Ministry of Defence (Themiclesia)
| dang′-st′a-proang-gwrals-be′ 尚書邦衛部 | |
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| Ministry overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | Oct. 30, 1970 |
| Preceding agencies |
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| Jurisdiction | Themiclesia |
| Headquarters | Kien-k'ang, Themiclesia |
| Employees | 56,860 civilian staff (October 2015) |
| Annual budget | OSD$63 bn |
| Minister responsible |
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| Ministry executive |
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| Parent department | Cabinet |
| Child agencies |
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The Ministry of Defence (尚書邦衛部, dang′-st′a-proang-gwrals-be′) of Themiclesia is the government department for implementing defence policies set by the the government of Themiclesia. It is currently led by Secretary of State for Defence, Geoffrey Smlem Tswats (沈最), with the assistance of four junior ministers and the Permanent Under-Secretary of State, the professional head of the Ministry. Within it, there exist three subordinate departments that represent each of the three military services, the army, navy, and Themiclesian Air Force.
The principal objectives of the Ministry of Defence are the defence of Themiclesia and her interests against foreign invasions, the discharge of Themiclesia's military obligations as required by statute and international treaties, and the general maintenance of the peace and stability in Septentrion as directed by the government. The senior and responsible minister of the department, the Secretary of State for Defence, is the de facto commander-in-chief of the armed forces, under the country's statutory and customary law, cabinet ordinances, and government policy, and further is responsible politically to the country's parliament.
History
Preceeding bodies
The current Ministry of Defence is the result of the merger of the Ministry of War (尉曹軍曹尚書部, ′uts-dzu-prang-dzu-dang′-st′a-be′, lit. "ministry of the secretary of state for the marshalcy department and military department"), the Admiralty Department (黃寺, gwrang-smle′), and the Ministry of Air (汔行部, kreps-grang-be′) in 1970. Previous to the merger, the civilian bureaucracy that compose of their respective staff have already underwent extensive evolution, mostly under the process of centralization and simplification. This process was independent of the evolution of ministerial portfolios, which were created and dissolved according to policy needs.
The Ministry of War, whose name in Shinasthana literally means "Ministry of the Secretary of State for the Marshalcy Department and Military Department" came into existence around 1810, from the merger of several overlapping offices that superintended the pre-modern Themiclesian armies. The Marshalcy Department and Military Department were civilian agencies of the Chancery overseeing the recruitment of soldiers and mobilization of militias, and the appointment of military officers, respectively. War-related production was managed under the Ministry of Works. The central planning of warfare, an interdepartmental affair, was carried out mainly between the Emperor and his council of ministers. There existed separate secretaries of state for domestic forces, transmarine forces (in the colonies across the Meh Sea), and other imperial advisors, but these were personal advisors not charged with any official responsibility.
The Admiralty Department was split from the Sacramental Treasury early in the 9th century. The Admiralty was led by a group of aristocrats known as the "barons of the admiralty", who functioned as a committee and was often not located in Themiclesia except for one or two "home barons" responsible for communicating the other barons' ideas to the government.
The Air Ministry was established by statute in 1919, to manage civilian aviation in Themiclesia. At the time, several aviation clubs already existed, operating largely without oversight and regularly entering disputes with local authorities. In 1921, it was decided that an air force would be strategically valuable in defending Themiclesia's very remote border regions and that it would be best managed together with civilian aviation; hence, the Themiclesian Air Force was created as a function of the League of Aviation Clubs in 1922 and became independent in 1923. With war impending in 1935, civilian aviation was placed under the Ministry of Transport.
Inter-service rivalry and merger
While many armed forces experienced inter-service rivalries, Themiclesia's experience was less pronounced than others during the early 20th century. A number of factors may be cited to explain this observation. Foremost, there was a traditional boundary between the army and navy's jurisdictions: the army focused on everything east of Themiclesia, accessible by land, while the Navy dealt with everything west and south, accessible by sea. This would not be challenged until the PSW.
Later, due to a defensive military outlook and stable diplomatic relations, there was comparatively little disagreement over upcoming military activity; however, as the government prioritized economy over defence, disputes between the services still arose, albeit for financial reasons and not strategic ones. Also, since elected politicians ultimately represented the services to the cabinet, it was difficult for the services to induce the minister to defy government policy. Equally, with the overwhelming importance of social status that military ranks reflected but did not confer, even senior admirals felt reluctant to challenge the government.
Nevertheless, changes in perspectives still drove the two (later three) ministries towards sharing of resources, elucidating redundancies amongst them. These were addressed in two phases. The Secretary of State for Appropriations originally controlled two fleets and two armies. The wars of the 1790s forced virtually all land forces to garrison and victual in Themiclesia-proper, so they were transferred to the War Secretary's portfolio for ease of administration. Then the navy was split into its own portfolio to prevent an unnecessary combinations of very distinct policy areas.
Structure
As responsible minister, the Secretary of State for Defence is ultimately answerable to the Government and Parliament for the implementation of government policy and thus holds final say over the ministry's statutory remit. A number of junior ministers have been appointed to oversee specific policy areas; while some positions, like the Minister of State, the deputy of the Secretary of State, are statutory, others may be ad hoc appointments.
The body which advises the secretary of state is called the Ministerial Conference (部議). Statutorily, all ministers and those civil servants ranked above assistant-secretary are members of the body, whose meetings are weekly but may vary according to defence needs. Civil servants need not be departmental heads to attend the Conference, though the majority are. The professional heads of the forces are ex officio members. Other officers, both civil and military, may be granted a seat by ministerial ordinance; the title of such an appointee is "Counsellor-Within", (內參議, nubh-s.r′um-ngjarh). This appointment deprecates upon the secretary of state's resignation. Military officers attending the Ministerial Conference are sworn to the secrecy of government policies under deliberation; they may not reveal those policies even to their own subordinates.
The membership of the Conference as of early 2020 is as follows:
- Secretary of State for Defence (邦衛尚書)
- Minister of State for Defence (尚書監)
- Under-Secretary of State for the Army (兵曹郎)
- Permanent Assistant-Secretary of State (兵曹從丞)
- Chief of the Consolidated Staff (兵長史)
- Under-Secretary of State for the Navy (航曹郎)
- Permanent Assistant-Secretary of State (航曹從丞)
- Chief Admiral (航中記室長史)
- Under-Secretary of State for the Air Force (空曹郎)
- Permanent Assistant-Secretary of State (空曹從丞)
- Chief of the Air Staff (空長史)
- Permanent Under-Secretary of State (尚書丞)
- Permanent Assistant-Secretary of State (尚書從丞)
- Under-Secretary of State for Procurement (市徵郎)
- Under-Secretary of State for Strategic Development (虞曹郎)
- Under-Secretary of State for Welfare and Disabilities (復曹郎)
- Under-Secretary of State for Public Access (佈郎)
- Under-Secretary of State for Equality and Prevention of Abuse (等禁暴郎)
- Under-Secretary of State for Civil Defence (民衛郎)
- Under-Secretary of State for the Army (兵曹郎)
- Minister of State for Defence (尚書監)
As of early 2019, the following individuals are Counsellors-Within:
- Under-Secretary of State for Palace Affairs (殿中郎), for his role in organizing security around the monarch, his family, and the palaces
- Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (客曹尚書監), as supervisor of diplomatic and military intelligence in the Foreign Office
- Secretary of the Right (尚書右丞), as supervisor of domestic security services
- Captain-general of Marines (冗人尉), of the naval infantry branch
- Secretary of the Gentlemen-at-Arms (郎中丞), as manager of the day-to-day affairs of the Emperor's close guard
- Secretary of Capital Defence (中尉丞), invariably a high-ranking officer of the Army, managing the defence of the Inner Region (the area around the capital city)
Civilian-military relationships
Themiclesian statute law reserves a number of military powers to the crown, such as raising of troops, their movement, and the question of war and peace. All such decisions are made through Parliament or, in devolution, the Cabinet, which assume political responsibility. Within the Cabinet, the secretary of state is responsible for defence matters and makes, on the Emperor's behalf and in his name, all decisions in that portfolio. As such, the secretary of state is de facto leader of all government bodies pertaining to defence and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
In the early 19th century, the armies were still a medley of standing and reserve units, regional militias, ethnic battalions, and administrative offices, all answering to the War Secretary. By the end of the century, complexity in administration had shown a standing military leadership requisite. The Consolidated Staff therefore began to grow around the War Secretary. Generalships then were ad hoc positions, but a 1891 statute permitted the appointment of colonels-general while not at war, and today the Chief of Consolidated Staff customarily ranks a full or lieutenant-general.[1] The Navy recognized the Board of Admirals as its representative to the Navy Secretary.
See also
Notes
- ↑ Note that "colonel-general" means a senior colonel, not a general; two or more of them were "colonels-general", not "colonel-generals".