Department of War

Department of War

The Department of War's official crest
Defense Agency overview
Formed	February 13, 1919 (1919-02-13)
Superseding agency	Ministry of Military Affairs
Type	Defense Agency
Jurisdiction	The United States of Sera
Status	Active
Headquarters	1700 North King's Way, Black Mountain Military Installation, Providence, Kado, Unified Sera
Motto	"Parva Sub Ingenti", The Small Under the Protection of the Great"
Employees	500,000+
Annual budget	$120.64bn
Secretary of War responsible	Leonard A. Freemantle (2024)
Deputy Secretary of War responsible	Dwayne Jones (2024)
Defense Agency executive	Idris Oryx, Chief of the Board of Defense Ministers

The Department of War (DoW, USDoW, or DOW) s an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to warfare and national defense against foreign actors, and the United States of Sera's Royal Armed Forces. The DOW is the largest employer in the entirety of the United States of Sera with over 1 million active-duty service members (soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen) as of 2021. More employees include over 732,000 civilians bringing the total to over 1.732 million employees. Headquartered at the Black Mountain Military Installation in Kito'Bahari, Kado, just outside of the Palace of Kings, the DoW's stated mission is to provide "the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security".

The Department of War is headed by the secretary of War, a cabinet-level head who reports directly to the Prime Minister of the United States of Sera and is advised by the current Chief of the Boad of Defense Ministers. The Secretary of War and Chief of the Board are both directly responsible to the Prime Minister and Parliament while the Monarchy has no authority over the command and direction of the military. Further, whereas the entirety of the Seran military (with the unique exception of the royal guard) fall beneath their umbrella of authority, there are certain entities that can be described as "military organizations" or "military adjacent" that do not fall under the Department of War but instead the Department of National Security. Currently, the Department of War has been tasked with several peacekeeping operations across Adula and a multitude of programs aimed at pushing progress within the Seran military.

Beneath the Department of War are three subordinate military departments: the Department of the Royal Army, the Department of the Royal Navy, and the Department of the Royal Air Force. In addition, four national intelligence services are subordinate to the Department of War: the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Domestic Security Agency (DSA), the National Seran Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NSGA), and the National Reconnaissance and Action Office (NRAO). Other War agencies include the Department for the Advancement of Military Technologies (DAMT), the War Logistics Agency (WLA), the Missile Defense Response and Action Agency (MDRAA), the Defense Health Agency (DHA), War Threat Reduction Agency (WTRA), the War Counterintelligence and Security Agency (WCSA), and the Space Development and Exploration Agency (SDEA), all of which are subordinate to the secretary of War. Additionally, the Seran Armed Defense Contract Management Agency (SADCMA) is responsible for administering contracts for the DoW. Military operations are managed by eleven regional or functional Unified combatant commands. The Department of War also operates several joint services schools.

Formed shortly before the Seran civil war, the department mostly consisted of military leaders and civilian consultants whose singular purpose was to advise the acting Prime Minister and monarchy on military strategy, tactics, logistics, and managed the overall structure, function, and duties of the Seran armed forces. For the most part, the department's structure during its early days was extremely fluid as it was formed out of the much more passive Ministry of Military Affairs which did not have any true authority as a body over the military. The Department of War was formed out of necessity by the ruling monarch her royal majesty Queen Zuri Tu'Aruc and the backing of the Prime Minister after the humiliating defeat at the hands of Emmiria 10 years prior and the disastrous mishandling of the Ministry of Military affairs.

The department's ability to direct and control the military would be put to the test after the outbreak of civil war only a year after the formation of the department. However, now funded by a sizable national budget, staffed by tactical and strategic officers with battlefield experience, the backing of generals, admirals, and other military officers, the DoW was able to successfully defeat the secessionists after 5 years of bloody conflict. Since those days, the DoW has proven itself an effective and necessary agency by prosecuting and winning wars, adjusting to the ever changing landscape of war, and commitment to increasing and promoting innovation.