Antarctic State Military

The ASC Department of Defense (DoD or ASCDoD), not to be confused with the defunct US Department of Defense, and synonymous with the equally official yet more widely used name of Cyberian Military Forces (CMF), is a very large military force organized by the country of Cyberia. They are the largest employer of Cyberian citizens, as well as the largest military association in the context of in-country military companies/corporations. They are an integral part of the country's history, and to this date is very significant to its culture. Cyberia's military is a wholly voluntary service. The service has its own news websites as well as its own news channel that keeps its citizens and personnel alike informed of progress, issues and other interesting topics.

Citizens are always near to home-country military presence, and oftentimes there are events and shows held to display advances in technologies both electronic and physical. Examples of such advances include caseless ammunition and vehicle-mounted and vehicle-charged railguns.

Though its population of military personnel dwarfs the civilian population, the military plays a significant if not the most important role in the provision of quality of life and protection for its citizens. The citizens in turn provide able bodies for enlistment and economic stability and prosperity for the country as a whole. Enlistment is culturally regarded by many, but not all, to be the duty of every able citizen.

History
The origins of the CMF began as a covert military alliance between 20th century US and Soviet armed forces. This alliance only applied within the continent of Antarctica, as both superpowers were using the continent for its rich resources using civilian mine-workers.

Higher-ups of both Soviet and American militaries slowly but steadily felt the urge to keep all the resources for themselves. This eventually resulted in a bloody militant takeover in the early 2000's of all resource mines on the continent, much to the dismay of the mother countries.

This now disavowed separatist conglomerate held its ground against many counterattacks and scavenged anything and everything they could from the units they defeated. The mother countries then ceased their counterattacks in an effort to draw thin and wait out what remained of the detached conglomerate's rations and other such support. This however only served as an opening for the separatists to launch trade operations with outside countries, and thus turn a profit out of the Antarctic mines just as done before.

With these profits, this new military power began to grow and develop at an exponential rate into an entirely new sovereign nation that became known for its heavily defensive nature. This new nation officially called themselves, Cyberia.

Branches of the Military
There are no officially recognized branches of the CMF. Rather, the CMF recognizes distinct differences between the type of jobs personnel take on (for example, MOS codes), while assuming each job falls into a singular force, the CMF itself. This is in contrast to the US military, who divides the Air Force away from the Navy, despite the fact that both branches utilize aircraft as integral parts of their operations.

That being said, only by popular belief of civilian and military populations, upon observation of the CMF's organization, there exists branches/divisions of Army (sometimes called Infantry), Armor (ground vehicles), Navy (watercraft) and Air Force (aircraft). Sometimes these branch names are tacked onto job titles as unofficial designations, for example, "Police Infantry".

Enlisted
Personnel of E-1 to E-4 rank (technically E-1 to E-10) are said to be "enlisted" as opposed to "officers" or "commissioned". Enlisted members make up the majority of the CMF and are nearly always the front-line troops that do most of the grunt work and heavy lifting. They are most commonly recruited upon graduation of the 12th grade, which usually sees them between the ages of 17 and 19. Most personnel who only serve a single term (3-4 years) do not progress past the rank of E-4. All promotions beyond E-3 are usually competitive.

Non-Commissioned Officers
Non-commissioned officers or NCOs are higher-ranking enlisted personnel and are the more experienced members of the forces. Usually, they have the most hands-on experience of the whole. The ranks of E-6 to E-10 (E-5's are a grey area between enlisted and NCO) are most commonly regarded as NCOs. "Senior non-commissioned officers" (SNCOs) are not officially recognized as a separate group of ranks, but are well-known by popular belief to be ranks of E-8, E-9 and E-10, the most experienced in proper physical workmanship plus leadership. Low-ranking commissioned officers without prior enlisted experience commonly take tips and advice from SNCOs despite holding superior rank above them.

Warrant Officers
Warrant officers are ranks of the forces that only apply to members of riot control. They hold superior rank to enlisted and NCO personnel and almost always are given the title of "warrant carrier", as they take command of units to carry out search, arrest and death warrants (WO-1, WO-2 and WO-3 respectively). Promotion to WO-1, WO-2 and WO-3 is always competitive.

Commissioned Officers
Commissioned officers make up the managerial personnel of the forces. A significant portion of citizens who earn a college degree (which is required for commissioning) eventually join the forces as a commissioned officer, immediately putting them in a rank hierarchy above all enlisted members and warrant officers. Ranks of O-1 to O-3 are said to be low-ranking commissioned officers, mid-ranks being O-4 to O-6, and high-rank being O-7 to O-10 plus the the additional highest special rank of General of the Forces.

One is not required to progress through enlisted ranks to become a commissioned officer, however every recruit is first given a rank of E-1 throughout acceptance and basic training.

Women in the Military
By official statements, women play the same role as men do in the military, should they decide to enlist. It is common knowledge that any and all superior ranks will expect equal, if not exceeding effort in female personnel that the male personnel exhibit. All occupational specialties that are available to men are also available to female personnel, provided that they physically and mentally qualify for the position(s).

Enlistment
The most common form of enlistment is recruitment immediately after high school graduation, which is usually roughly around the age of eighteen. The earliest age one may enlist is specifically seventeen and a half, while the maximum sits at thirty-nine years of age.

Anatomical Restrictions
Certain anatomical properties natural to some species and hybrids present difficulties for personnel wishing to enlist.

Antlers, horns and headfins must be naturally short or surgically shortened/removed. This is to ensure proper fitment of helmets. Personnel who are assigned to areas with very limited space, such as fighter jets and tanks, must have short or surgically shortened tails. Specific tail length maximums vary with space available.

Contractual Obligations
Civilians wishing to be employed by the military must first apply for enlistment. This is generally a short process of relatively lenient physical and background checks done by recruiters. These recruiters then present applicants with a contract outlining what the CMF will expect of them should they sign on. Signing this contract legally binds the applicant, if taken in, to: This contract may be renewed once every four years at the enlist's discretion, except in the case of commissioning, in which the officer must apply to be relieved of duty.
 * A minimum of four years service to the military, barring outstanding discharge. These four years include training which takes up the majority of the first year. (A contract of three years may be granted upon extraordinary circumstances.)
 * Another four years post-service 'reserve' period where the CMF may draft the applicant back into service before any other civilian, should the need arise.
 * Adherence to any and all rules and orders given by a member of higher rank, except in case(s) where such orders are believed to be illegal, unethical or immoral.
 * In the case of refusal to act as ordered; present valid reason for the choice of refusal.

Basic Training
All new personnel who are accepted for enlistment are given the rank of Private (E-1), then are placed in an eight-week program that will physically and mentally condition the recruit into life as an employee of the military. All new recruits go through this training, even those destined for immediate commission. In the eighth week, privates get to choose their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), which determines what further training they will receive depending on what job they choose.

Commissioning
Those who wish to advance beyond the enlisted and NCO ranks (designated by the letter "E") must attend Officer Training School (OTS). Requirements for acceptance into OTS are completion of basic training, and the earning of a bachelor's degree before or during military employment. Any major of degree is sufficient for attending OTS, however some MOS codes only accept specific majors. For example, military police officers must hold a degree in the field of criminal justice.

Advancement to commissioned officer may be done with or without rising through the enlisted and NCO ranks.

Civil Services of the Military
Cyberian military jobs titles are well-known for extending into civil service and civil protection roles, such as law enforcement, emergency medical & fire response, and governmental agencies are all operated by the military itself and largely only employ its own personnel.

Governmental
The majority of government offices require its agents to be currently serving in the Cyberian Military Forces. This is best defined as a stratocracy. Depending on the sphere of influence a particular office has, it may require that only a certain rank of personnel be employed in that position. Government office holders, as well as other civil services are given a special branch of occupational codes to be identified under. Instead of military uniforms, governmental job holders usually wear formal business attire.

There are a great number of governmental departments within the CMF of many types and sizes, all with their own respective directors, that altogether handle a common interest of national well-being and the security of the country's prosperous future. Though not officially disclosed by the government, it remains common knowledge that in-country citizens and foreign areas alike are surveilled, tracked and/or otherwise observed in some capacity from a distance by the Cyberian government.

Emergency Services
Emergency medical and fire response teams are also populated only by military personnel, as they are to be trained very similarly to military medics and corpsmen, but are almost exclusively deployed to afflicted civilians and civilian areas. These response teams are rarely armed, and wear high-visibility uniforms.

Metropolitan Law Enforcement
Metropolitan law enforcement, or simply "Metro", is a subset of military police that deals largely with civilian affairs. There is a distinct understood difference between policemen and police officers. To become a policeman, a citizen must complete a basic training course which includes a written exam, with satisfactory or exceeding scores, then opt for enrollment in a police academy as a civilian law enforcer. Police officers are policemen who have risen through the ranks of the civilian police and hold authority over lesser-ranked units of multiple men. Enlisted policemen as well as officers often carry a handgun, taser and handcuffs/zipties as part of their standard loadout. They also wear beige, uncamoflagued uniforms, in contrast to the military's digital camo. Except in times of emergency, civilian police and military police generally do not exercise authority crossed over one another; civilian police protect and serve civilians, while military police protect and patrol military bases where the majority of residents are not civilian.

Riot Control
Riot control, unofficially known by many nicknames, one of which being SWAT, and derogatorily known as "Attack Dogs", is seen as the middle ground between civilian police and military police. They are distinguished by their completely black uniforms in contrast to law enforcement's beige. They also wear ballistic vests, helmets with visors and occasionally carry clear ballistic shields. A common stereotype against RC is that they "shoot first; ask questions later." In reality, RC is trained specifically to order targets down before taking more aggressive action, unless the target is in immediate likelihood of harming hisself, bystanders, or RC themselves.

While they still largely operate within civilian populations, riot control is much more aggressive, as they are tasked with suppressing organized crime and rioting, as well as dealing with armed civilians who are marked for search, arrest or execution in some cases. Some believe that RC is the government military force whose enemy is the civilian population itself. The DoD consistently disputes this claim and asserts that riot control is the opposite of the civilians' enemy; that they are a military force operating against enemies of the people who blend in amongst the people.

Riot control is best known for the carrying of 12 gauge Saigas and KRISS Vectors, as well as the public operation of APCs and IFVs such as the BTR and LAV, stripped of most of their secondary weaponry, given law enforcement paint jobs, sirens and lightbars. They are known to carry and use both lethal and less-than-lethal ammunition depending on escalation. This can be visibly differentiated by the vibrant color of magazine inserted; blue for less-lethal and red for lethal. Even when public relations are calm, riot control can most often be found patrolling civilian airports and other such very important installations where civilians, inside and out. Runway security riot control in particular are a special unit authorized to operate Tunguska anti-aircraft vehicles.

Default Uniforms
The enlisted and NCO ranks can be seen wearing thick, rugged and insulating fatigues. Commissioned officers wear a fancier tailored battle dress complete with gold braid and gold shoulder stripes.

All personnel who are stationed in urban areas wear CWP's (City Working Pattern), a dark blue digital camouflage, reminiscent of the old US Navy NWU Type I pattern. This blue digital pattern serves little in the way of actually concealing the wearer, due to their environment. Rather, it serves as a visual distinction between civilians and military personnel.

Those who are sent outside of urban areas are given ACP's (Arctic Combat Pattern), a white-dominant digital camouflage in order to blend in with the very snowy landscapes. Commissioned officers can but are not required to wear similar colors, and are also given long black overcoats with fluffy collars.

During certain special events, fully white uniforms and fully black uniforms are worn by personnel, depending on the event.

Civilians cannot legally wear any clothing that closely resembles Cyberian military dress of pattern AND color. Similar pattern may be worn if it is of distinguishably different color. The same goes for similar colors if the pattern is distinguishably different.

Armaments
Most units tend to be supplied with high capacity, high rate of fire firearms, even in public. 5.45×39mm is the most common cartridge chambered, for logistical reasons, as it can be seen standard in the CMF's service rifles such as the AK-107, as well as specially modified into rifles that do not come standard in the round. A popular example of the latter is the FAMAS specially chambered in 5.45×39mm and specifically manufactured that way with other modifications for the CMF, known to them under the name R3. Such a variant was not approved for manufacture by the French, however the Cyberians continue to utilize it and to great effect. This was done at the behest of Col. Tavash, the current Director of Research & Development in the city of Overcast.

It is a common sight to spot an armored ground vehicle driving along a roadway, or one or more military aircraft flying overhead. Due to the vastness of the landscapes and extremely frigid wilderness between cities, vehicles are a very important part of the CMF, even moreso than in other countries. Being manufactured in the same frigid conditions as they are used in, Cyberian vehicles and aircraft are heavily winterized on top of being well-armored. For example, insulated and/or heated fuel lines and compartments that trap body heat very well have been implemented for quite a long time, which has also been used in civilian cars.

Lineage of Common Cyberian Military Vehicles

 * Military Transport/Cargo Planes
 * 1956 - Antonov An-12 introduced to Antarctica, transporting supplies and mine resources
 * 1958 - Lockheed C-130 introduced to Antarctica, transporting supplies and mine resources
 * 2008 ~ Present - Cyberian acquisition of hardware from the likes of Airbus, Antonov, Boeing, and Lockheed-Martin
 * Present - Cyberian military transport and military/civilian cargo aircraft majorly consist of Boeing C-17's and Antonov An-256's (reverse-engineered and upgraded An-225's)


 * Main Battle Tanks
 * 1964 - Soviet T-64 tank, first MBT to be introduced to Antarctic soil, sparking Antarctic Tank Tensions
 * 1964 - US M60 Patton introduced to Antarctica in response to T-64 presence
 * 1972 - Soviet T-72 tank introduced to Antarctica, replacing most if not all T-64's
 * 1985 - US M1 Abrams introduced to Antarctica, replacing all M60 Pattons
 * 1992 - Russian T-90 tank introduced to Antarctica, replacing all T-72's
 * 2015 - Cyberian study of the Armata platform and T-14 tank
 * 2015 ~ Present - Cyberian upgrading of existing hardware, forgoing creation of completely new MBTs
 * Present - Cyberian MBT divisions consist of heavily upgraded T-90's, Abrams's and reverse-engineered T-14's
 * Attack Helicopters
 * 1990 - Soviet Mi-24, first attack helicopter introduced to Antarctica
 * 1990 - US AH-64 Apache introduced to Antarctica
 * 1999 - Russian Ka-52 Alligator introduced to Antarctica, supplementing Soviet Mi-24's
 * 2015 ~ Present - Cyberian upgrading of existing hardware
 * Present - Cyberian attack helicopter divisions consist mainly of heavily upgraded Ka-52's, and less so of reverse-engineered and heavily upgraded Mi-28's

Strategic Installation
CMF activity in its present state is majorly focused on defending its land from potential invaders, as well as extending its reach to and establishing bases at any and all strategic locations on the continent of Antarctica. Its current overall goal is to heavily fortify all of the shore and fix its weak points. This further necessitates the installation of more mining stations in order to fuel its expansion over its own claimed land.

Military Bases
Bases are a very important installation for the CMF, as it provides shelter, supply and service to personnel. All Cyberian military bases are built surrounding a very large nuclear fission reactor. Specifically, a fast breeder reactor. This reactor supplies energy to the base itself as well as the city that usually surround the bases. While fusion power is technically feasible, swapping to such a system has been deemed by the CMF as unimportant, citing the lack of documentation and innovation compared to the very well researched fission power systems.

Bases are ￼usually quite large, as they combine branches that other militaries keep separate, generally air force and army. Only coastal bases include naval activities.

Due to high elevations, many of the military runways are installed with EMALS catapult systems. Otherwise, runway lengths would need to increase a great deal, due to the thinner air requiring more lift and thus more speed for takeoff.

Continuous R&D
Another major focus is the continuous tinkering and adapting of new technologies, usually founded upon existing hardware and steadily expanded upon and/or modified again and again into new variants and possibly new standards. The city of Overcast is the most significant contributor to the CMF's R&D processes. Land and air vehicles play a critical part in the forces, arguably more critical than small arms, and is a recurring target in the research and development of new technologies. Cyberia has a propensity to accurately reverse-engineer existing designs, both hardware and software, and steadily improve upon them, which is especially true under the command of the current Director of Research & Development, Colonel Rikharthu Tavash.

Manufacturing and Sales
There existed, and to an extent still exists, a deeply ingrained military-industrial complex within Cyberia. Vash Firearms, the largest defense industry company in the country, serves as both the military's consolidated equipment manufacturer and mediator for external sales (sales to civilians) and exportation.

Prior to the establishment of this company, the CMF offered a plethora of contracts to outside companies which designed and manufactured weapons for it to inspect and potentially adopt into service. Now with essentially a new branch of the military, the research, development, design and manufacture of weapons has been streamlined significantly.