Strategic Defence Force

The Strategic Defence Force, SDF for short, is the armed force of the Free Lands of the Selkie. The SDF has two major branches, the SDF-Army and the SDF-Navy, both with their own integrated aerial forces.

In total, the SDF has around one hundred thousand officers and men under its command, plus another thrity thousand civilian employees. Main suppliers of the SDF are Silverport Dockyards Limited, Monarcha Aircraft Factories Limited, Gabha Blacksmiths Limited and Eabhar Blacksmiths Limited, but a number of smaller companies, like Bicíní Industries, also play an important part (for example, BI produces the uniforms of the SDF).

History

The First Decades

Also See

• Equipment of the SDF-Navy in 1940.
• Equipment of the SDF-Army in 1940.
• Structure of the SDF-Navy in 1940.
• Structure of the SDF-Army in 1940.

Niochan Army Reforms

In response to the catastrophic losses of the SDF in the Battle of Marley Bay, primarily a naval engagement, the SDF realized, that their notions of fighting were outdated, so a series of reforms was worked out and implemented in 2014 - the Niochan Army Reforms, named after their initiator and Head of SDF-Army General Command, Lieutenant General Finn Nióchan of the Tribe of Cork. A rearmament program unseen since the Naval Armament Program of 1922 was started,

The SDF and the Strategic and Economic Alliance

Also see: Structure of the SDF-Navy in 2020.

One of the major lessons from Operation Spartacus and of the renewed foreign interests of the Free Lands thanks to SEA was the Army Reform 2021, which sought to shrink the over-sized and unwieldy regiments of the SDF-Army down into smaller and more capable units.

Command and Organization

Commanded by SDF-Command are both branches of the SDF, as well as SDF-Intelligence, the Military Police (the Blue Berets), the Council Guard Regiment, SDF Flight School and several other, smaller institutions. Political leadership of the SDF is provided by a department of the SDF-Command's Staff.

Supreme Commander of the SDF is General Ferris Taoiseach of the Tribe of Antrim, his Chief of Staff is Commodore Gavin Iascaire of the Tribe of Galway and his Aide-de-Camp is Lieutenant Ayden Céilt of the Tribe of Fermanagh.

See also

• Structure of the SDF-Army.
• Structure of the SDF-Navy.
  • Regiment of SDF-Navy Troopers, Units.
• Structure of an SDF-Cavalry Regiment in 1921.
• Structure of the SDF prior to the Niochan Army Reforms.

Equipment

See: Category:Equipment of the SDF

See: Category:Past Equipment of the SDF

Over the last two decades, the SDF began to invest more and more financial resources into the development of remote-controlled combat vehicles, most prominently the Foiche Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle.

With the raising of the specialized Cuachanach-Regiments, regiments dedicated to mountain and woodland warfare, the SDF also reintroduced an old staple in Selkie-Warfare: The horse.

Appearance

Uniforms

See: Uniforms of the SDF-Army and Uniforms of the SDF-Navy.

The SDF wears, like every professional military, uniforms - for their appearance, see above. However, while all soldiers have the right and obligation to wear that uniform while in service, the regulations and culture of the Selkie have different ideas as to when to wear it out of service.

The major question is, if one goes somewhere to represent the SDF or not. If a Navy-Captain attends a diplomatic ball in some country while his ship makes a port call there, he wears uniform as he represents the SDF. If he attends his sister's wedding, he is around in a private function, which means, that he will wear Geansai.

Ranks and Rank Structure

Rank, SDF-Army	Rank, SDF-Navy	NATO-Code	Notes
General	Admiral	OF-9	Only one
Lieutenant General	Vice-Admiral	OF-8
Brigadier	Commodore	OF-6
Colonel	Captain	OF-5
Lieutenant Colonel	Commander	OF-4
Major	Lieutenant Commander	OF-3
Captain	Watch-Commander	OF-2
Lieutenant	Lieutenant	OF-1
Ensign	Ensign	OF(D)	Students of the Officer Course of the Naval School and the SDF-Army Academy
N/A	Cadet	OF(D)	Cadets of the Naval School
Chief Master Sergeant	Master Chief Petty Officer	OR-8	A.k.a. Master Chief.
Master Sergeant	Chief Petty Officer	OR-7
Sergeant	Petty Officer	OR-6
Chief Corporal	Chief Master Seaman	OR-4
Corporal	Master Seaman	OR-3
Private	Able Seaman	OR-2
Trooper	Seaman	OR-1

There are also the honorary ranks of Chosen Man and Leading Ensign, which denotes an especially dependable common soldier or officer trainee. Chosen Men are sometimes recommended for NCO or Officer Training.

Women

As usual per Selkie-custom, women are included in all positions and occupations of the SDF, as neither sword, nor plow, and least of all rifle care, if the hand touching them is strong or soft. This had been the case since the foundation of the SDF and even before.

Salute

The SDF, officers and men alike, salute by balling their fists, tapping their chests twice where their heart is.

Awards and Decorations

There are two kinds of awards and decorations, one for skills and capabilities (like the marksmanship lanyard), the other for achievements and merit. Generally, the SDF has less awards for merit then for skills.

The highest award of merit the SDF has is known as the Silver Dragon's Pocket Watch and is, as the name suggests, a pocket watch engraved with the image of the Silver Dragon.

Foreign officers and men, who rendered outstanding services to the Free Lands and its people, are usually awarded a sword or a pair of daggers made by the Master-Blacksmith of the SDF, that currently being Aonas Innoin of the Tribe of Wicklow. For example, after Operation Spartacus, the SDF awarded Oberst Denise-Françoise-Vallière de Chanclos, Freiin du Retz and Hauptoberjäger Antonia Bergemann with a short sword each for their liberation of the gladiator school of Falernum during Operation Sanguine and including the liberation of Asteria Sclábhaí of the Tribe of Fermanagh.