ASC Department of Defense

The Department of Defense (DoD or ASCDOD), not to be confused with the defunct United States Department of Defense, is a castle department of the unitary government of the Antarctic State of Cyberia. It is the oldest of the nine departments, finding its roots in the bloody time before Cyberia as a country began to develop.

To this day, the DoD is most concerned with the security and prosperity of the nation as a whole. One major method it uses to reach for this purpetual goal is through the recruitment of its nation's civilians, molding them into soldiers, and assigning them jobs within the state military from a very large pool of government needs. A second, yet arguably just as important task, is the staunch protection of the nation's interior and its borders through military might, shown through its fueling and exercising of defensive resources and manpower.

Much of the DoD's full potential is considered to be dormant, as a significant portion of its contemporary manpower is comprised of reservist forces, who are maintained for the main purpose of potential deployment to overseas countries or other key points of like nature, should the need arise.

The Department of Defense is headed by the President of Defense, who answers only to the collective assembly comprised of himself and the eight other departmental presidents. Beneath the President of Defense is his office of senior staff, and lower still are the subordinate agencies, offices, and other units that make up the bulk of the whole. The best-known of these subordinate offices are Interior and Border Patrols, the Research & Development Division, the National Guard, and the Riot Control Corps.

History
The concept of a governmental department of defense was not new at the time of Cyberia's formation. The founding separatists in fact modeled themselves in much the same way as their mother countries organized their militaries. This army of disavowed troops did not formally structure their government until after the war between them and the countries they plotted against; Russia and the US. When the time came, the defense department was the first to come to fruition, given that nearly 100% of their population was well-trained servicemen, and that much of their experience as a new nation had been defending themselves from outside attack.

This newly created department initially handled all governmental affairs including international trade and internal security. Soon after its creation, more departments began to branch off from the center as more concerns about government structure and influence cropped up. These other departments held a hint of the DoD's original mission, still present in each one of them today, which is the security of the nation's future. Eventually, the Department of Defense, rather than being concerned with every single facet of the state's population, it settled upon its main concern, which was and still is national security through the maintenance of military might.

Organization & Structure
The President of Defense (PresDef, Defense President, or PoD), appointed by direct election, is the highest authority commander of their castle department. The President exercises direct supervision over each and every head officer of every subordinate unit that is in and below the Office of the President of Defense, regardless of any gap in the chain of command. For example, the President of Defense (an O-11) holds direct authority over the Director of Research & Development (an O-6), who in turn handles the Research & Development Division in line with the President's wishes.

The Defense President's office — the Office of the President of Defense — is staffed by five agents including the President themselves, and four other advisors that are either appointed by the the President or are remaining in office from a previous presidency, as the four are not restricted by a maximum tenure. These four agents can be terminated at any time if a Defense President wishes it so, and must be replaced by either the direct subordinate officer or a new member of the President's choosing.

Below the Office of the President of Defense are a plethora of subordinate divisions which all have their own chiefs of staff. The Defense President may create and dissolve any subordinate division within their department at will, as well as appoint and eject a chief of staff. With the exception of first-time creation of a division, a President is not allowed to directly remove, insert, or order members of a chief of staff's division. A President can only give orders to the chief of staff of a lower division, upon which that chief of staff is responsible for seeing to that the order is executed within their unit, following any further chain of command that is necessary.

Office of the President of Defense
The Office of the President of Defense, informally shortened to Office of Defense, is an assembly of five staff. The Defense President rules over the other four, as well as the chiefs of staff of all divisions below the Office of Defense. The four subordinates hold roughly the same power between themselves. They have two major purposes, the first of which is to advise the President on political and strategic goings-on within the department, country, and the world; and the second is to succeed the position of President in the event of a vacancy. The lowest member in the order of succession, the Inspector General of Defense, has a specific task within the department which is to inspect department units' behavior for abnormalities and report any and all findings to the Office of Defense. The other three subordinate officers have similar responsibilities, however the inspector general is the only one specifically responsible for in-department scrutiny.

Subordinate officers in the Office of Defense assemble with and are seen alongside the Defense President quite often. They are employed to advise the President of the department, in that they help the President make informed decisions to the best of their ability. They are responsible for keeping the President in the loop of any events that are relevant to the Department of Defense in any meaningful way.

Like most other government employees, subordinate officers of the Office of Defense must be actively serving in the military in order to hold and keep office. Though the President is technically allowed to appoint anyone that they would like to into subordinate officer positions, it is considered good practice for them to choose only those who are very well-educated in the way the department works and how strategic planning is done. Appointing someone who is obviously not a good fit for the office may be grounds for reprimand by the assembly of Presidents.

Chiefs of Staff
Each departmental division below the Office of the President of Defense is headed by a single chief of staff of the respective division. These chiefs of staff are under direct authority of the President of their department. Under the chiefs of staff lie any number of units, sections, services, etc., which the chief holds their own authority of. Between divisions, chiefs are neither above nor below one another,regardless of rank. However, the chain of command is held without gaps within the bounds of the divisions underneath the respective chiefs. One chief has authority over their own division only, and none of the others.

While observing equality amongst each other, the chiefs of staff often meet with one another to discuss matters of all kinds. They also work both independently and together to advise the Office of Defense of matters pertaining to the department.