both of which are collectively referred to as Commands. Service Components are largely ground based support sections of the Commonwealth Navy. Commands are groups of warships and the Commonwealth Naval Transport Service, or more accurately the bureaucracy that controls those elements. Military commands at this scale are functionally governmental organizations in their own right.

Component Commands

Command	Current Commander	Headquarters
Staff Command	FANAV Celso Fry	Veluna City, Columbia
Materiel and Transport Command (MATCOM)	FAD Connell Sims	Veluna City, Columbia
Training Command	ADM Geordi Knight	Commonwealth Naval Academy, Columbia
Reserve Command (RESCOM)	ACC Maura Oakley	Veluna City, Columbia
Medical Command (MEDCOM)	ACC Páz Mierya	Veluna City, Columbia
Strategic Weapons Command	FAD Tamara Andrede	Fort Nocturne, Montañas

Naval Fleets and Groups

Fleet/Group	Commander	Headquarters; Wartime Headquarters
1st Fleet	FAD Raymond Jones	Veluna City, Columbia; CNS Vigilance
2nd Fleet	FAD Charlene Forrest	Veluna City, Columbia; CNS Veracity
3rd Fleet	FAD Enrique Rocío	San Fransisco, Vesper; CNS Enterprise (former USS Enterprise)
4th Fleet	FAD Epifanio Basiliso	Corazón del Rio, Isla Verde; CNS Vanguard
5th Fleet	FAD Issac Saddler	Corazón del Rio, Isla Verde; CNS Valiant
6th Fleet	FAD Lisandro Puerta	Corazón del Rio, Isla Verde; CNS Victory
7th Fleet	FAD Corrado Mariani	Port Fairhaven, Veiled Isle; CNS Vengeance
Strategic Submarine Fleet	FAD Eric Koss	Veluna City, Columbia; Fort Nocturne, Montañas
Coastal Fleet East	FAD Juan Norinco Peréz	Boston, New England; CNS Steele
Coastal Fleet West	FAD Harrison Rhodes	San Fransisco, Vesper; CNS Stark
Coastal Fleet Verde	FAD Angelica Trinidad	Corazón del Rio, Isla Verde; CNS Sunder
Coastal Fleet Veiled Isle	FAD Concetto Aconi	Port Fairhaven, Veiled Isle; CNS Sentinel
Reserve Independent Transport Fleet	FAD Julia Fasan	Veluna City, Columbia

High Level Structure

The top level of the Commonwealth Navy, is of course Staff Command. It is in fact the Command of Commanders. Underneath the Staff Command, other Components and Commands are mostly equal, and are entirely interoperable. Underneath these are Naval Fleets, and Groups. The lowest level bureaucratic formation is the Naval Fleet which is consequently also its highest level operational unit.

The Commonwealth Navy maintains its full fleet strength in times of peace, however, various fleets may be in port rather than out on maneuvers or operations, and many naval personnel take this time off. As the most aggressive branch of The Commonwealth Defense Force, the Commonwealth Navy is most often at a high readiness status at all times.

Underwater Demolition Teams

The Underwater Demolition Teams are the Special Forces organization of the Commonwealth Navy. They are an outcropping of Naval Ship's Troops, who provide security on board ships, performing boarding actions, and act as a shore team in some cases. The Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) by extension provide offboard Operations, often mine defusing or hostile ship sabotage, as well as high risk Boarding Actions. The UDTs are very much elite organization, and consider themselves the best of the best in the Commonwealth Defense Force, a claim that has been refuted by many other special operators over the years.

Personnel

The Commonwealth Navy is a volunteer force, and conscription during peacetime has been ruled unconstitutional. During times of war, Class 1 Draftees (those with desirable physical and mental characteristics, or skillsets that the Navy is in short supply of), may be drafted into the Navy, though a draft has never occurred in the Commonwealth's history, and is unlikely to occur barring an invasion of the Commonwealth. The Navy is mostly comprised of career soldiery with a small number of people joining for the minimum service term (4 years). Average length of service is 15.8 years for Enlisted, and 23.2 years for Commissioned personnel.

Enlisted candidates spend 6 months in Basic Indoctrination and Training Camp, being trained in the basic skills of soldiery, as well as being brought up to an appropriate level of physical and mental fitness for duty. This is then followed by a brief vetting and sorting process to place candidates into appropriate fields of advanced training, eventually graduating and moving on to active duty. Advanced training can take anywhere from a couple of additional months for some fields (such as maintenance, transport, and basic clerical) to a year or more (linguistic or high level mechanical work). After completing at least one tour of duty soldiers may apply for further specialized training, which will give them more technical skills, specialized training, or perhaps candidacy for entry into UDTs.

Officer Candidates must complete University with a degree appropriate to Navy major requirements, and have completed University Officer Pre-Basic Training School while attending University. Candidates that pass this benchmark must then complete Basic Indoctrination and Training Camp, to similarly learn skills of soldiery, though they must only spend a period of three months in camp, as they are expected to already have met physical and mental standards through training at University. Officer Candidates will then be trained in Officer Candidate School, and finally go through advanced officer training programs before going to a post with a Commission.

Generally upon completion of a tour of service, soldiers have the option of signing on for another term in active service, joining a reserve unit, or leaving. Continuation of service for many is a viable option, and most do continue to serve. The Reserves are generally inactive barring monthly training sessions, and being called up in times of international crisis or in the event of a state of emergency. Some members (especially officers) opt to remain in active service due to higher chances of promotion. Leaving service after a single term is uncommon, with roughly 10% of service members leaving after 4 years.

Commissioned Officers

Commissioned Officers are the Leadership of the The Commonwealth Navy. They begin their tenure before actually receiving commissioning, training while in university and during basic camp training. Those who are in such training are given the nominal rank of Cadet. While in university they are expected to study in a major that the Navy needs, or one that otherwise fits into appropriate guidelines for a future in military service. Upon graduation they will go to BITC further acquiring basic leadership skills alongside soldiery skills by being placed as "bunk leads", and generally acting as trainee leadership. These skills are further honed in Officer Candidate School, at the end of which successful cadets will be awarded their commissions and promoted to the O-1 rank of Lieutenant (pilots are given an equivalent rank of Pilot Officer).

Lower Ranking Officers (referred to as Line Officers or "Bar Officers" due to the bars that appear on their rank insignia) are sometimes given pilot training, at which point they will become pilots of air craft. Pilots will ascend the ranks until leading a Squadron of craft. Other Commissioned Officers are given direct command of low level task groups, working their way up the ranks with the goal of commanding a ship. If further promotion is desired they will be required to pass staff college, at which point they will be entrusted to greater levels of responsibility eventually ending up as defacto commander of the entire Navy with the "Chain Independent" Ad Honorarium Rank of Fleet Admiral of the Navy.

Low salaries for Commissioned Officers start at UTC40,000, and the current FANAV earned UTC125,000 in 2063. Typically promotions occur at 2 year intervals though this rate can be dramatically different depending on the particular focus of the Officer in question. Though it is rare, enlisted personnel may occasionally become officers as the result of performing well in the case of a brevetted promotion. Such individuals will then be put through OCS and graduate with commission. These "Mustangs" are among the most well respected of the officer class given their high levels of practical experience in addition to leadership capabilities.

Commissioned Officers are taught and expected to be leaders first and foremost. Though tactical ability and a fine mind are very much traits that are expected of an officer, a cool head and force of presence in a stressful situation is deemed more important than these in many fields. Officers are also expected to be honorable and to lead by example as well as through command and force of will. One who is needlessly wanton with the lives of those under them, or one who is a coward, a fool, or is otherwise incompetent will be very quickly removed from command, and in many cases from the Navy entirely.

Overall, about 9% of the Navy, or roughly 67,500 members of the Navy are Commissioned Officers.

File:Rank Insignia CommissionedComNav.png

Rank Insignia of Commonwealth Navy Commissioned Officers

Enlisted Soldiers

Enlisted Soldiers are the bulk of the The Commonwealth, performing all of the little things that keep the Navy going. There are no university requirements to join the Navy as an Enlisted Soldier, one simply joins. Before officially becoming Seamen, one must go through BITC and advanced training to learn the skills of soldiery as skills relevant to their profession. At the end of this period, they will become Seamen and full members of the Navy.

Low ranking enlisted soldiers, oft referred to as Seamen (regardless of actual rank). If one wants to go past the rank of E-3, they must attend Non-Commissioned Officer School, learning tenants of leadership as they transition into a future as an NCO. NCOs, as part of the final part of NCO school must work as drill instructors with a class of BITC students, thus seeding a veteran's skills into the minds of raw recruits, and some remain in this position as permanent drill instructors. The one exception to this process are the few soldiers who perform well outside the requirements of their jobs to perform a deed of great heroism and earn the ad honorarium and actually chain independent rank of Color Petty Officer and are, regardless of former status referred to as Non-Commissioned Officers, though many opt to train new recruits anyway. These soldiers are a rarity, holding colors, and leading color guards on parade or acting as the seniormost sergeant in a unit, oft the Ship's Captain adjutant in service. The highest rank achievable for Enlisted soldiers is Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, of which there is only one.

Freshly recruited Seamen earn a salary of UTC25,000 and the current MCPN earned a salary of UTC55,000 in 2063. Promotions typically occur at 3-4 year intervals dependent on the specific task an Enlisted soldier performs.

Enlisted Soldiers are expected to be candid yet dutiful "sometimes referred to as fighting smart not necessarily hard". In other words, a soldier is allowed, maybe even expected to give advice to the officer commanding them but are also supposed to follow these orders. Soldiers are to exercise a measure of initiative, performing actions to improve their efficiency or survivability while performing their duties. This is especially true of a Non-Commissioned Officer, who, as a veteran of many years has vastly more practical experience than a junior officer, and is therefore meant as a voice of experience for the officer.

Overall 91% or roughly 682,500 personnel in the Navy are Enlisted... making them the clear majority of military personnel in the Navy.

File:Rank Insignia EnlistedComNav.png

Rank Insignia of Commonwealth Air Force Enlisted Soldiers

Reserves

The Reserves are a sizable organization within The Commonwealth Navy. The Reserves are comprised of 300,000 soldiers, nearly half of the total manpower in the Navy. Reservists are drawn from a pool of soldiers who have already completed at least one full enlistment period, and who have opted to move into the Reserves rather than continue in Active Service. Reservists are generally speaking, kept inactive to be pressed into service only in a true state of emergency, and are therefore free to pursue a civilian career. Reservists, in order to keep their skills up are required to attend monthly weekend training sessions and annual week long exercises.

The Commonwealth Navy has set "reserve units" in the sense that the Naval Transport Fleet is currently predominantly crewed by the Commonwealth Navy's reserve pool. The Commonwealth Navy does however also use reserve personnel as a manpower buffer, restaffing understrength units in the case of high casualties among active service units. The Commonwealth Navy does activate the reserves with frequency, activating transport crews for a supply run and then deactivating them on a rotating schedule.

Operational Doctrine

As previously stated, the foundation of the Navy's Operational Doctrine is its mission tenets. As the Commonwealth does not currently have aggressive objectives in mind the current doctrine is as follows:

1) Prevent hostile Naval Forces from significantly breaching the Commonwealth's territorial waters by any means necessary.

This mission objective is met predominantly with the "Coastal Fleets", which are carrierless, but very much parts of the Navy. Coastal Fleets, in conjunction with ground based assets (especially CIDFOR patrol aircraft), to seek potential hostile fleets, and engage them. The Commonwealth is very strict in this regard, and the Commonwealth Navy must do literally anything in its power to stop a potential invasion at sea, and it is considered an accepted part of doctrine to make use of nuclear armed missile frigates to destroy hostile fleets.

2) Secure Commonwealth sea trade routes.

A joint coastal, carrier fleet mission. The Commonwealth Navy in this regard are to patrol the sealanes of Commonwealth jurisdiction, looking for threats to trade and destroying them. This leads into the third objective.

3) Engage in piracy and slave trafficking activities wherever they are encountered.

The other side of patrolling Commonwealth sea lanes, The Commonwealth Navy is the primary arm of the Commonwealth when it comes to anti-slavery, and anti-piracy operations. As part of its routine security patrols, Naval fleets are to seek and destroy potential high seas pirates and to liberate slaves while punishing their traffickers. Typically, such persons are found via carrier launched aircraft, and if it is necessary engaged via that method. It is also a well known tactic of Commonwealth Navy fleets to "shadow" slaver ships, to find bases of operation, markets, and distributions points, and then attack and destroy those bases.

4) Use Carrier Air Power to engage and eliminate threats to the Commonwealth as the Parliament deems necessary.

The most aggressive aspect of the Navy, quite simply the use of the Carriers in the Commonwealth Navy to project the military force of the Commonwealth where parliament deems necessary. Generally speaking, the Commonwealth does not use the Navy in this fashion, but there have been instances when naval based strikes have needed to occur.