Imperial Gristol-Serkonos Defence Forces

The Imperial Gristol-Serkonos Defence Forces (Gristin: Rienshi Depenze Forza Gristol-Serkonos, Serkonsi: Riendefenzi Forza Greitol-Serkonsi), commonly known as the Imperial Defence Forces, are the armed forces of Gristol-Serkonos. It consists of four branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Territorial Army. It also operates the Strategic Arms Command, a special branch handling the country's nuclear arsenal. The IGSDF is controlled to the Imperial Defence Council, a department of the Imperial Office of Defence.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Gristol-Serkonos Defence Forces rotates between the diarchs. Currently, the Commander-in-Chief is Emperor Lorei IV Esteria however it is required to all the members of the forces swear an oath of allegiance to both monarchs of Gristol and Serkonos. Under the Imperial Constitutional Law, the armed forces are subordinate to the Imperial Diarchy. The armed forces are managed by the Imperial Defence Council of the Imperial Office of National Defence, headed by the Minister of Defence.

The Sovereign Empire tested its first nuclear weapon in 1952, starting with Operation Neptune. The country possesses 425 nuclear warheads, 390 of them are deployed and active.

History
When Gristol-Serkonos united in 1891, the two armed forces of Gristol and Serkonos were merged to form the Imperial Gristol-Serkonos Defence Forces. Between 1891 and 1954, IGSDF personnel played a prominent role in notable conflicts including the Red Revolution and the insurgencies in Vâlcea.

Today
The Imperial Gristol-Serkonos Defence Forces has an active force with 73.7 million active personnel. It currently possesses an arsenal of nuclear weapons. The nuclear deterrence policy of Gristol-Serkonos is based on the continuous at-sea deterrent and strategic launch sites in the mainland.

While the role of the commander-in-chief rotates between two monarchs, the executive authority in the military is shared with the Lord High Chancellor and the Imperial Defence Council. Together, they make the key decisions on the use of the armed forces. The Diarchs, however, remains the "ultimate authority" of the military, with officers and personnel swearing allegiance to them.

Following the recommendations of the 2016 Defence and National Security Review, the Imperial Gristol-Serkonos Defence Forces was reorganized and was succeeded by the Imperial Gristol-Serkonos Strategic Armed Forces on June 7. 2016.

Civilian Control of the Military
The modern day IGSDF military is styled after modern western military systems. Historically, it had a political warfare branch that tightly controls and monitors each level of the military, and reports directly to the High Command of the IGSDF, and if necessary, directly to the Imperial Defence Council. This is a carryover from the post-1920 Red Revolution, when the Rieshistagi and its army were penetrated by Communist agents repeatedly and led to frontline units defecting to Communist-held areas. To strengthen their control over the military and prevent massive defection, High Command and the IDC employed tight control over the military, by installing political officers and commissioners down to the company level, in order to ensure political correctness in the military and loyalty toward Empire's leadership. This gave the political officers a great deal of power, allowing them to overrule the unit commander and take over the unit.

Following the much-needed 2014 reforms, the Military Inquisition were effectively removed from the military structure. The 2014 reform also saw the reduction of control of the civilian defense minister and much of the powers were distributed among the members of Imperial Defence Council. It also led to the inclusion of the Lord High Chancellor as part of the decision making process of the Council.

Doctrine
The primary goal of the IGSDF is to provide a credible deterrent against hostile action by establishing effective counterstrike and high-tech defence capabilities. Should hostilities occur, current IGSDF doctrine centres upon the principle of "distanced engagement" where the primary goal of the armed forces in any conflict with the hostile power would be to keep as much of the fighting away from mainland proper for as long as possible to minimize damage to infrastructure and civilian casualties. The principle of distanced engagement also puts an emphasis on the logistics side of the military. In times of war, the Imperial Office of Defence can call upon civilian companies to reinforce the existing supply lines.

Doctrine
The Sovereign Empire does not adopt the policy of "no first use" and instead asserts its right to use nuclear weapons first in the case of conflict.

Imperial Gristolian-Serkonan Army
The Imperial Gristolian-Serkonan Army is the largest component of the IGSDF. The army is divided into five army regions —the 1st Army Region, the 2nd Army Region, the 3rd Army Region, the 4th Army Region and the 5th Army Region—the Imperial Army Doctrine and Training School and the Imperial Army Headquarters.

Imperial Gristolian-Serkonan Navy
The Imperial Gristol-Serknonosean Navy is a technologically sophisticated naval force, and as of April 2015 consists of 14,597 commissioned ships. Command of deployable assets is exercised by the First Sea Lord/Chief of the Navy. Personnel matters are the responsibility of the Second Sea Lord/Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, an appointment usually held by a vice-admiral.

The Surface Fleet consists of amphibious warfare ships, destroyers, frigates, patrol vessels, mine-countermeasure vessels, to capital ships such as battleships, missile battlecruisers, arsenal ships, and supercarriers. The Surface Fleet has been structured around a single command divided into three fleets. The recently built Sarektjåkkå-class supercarriers are the latest assets by the Imperial Navy. The Navy is acquiring two Sea Dweller-class super-dreadnoughts from the Marquesas, to compliment the existing domestically produced Devil-class Battleships. The navy also fields six Ridnitsohkka-class battleships, the oldest ships in the navy as they were in continuous service since 1935.

A submarine service has existed within the Imperial Navy for more than 100 years. The Submarine Fleet consists of Kainuu-class nuclear-powered attack submarines and Kårtejaure-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines capable of carrying Morgenroete Industries' Solarian IV ballistic missiles, forming part of the Sovereign Empire's nuclear deterrent capability. The service has since decommissioned its fleet of diesel-electric submarines in the 2000's with the introduction of nuclear-powered ones. The submarine service is also planning to built seven Kainuu-class nuclear-powered attack submarines, with two completed, and five under construction.

Imperial Gristolian-Serkonan Territorial Army
The Territorial Army is the Imperial Gristolian-Serkonan Army reserve force. This branch consists of ex-Army personnel who retain a statutory liability for service and are liable to be recalled for active military duty in a time of need.

IGSDF Joint Special Forces Directorate
Special Forces in the IGSDF are unified under the Joint Special Forces Directorate, which provides a joint special operations task force headquarters. Their mission is primarily to conduct counter-terrorism operations on the homeland and the overseas territories. During wartime, they are tasked with special operations involving unconventional warfare, infiltration and high-risk missions. The Joint Special Forces Directorate is commanded by the J-SFCD Director-General, which is appointed by the Minister of Defence at the advice of the Lord High General and the National Defence Council.

The J-SFCD is divided into three sub-branches.

Personnel Strength
Active Branches Reserve Branches