The TurtleShroomian Military and Its Ranks

The TurtleShroomian military has been described as a "giant militia" by almost every foreign observer. They are world-renowned for their stunning discipline, which is on par with any MT military in Nationstates, but are otherwise hampered by technology and research capabilities that leave them, and their limited tactics, rather constrained.

Standing out among other countries is the autonomy and independence of the TurtleShroomian military. Jones Found- the founder of TurtleShroom and their George Washington -an Orthodox Old Believer of Ukranian descent, was taught of the tyranny of Tsar Peter "The Antichrist". Tsar Peter subjugated the Church and erased its unique identity and independence, previously damaged via the Nikonian Reforms centuries early. Tsar Peter was a master military reformer and used them to enforce it. Therefore, TurtleShroom's Framers made sure the military wouldn't be corrupted into enforcing Ceasaropapism on religious TurtleShroomers. To protect the independence of the Church and keep TurtleShroom from going astray, be it into secular degeneracy or Caesaropapism, they eliminated civilian control of the military outside of the military's budget and international relations. The military is officially trusted to guard the Constitution and the Church (and all religions, implicitly) from the state decaying into sin or sliding into totalitarianism.
The TurtleShroomian military is expected to guide the Empire down a righteous path, similar to Turkey entrusting its military to kill anti-secularist tendencaies in the civilian government.
This Deep State "right of coup" has been exercised four times in TurtleShroomian history, and it succeeded twice.

TurtleShroom's military command is consistent nearly exclusively by non-commissioned officers. The military is granted substansial, expansive independence and power, meaning that they determine their ranks autonomously. Normal TurtleShroomian military doctrine teaches that a soldier must start as, and understand, the plight of the lowest ranks. They go through boot camp, train, and study like all other soldiers.

The constraints of the military's sweeping independence are their budget (decided by Congress) and their ability to wage war. They also cannot negotiate treaties. The Crown negotiates treaties that are ratified by the Congressional Duma.

In theory, the military could be commanded directly by a majority of the three Tsars, who can hypothetically execute orders to any soldier, draft battle plans, and even lead troops with bding authority. This said, every TurtleShroomian head of state has allowed the military to govern and fight for itself. Some wonder what would happen if a majority of the Tsars tried to take over, though others dismiss them as conspiracy theorists for insisting the military would not obey the Tsars taking direct command.

The Crown cannot dismiss an officer without the consent of his superiors, the Ranking Committee, or the officer himself. An officer must be dismissed if they have committed an act that would warrant a dishonorable discharge, committed a crime against TS law or TS military statute or treaty, have engaged in sexual immorality (e.g. adultery, fornication, buggery, or sodomy), or so on. The Tsars, if they take command (see above), would have to ask the Rank Committees to dismiss them, or order the Courts-Marhsall to try him, unless the officer deliberately defied the Crown's direct order (insubordination) in the presence of two or more witnesses.

In TurtleShroom, war is decided by the Congressional Duma in concurrence with the Crown, unless TurtleShroom is attacked or has war declared on herself by a foreign entity. In scenarios where TurtleShroom is attacked or declared war upon, the country skips the ratification process and Congress and begins immediate mobilization to counter the threat.

A statutory declaration of war gives the military a war objective that they are to prosecute in any way they see fit, subject only to their military statutes, to treaties TurtleShroom is a party of, and to TurtleShroomian rules of engagement. If TurtleShroom is attacked, the Crown and Congress declare the objectives of the war immediately, and can then legalize it and decide on terms by appropriate legislation down the road.

Purely offensive wars, such as conquest, colonization, and intervention, are subject to either direct popular referenda or require the combined consent of eighty percent of the individual Parishes. Deciding between a referendum or a Parishional assent is up to Congress.

Officer roles are primarily given in three ways: battlefield promotions, exhibiting exceptional talent in routine practice and training, and through exams. A general can promote any junior soldier under his command on the battlefield, but most soldiers are promoted by Rank Committees, which are groups of senior officers that search for, and acknowledge, talent and profiency among the rank-and-file soldiers.

Exams are reserved for much higher ranks. Any soldier of any rank can take an exam and be promoted because of it, but merely passing an exam is not an automatic entry into a higher rank unless he gets a perfect score. In addition to the hundreds of multiple-choice questions, The exams have multiple essay-based questions asking them how they would command soldiers placed under them, what they would do in those scenarios, and how they would react. (The amount of soldiers and complexity of the orders depends on the

These are in direct order, with the smallest on the top and the largest on the bottom in terms of power. For joint operations, soldiers are referred to as Class One, Class Two, etc., depending on their rank. I have no martial knowledge and don't try to pretend like I do. For humor and giggles, I based the Army ranks off of [url]http://wiki.erepublik.com/index.php/Rank[/url].

(Note: different divisions may have different names, so it is better to describe these as tiers or categories of different titles. A creature that drives a tank and a creature that mans a supply line can both be Corporals for example, but they aren't that exact same title, because variations exist. For example, a Tech sergeant is aptly named, but is the same as a normal Seargeant.)

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BASIC STRUCTURE

KEY: ARMY/NAVY/WMD

[ENTRY-LEVEL/NEW RECRUITS]

0. Conscript/Conscript/Draftee (conscripts are their own class and their own regiment, assigned to special commanding officers deemed more tolerant and gentle to avoid morale collapse but not jeoporadize the mission, where they can then be promoted)

1. Recruit/Skipper/Layman (just signed up, about to enter boot camp)

2. Private/Private/Layman Second Class (graduated boot camp, officially enlisted)

3. Private First Class/Sailor/Layman First Class

4. Corporal/Sailor First Class/Staffer

5. Corporal Second Class/Helmsman/Staffer First Class

6. Corporal First Class/Senior Helmsmen/Atomizer

7. Lay Sergeant/Master Helmsman/Senior Atomizer

8. Gunnery Sergeant/Sergeant/Atomic Engineer Ninth Class

9. Master Sergeant/Senior Sergeant/Atomic Engineer Eighth Class

10. Lesser Lieutenant**/Master sergeant/Atomic Engineer Seventh Class

[CAPTAINS* AND MID-LEVEL COMMANDERS]
In TurtleShroom's Navy, a Raft, Dinghey and Cartelship Captain does not have any command over a ship. They are, in essence, the actual captain's aids. The names of each captain in the Navy, starting with Corvette Captain, denote the limit as to what ship they can be given full command over. There are more ship types than just the ranks' names, but each rank's name is an overarching category for all ships. For example, a Corvette Captain will be put in charge over a very small ship, but on larger ships, they will be aids to the actual captain. In addition, a very high-ranking captain could be assigned to a very small ship if the need arises.

11. Greater Lieutenant/Raft Captain/Atomic Engineer Sixth Class

12. Lesser Captain/Dinghey Captain/Atomic Engineer Fifth Class

13. Captain/Cartelship Captain/Atomic Engineer Fourth Class

14. Major/Corvette Captain/Atomic Engineer Third Class

15. Commander/Frigate Captain/Atomic Engineer Second Class

16. Commander First Class/Clipper Captain/Atomic Engineer First Class

["SIDEKICK" OFFICERS]
These officers are called "sidekicks" in TS military slang. They are directly under the top brass of the military's command. Note that the Navy continues to use the title of "captain" this far into its ranks. In the Army, colonels are the last rank of officers to be found almost entirely on the actual battlegrounds. Only the most senior officials remain far away in the communications structure.

17. Trigger Colonel/Destroyer Captain/Captain

18. Staff Colonel/Cruiser Captain/Major

19. Kentucky Colonel/Battleship Captain/Kernal

20. Secretariat/First Mate/Manhattanite***

[SENIOR COMMANDERS]
Only generals are far away in their communications stations, but many generals throughout TurtleShroomian history have chosen instead to give commands directly on the battlefield. The current human Tsar, Tammy Olvia, was a One-Star Gemeral that personally engaged in direct combat against the soldiers orchestrating the 1934 AD coup d'etat against the military reforms of the Fascist Servants.

A TurtleShroomer cannot become Class Twenty-One officer or higher by the exam system.

21. One-Star General/One-Star Admiral/One-Star Marshall

22. Two-Star General/Two-Star Admiral/Two-Star Marshall

23. Three-Star General/Three-Star Admiral/Three-Star Marshall

24. Four-Star General/Four-Star Admiral/Four-Star Marshall

25. Five-Star General/Five-Star Admiral/Undermarshall

[HYPOTHETICAL]
These ranks exist only by military statute, past precedcent, or by TurtleShroomian law. No living TurtleShroomer holds these ranks in any branch, if it was ever held.

26. Father****

[TEMPORAL]
These ranks denote soldiers that rule the civilian state of TurtleShroom in a junta. The Constitution of TurtleShroom entrusts the army to guard itself and, more importantly, to guard the Kingdom of God and the Christian faith over the will of the Tsars. See the opening paragraphs for more on this "right of coup" and the goal in the military of guiding the country away from degeneracy or totalitarianism.

27. Junta Committeeman

28. Reactionary Grandmaster*****

* = Regardless of the rank, captains of any level are adressed as "Captain" unless a senior or junior captain is also present. In the case that captains of different ranks are together, the full title is applied. Furthermore, if the captain is presiding over, and commanding, his ship/command/unit/etc., then he is always addressed as simply "Captain" by all present, including superior officers, as long as they are in the ship or location under that captain's command. Thus, saying "I'm a captain" in the TurtleShroomian military is a lot easier to use as a trick for courtship, and it is a far bigger deal if the soldier is a navalman.

** = As with captains, all lieutenants are addressed as "Lieutenant" unless other lieutenants are present. Unlike with captains, the simple title does not take precedence over whatever lieutenant is present and in command of and in his specific point.

*** = The Class Twenty rank, called the "Jinong's Pet" in TS slang, is a special rank that can only be achieved by the promotion of a Class Twenty-Two officer or higher. Any volunteer soldier can be chosen as a C20 soldier, and each Class Twenty-Two or higher officer can choose a single soldier for the role. A Class Twenty soldier cannot issue orders (though he does have saluting precedence), because he is essentially the C22 officer's apprentice. The rank is intended for a C22 officer to select his potentialsuccessor upon his retirement.
Upon the departure of a C22 officer, tradition dictates that the C20 soldier becomes a Colonel (or equivalent) of some form. Usually, the rank gained is Kentucky Colonel (C19), but a C20 soldier deemed not ready for such a position normally starts as a C17 officer, or even as low as C15. Theoretically the Rank Committee could reject a C22 officer's chosen successor and refuse to promote him, but this would be seen as spitting in the face of the retired C22 officer; the officer's subordinates would be extremely offended and it could cause problems for the future of those that deny it.

**** = The branches of TurtleShroom's military are also independent, and an officer of one branch cannot give binding orders to another. Therefore, the branches must choose to cooperate if coordination is given, and they have always done so, albeit begrudgingly at time. Notably, this rank, if a soldier were to attain it, would give him supreme, full, and final command over every branch of TurtleShroom's military. It would require the unanimous consent of the majority of Rank Committees. To date, no Father has ever been elevated.

***** = For centuries, the agreement amongst TurtleShroomian strategists, soldiers, and armchair generals alike was that a Junta should function as a joint head of state, with each committeeman having one vote and deciding by majority rule. This office, created by General Long after 2015 AD coup, isolated all other Junta committeemen and caused them to resign in protest, making General Long TurtleShroom's first, and hopefully final, military dictator.