Reforms to the Officer Corps

[Picairn]

Reforms to the Officer Corps
19 August 2024
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Since taking up the office of Minister of Defense in May, I have noticed a concerning symptom of inactivity within the NPA's officer corps. Almost all of its military activity, its operations, leadership and management were primarily spearheaded by myself, Deputy Ministers, and the High Command, while most of our existing officers have largely remained inactive in terms of leading operations. As my Deputy @Comfed pointed out, we have very few active officers who are trained in modern military techniques. The issue of maintaining an active and capable officer corps is vital to the NPA's energy and activity, and - after discussions with High Command and Deputy Ministers - I have decided to address this problem by proposing several major reforms to Delegate @Simone, which he accepted and accordingly amended Delegate Directive #5.

First, the ranks of Captain and Major are hereby abolished. The existing officer rank structure is highly bureaucratic and unnecessary to maintain: the Major rank is currently held by one officer, and Captain by three (two of which are brevet Colonels by virtue of their DMoD position). Instead of having ranks be semi-perpetual titles for inactive officers while active ones - who have the potential to be future commanders - languish in a useless title, the new system drastically simplifies the rank structure and turn it into a merit-and-activity-based appointment than a ladder of achievement titles, so to speak. An active Lieutenant who has proven their competence in leading operations and understanding R/D mechanics now has a chance to be appointed to Colonel straight away and become part of the High Command, which also renders the DMoD position obsolete.

Second, the office of Chief of Staff of the North Pacific Army is created. This position will serve to be a bedrock of experience and institutional support to new Ministers of Defense, who may desire the assistance of an experienced officer in operational planning and overall management of the NPA. Like the High Command, the position of Chief of Staff will not need to be reappointed every term so as to allow long-term plans and institutional experience to remain uninterrupted.

Third, existing inactive officers who have not led operations for more than 3 months will be demoted to Lieutenant. Colonels appointed under the new system who become inactive or voluntarily stepped down will be reclassfied as Lieutenants. This requirement does not apply to High Command Generals. Officers who found themselves demoted to Lieutenant can still progress to Colonel - and thereby joining High Command - by proactively leading operations and showing initiative.

However, as an acknowledgement of their service and contributions to the NPA, a list of honourary ranks and their holders will be created. In that manner, the following officers are reclassfied as follows:

Colonel @QuietDad ---> Lieutenant (and honourary Colonel) QuietDad
Major @Lord Dominator ---> Lieutenant (and honourary Major) Lord Dominator
Captain @Healiopolis ---> Lieutenant (and honourary Captain) Healiopolis

Under the new rank structure, I hereby promote Lieutenant @Nutmeg The Squirrel, Captain @Kaschovia and Captain @Comfed to official Colonels. @Comfed is also appointed as Chief of Staff of the NPA, making him a brevet General.

I am pleased as well to see some of our new Warrant Officers like @cosmicsonic and @Caius climbing through the ranks and stepping up to lead operations. With proper guidance and support, I am confident that they have the potential to become future Colonels.

Fourth, a new enlisted rank is created and named Staff Sergeant (SSG). This rank shall be granted to Sergeants who have completed 50 missions, on the condition that they are not a Warrant Officer at the time. It is reserved to active and committed Sergeants who cannot/are not willing to become officers.

It is my hope that these reforms will bring some much need impetus to reinvigorate our officer corps.

At your service,

Minister of Defense