Detsad

In the Antarctic State Military, a Detsad (romanized from Russian: Детсад; English: Kindergarten) is an unofficially recognized, mixed unit of servicemembers, which is comprised of those who have been cast out of their previous units as punishment, yet have not separated from the military. Servicemembers of detsad units are invariably considered to be the "undesirables" of the state military, while at the same time holding enough importance to their name such that they cannot be, are very close to, or are awaiting being administratively discharged.

All departments, their divisions, and even smaller units, have some form of detsad. Detsad units are notorious for encouraging a form of dedovshchina, or a culture of hazing, alongside an extreme reinforcement of the chain of command, wherein superior ranks will often threaten their subordinates with administrative punishment(s) at the slightest act of insubordination.

Those who have become a subject of correctional conscription into the state military have a very high likelihood of finding themselves inducted into a detsad, as they are considered undesirable people whose military service is the one thing keeping them out of prison. Correctional conscripts are especially vulnerable to dedovshchina, due to the fact that they serve under a probationary period in which further infractions are likely to result in incarceration within a military prison.

Etymology
The common military use of the term "detsad" is a genericized loanword of "детсад", meaning "kindergarten" in the Russian language. The term originates from a reference to the notion of inevitable chaos that arises when many immature men are forced to work and socialize together in the same unit. Similarly, the term also references the fact that members of a detsad are expected to 'babysit' each other, since outside units would prefer not to associate with them. While "detsad" refers to a unit of undesirables as a whole, "detsadi" can refer to individual persons and groups of such who make up a detsad unit, or be used as an insult. The term detsadi is also erroneously used as a plural form of detsad. It is more proper to say that a detsad is a unit comprised of multiple detsadi.

Personnel
Detsads generally form as a result of undesirable servicemembers operating in or being sent to the same vicinity as each other. Personnel of the state military become detsadi by proving to be unusable, or otherwise make themselves undesirable to the command of other, proper units. These personnel may have committed a crime or multiple crimes while serving, or continuously fail to conform to the standards of their job field. The servicemembers are then stripped of their job title and exiled to a unit that acts as a place to discard such undesirables, as they await further processing. Upon being exiled from existing units, ownership of detsadi is transferred to a different commanding officer, in the same vein that a child belongs to a legal guardian other than their own parent. To be a commanding officer of a detsad is considered to be a punishment in itself, as it means being designated the commander of a number of recognized troublemakers.

Many of these exiled individuals are on their way to being court-martialed, and are put in a detsad in order to administratively separate them from the rest of the military. As they wait to be processed, detsadi can and usually will be called upon to act as a source of easily accessible labor. Another significant portion of detsadi come from the civilian sector, wherein a civilian convicted of a moderate to severe crime can be ordered to serve out a military contract, as opposed to a sentence in incarceration. This is known as correctional conscription, or pressing, and all civilians who are sentenced to correctional conscription end up becoming a part of a detsad. Pressed detsadi are special, in that they are afforded the opportunity to work a proper job just like a regular servicemember, though they are still subject to the authority of their unit commander.

Structure
The structure of a detsad is inherently irregular, and continuously subject to change via additions and separations to and from the unit. Detsadi generally fall into a natural structure within their unit through spoken and unspoken declarations of superiority. Spoken superiority is regularly exercised between detsadi of similar rank, while unspoken superiority usually presents itself in the form of differences in rank. Just about any rank of servicemember can be exiled to a detsad; however, commissioned officers at the rank of are quite rare in detsads, and those higher in rank are exceedingly rare. This largely results in detsads being limited in size to companies and smaller units.

Stringency
While the Antarctic State Military in general is considered to be quite strict in its expectations, and draconian in its punishments, detsadi are held to an even more stringent standard, insofar that any amount of insubordination can invite corporal punishment in addition to administrative punishment. Superior detsadi ranks will often maintain and reinforce their authority by threatening their subordinates with the aforementioned punishments, or outright enacting them against a subjective wrongdoing. Administrative punishments can lead to a detsadi being further exiled to a military prison, followed by a permanent separation from the military.

Hazing & Bullying
Upon being sent to a detsad, existing detsadi are liable to initiate their newly acquired member through a hazing process, the specifics of which vary between units. Depending on one's rank and fitment within the unit, this hazing can continue on throughout a servicemember's time in their detsad through consistent bullying. Detsadi hazing and bullying is customarily inflicted upon the lowest ranking members of the unit, brought down by ranks higher than them, at times even skipping levels in the rank hierarchy. This brutalization can include both physical and psychological abuse, such as degradation and humiliation, as well as verbal, physical, and sexual assault. These acts of violence may escalate in the event that targeted detsadi fight back against their assaulter(s), possibly even stooping to the level of torture, and in rarer cases, death.