Decree LXIV Adam I
UPON OUR IMPERIAL MAJESTY'S SOVEREIGN COMMAND,
NOTING that the Military of Adammia should be organised and run in a better structured and more lawful manner,
BE IT DECREED as follows:
Overruling sections 2 and 3 of the Defence Act 2015:
The Grand Marshal of the Military of Adammia is the commander-in-chief of the Military and is the source of all military authority. The Monarch holds the position of Grand Marshal ex-officio. It is the responsibility of the Grand Marshal to implement the defence policy set by the Minister of Patriotism. The Ministry of Patriotism shall provide the Military with personnel, equipment and installations as needed in order to complete its objectives. The Grand Marshal and the Minister of Patriotism shall be members of, and shall have the power to appoint members of the military and civil servants to, the High Command, which shall serve as the interface between the Ministry of Patriotism and the Military, and shall be responsible for the Military's high-level strategic operational planning. The Prime Minister shall be a member of the High Command only during a state of war or a State of Emergency.
The Grand Marshal has the authority to grant commissions to members of the three service branches, which may appoint them to the officer ranks of:
- Field Marshal, General, Colonel, Major, Captain and Lieutenant in the Army;
- Admiral, Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral, Captain, Commander and Lieutenant in the Navy;
- Air Chief Marshal, Air Marshal, Commodore, Wing Commander, Squadron Leader and Lieutenant in the Air Force.
The position of Grand Admiral of the Navy shall be held by the Monarch ex-officio. Commissions may or may not be issued on the advice of the Ministry of Patriotism or the advice of the heads of the service branches.
The Grand Marshal shall, through the issuing of Military Directives, delegate authority over certain sections of personnel to a commissioned officer of an appropriate rank, making them the commanding officer of a unit, and shall in this manner create a hierarchy of units and sub-units; they may or may not allow commanding officers to further delegate their own authority to other commissioned officers under their command of an appropriate inferior rank; and all of this may or may not be on the advice of the Ministry of Patriotism or on the advice of the heads of the service branches. Commanding officers may also appoint enlisted personnel under their command as non-commissioned officers, which shall be the ranks of Sergeant in the Army, Petty Officer in the Navy, and Sergeant in the Air Force, and delegate authority over a sub-unit to a non-commissioned officer under their command, and may also appoint enlisted personnel under their command to the ranks of:
- Corporal and Private in the Army;
- Able Seaman in the Navy;
- Corporal and Airman in the Air Force.
The Minister of Patriotism shall control the mobilisation status of every unit in the Military, such that any unit may be considered either mobilised or demobilised. To mobilise a unit is to ask its members to present themselves to be on duty. In this manner, the Minister of Patriotism shall make personnel available to the Military for active operations. The Grand Marshal may also ask a unit to present itself for duty as a temporary mobilisation, but this shall only be used for emergency defensive operations, or for training.
The commanding officer of a unit may issue orders to the personnel under their command, and is expected to follow the orders of their superior commanding officer. It is expected that a commanding officer should only issue orders to their own most immediate inferior officers, except in emergency situations, or where there are no officers under their command; conversely any member of the military is expected to pass recommendations and complaints only to their most immediate commanding officer; and in this manner a robust chain of command shall be maintained. Orders which shall be issued may be either standing orders, which shall be permanent passive orders whilst a unit is demobilised, or active orders, when a unit is mobilised. It is expected, but not required, that members of the military should comply with their standing orders, whereas they must comply with active orders when they have presented themselves to be on duty, unless the orders are illegal. Officers must not issue any order which requires a subordinate to carry out an illegal task, and all members of the military must not carry out any order which they know to be illegal.
It shall be an offence of Treason for a member of the military to:
- Communicate with an enemy without authorisation;
- Give an enemy useful information, or to publicly disclose useful information without authorisation;
- Provide an enemy with supplies;
- Harbour or protect an enemy;
- Serve in enemy forces or to participate in enemy propaganda.
It shall be an offence of Obstructing Operations for a member of the military put at risk the success of an operation, whether through intent or recklessness, or to refuse an active order whilst on active duty without a lawful excuse.
It shall be an offence of Looting for a member of the military to take military property from any location left exposed as a result of operations or from any person injured or captured during operations with the intent of keeping said property for oneself rather than handing it over to their commanding officer, or to take any civilian property in the aforementioned circumstances.
It shall be an offence of Mutiny for a member of the military to attempt to overthrow one's commanding officer, or to conspire to do so.
It shall be an offence of Misconduct towards a Superior Officer for a member of the military to use violence against, to threaten or be disrespectful towards any officer of a superior rank whilst on active duty.
It shall be an offence of Ill Discipline for a member of the military to fight another member of the military or any person who is not an enemy of the Adammic state without lawful reason, to impersonate any superior officer, to tamper with or suppress any order or document without lawful reason, to wear the insignia of a rank to which they are not entitled, or generally to deliberately behave in any manner which is likely to disturb discipline or the chain of command whilst on active duty.
It is an offence of Ill-treating Subordinates for any officer to bully, humiliate, degrade or be unnecessarily harsh towards any subordinate member of the military whilst on active duty.
It is an offence of Damage to Property for any member of the military to deliberately behave in such a manner that causes the damage, loss or destruction of any government or military property, or the property of another member of the military.
It is an offence of Excessive Force for any member of the military to use violent force as part of operations which is likely to kill or seriously injure an enemy, unless one has a reasonable belief that the said enemy poses a direct and immediate threat to one's own life.
Any commissioned officer may, on finding that anyone under their command has committed an offence as specified in this Decree, summarily dismiss the person from the military; this action may be appealed by the person to the Court Martial, which shall be a court ran in accordance with the Courts, Judiciaries and Juries Act 2018 and the Court Procedures Act 2018, with a Judge appointed by the Monarch, and of which all decisions may be appealed to the Grand Court of Adammia. A commissioned officer may, on finding that anyone under their command has committed an offence as specified in this Decree, if they believe that the offence was particularly serious, refer the case directly to the Court Martial. The Judge of the Court Martial, in addition to the power to dismiss a person from the military, shall also be able to hand down any of the sentences allowed for criminal courts under the Courts, Judiciaries and Juries Act 2018.
This, the sixty-fourth Imperial Decree of Our Imperial Majesty Adam the First, Emperor of Adammia, Duke of Deira, Earl of Carew, Count of Penmine and Spildcastle, Lord Chancellor, Grand Admiral et cetera, is decreed at the Province of Serkatia, on this the thirty-first day of May of the two-thousand and nineteenth year of the Common Era and the seventh year of Our reign, and is signed into immediate effect.
Adamus Primus Imperator
31st May 2019 23:26
XXXI.V.MMXIX VII.ADAMVS I