Sol Defence Corps

For a list of the active ships in the SDC's fleet, see the Ships of the Sol Defence Corps.

The Sol Defence Corps (SDC) is the expeditionary and space warfare service division of the United Nations' military and forms the main armed forces component of extraterrestrial human operations. Its function is to police, defend and monitor the Sol system from any foreign threats as well as initiate expeditionary efforts to other star systems in the form of the Final Frontier Project. It has more than 7.8 million active personnel and is dominantly composed of its Navy, with its infantry unit being the Marine Corps.

As a United Nations proponent force, the SDC is made of personnel from backgrounds all over the globe and even over the colonies (Venus and Mars) as well. Tracing its traditions and customs back mainly to that of the United States Navy and Royal Navy, of which the SDC received a large amount of initial funding from, the Corps prides itself on combining the traditions of the oldest military type in the world, a sailing navy, with that of the newest warfare region humanity has ever encountered: space.

History
Founded in 2059, the Sol Defence Corps initially started off as a coalition of the United Nations as establishing a united space-based military of Sol, following the widespread advent of interplanetary travel and projected increases of trade between Earth, Luna, Venus, and Mars. Militaries such as the United States Space Force would pool early-age armed spacecraft as part of the coalition force.

Over the next forty years, the SDC would evolve from being an international cooperative of sovereign-owned spacecraft to a full spacefaring naval force, forging its own shipyards, installations, and fleets. Mainly borrowing personnel from the navies and space forces of UN Security Council nations, its personnel complement rapidly grew until it had personnel numbering in the millions, pooled from the citizens of over 130 different countries.

Up until the late 2080s, the SDC was focused on protecting trade and shipment freedom, deterring piracy and crime committed on ships and acting as a maritime police force for vessels transiting between planets.

The outbreak of the Martian Revolution in 2088 forced the SDC to endure its first actual war since its founding, a feat which initially took the budding military by surprise. As the war grew on, however, the SDC gradually adopted new strategies from the war and, by its conclusion, emerged as a veteran force who knew how to fight an opponent.

As of 2115, the SDC is gradually expanding its fleet and capabilities to function as an interstellar naval force.

Mission
The SDC concerns itself with the following goals:
 * Defend the Sol system and its constituent bodies from foreign threats;
 * Conduct expeditionary efforts outside of Sol to colonize new worlds;
 * Assist the Peacekeeper Corps in maintaining peace in the system;
 * Overcome and defend against hostile entities who wish to compromise the security of Sol.

Chain of Command
The SDC is executively led by the Commander-in-Chief, a position entitled, customarily, to the holding of the civilian Secretary-General (SECGEN) of the UN. Second in authority to the Commander-in-Chief is the Secretary of the Sol Defence Corps (SSDC), responsible for the administrative and logistical side and focuses strictly on the Corps.

The Navy and Marine Corps are each led by the highest-ranking flag officers of their respective division, comprising the Commander of the Fleet and the Commander of the Marine Corps, respectively. Unlike their national counterparts, the CMF and CMC fulfill both administrative and operational authority over the organization and strategy of the SDC.

The current incumbents of the Chiefs of Staff are listed below. Subordinate to the Chiefs of Staff are the various division and Fleet commanders, responsible for overseeing operations for each Fleet and each SDC organisation.

Naval Department Commands
The SDC runs several auxiliary divisions to the primary armed force services.

Naval Personnel
Main article: Sol Defence Corps/Ranks

Personnel in the SDC military comprise the Navy and the Marine Corps, with different ranking structures for both.

The SDC employs enlisted personel and commissioned officers for use in the Navy, while Warrant Officers are additionally present in the Marines. About 5.3 million personnel are in the Navy, while 2.1 million are in the Marine Corps. About 3.7 million additional personnel are kept as a reserve or auxiliary guard.

Navy
The SDC Navy (abbrev. SDCN) has a total of 210 commissioned ships in active service, 115 noncommissioned support craft, and more than 55,000 shuttlecraft. 23 commissioned vessels are part of the Final Frontier Project. It has 4.4 million enlisted personnel with about 900,000 officers.

The navy employs corvettes, frigates, cruisers, battlecruisers, and carriers, with a style of varying their class complement strongly to emphasize versatility and readiness for any situation.

During times of peace, the SDCN focuses resources on maritime policing in the Sol system as well as functioning as a counter-piracy service. The Sixth Fleet in particular operates the Final Frontier Project for scientific efforts.

At its operational peak at the height of the Martian Revolution the SDC had fielded more than 400 commissioned warships, responsible for guarding trade routes, establishing blockades, landing troops and fighting off enemy craft.

The headquarters of the SDCN is located in Gibraltar, Earth, with bases present in all the Colonies (Luna, Venus, and Mars), as well as orbital installations around Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto.

Special Operations
The Navy's special operations detachment, known as NAVSOC, is responsible for conducting precision strikes and assisting the Navy in high-risk small-scale warfare, working as a commando operation force to handle extraordinary threats. They are often seen paired with the Marines for taking down alien threats.

Marines
The Sol Defence Marine Corps (SDMC) is the marine and infantry division of the SDC. It has 2.1 million active personnel, with 2 million enlisted and 100,000 officers. The Marines often serve as infantry detachments aboard SDCN vessels. They are trained soldiers and serve as a privileged infantry unit.

Marines employ medical personnel and chaplains from the Navy for help in their operations and are partnered with the SDCN for a majority of operations.

Ranks
Main article: Sol Defence Corps/Ranks

Naval Fleets
For a list of the active ships in the SDC's fleet, see: Ships of the Sol Defence Corps.

Hermes Fleet (1st)
The Hermes Fleet is the rapid response and offensive operations fleet, led by Admiral Ramik Asupani. The fleet is primarily consisted of quick, FTL-capable vessels, favoring frigates and cruisers over larger capital ships. The lone pair of capital ships in the fleet, the Valiant-class carriers SDCN Hermes (FCV-20) and SDCN Deimos (FCV-21), are often placed in the middle of battlegroups and have been retrofitted with faster propulsion equipment to keep up with the rest of the group.

Hermes is usually assigned as a QRF fleet and is often assigned to missions that require rapid response or rapid deployment. Hermes contains the largest contingent of NAVSOC operators in the fleet and also the second largest contingent of Marines.

Aegis Fleet (2nd)
The Aegis Fleet is the Earth's orbital guard and the central fleet of the SDCN, overseen by Admiral Harper Johnson. The fleet consists mainly of large defensive battlecruisers and carriers to provide a stalwart shield against attacks on passing vessels in Earth's orbit.

Aegis is normally rather dormant during peacetime and mainly serves as a border guard for Earth and Mars, checking trade vessels and providing anti-piracy security. During the Martian Revolution Aegis was activated to help Ares Fleet in blockading Mars and protecting Earth during the Commonwealth's attempted raid on Earth.

Ares Fleet (3rd)
The largest and most aggressive fleet of the SDCN, the Ares Fleet is tasked with offensive operations and is often seen taking the role of the primary brute in battles and skirmishes. Led by Admiral Andrew Dartmouth, the fleet has earned a reputation for its aggressive tactics and strength-in-numbers strategy.

The Ares Fleet was most prominent during the Revolution, where it saw the brunt of offensive action conducted against Mars and Commonwealth vessels.

Poseidon Fleet (4th)
The Poseidon Fleet is often seen as the border guard for the Sol system, with a majority of its forces posted beyond Pluto, patrolling the Kuiper Belt and, to a lesser extent, the Oort Cloud, to look for and quell any piracy or criminal activity other fleets wouldn't dare approach. They are the most experienced with counter-piracy tactics and are often deployed to areas with high illegal activity.

Argo Fleet (5th)
Formerly the reserve fleet of the SDCN, the Argo Fleet has since been retired from active service.

Odysseus Fleet (6th)
The expeditionary fleet of the SDCN and the parent division of the Final Frontier Project. The Odysseus Fleet is concerned with conducting naval patrols and activity outside of the Sol system, and as such, each individual vessel is heavily equipped to withstand and fight any force that might encounter it. Sporadic in nature, the Odysseus Fleet is often seen spread out, with up to 3 vessels being positioned next to each other. Odysseus Fleet vessels, unlike ships in other fleets, are not staffed with a marine detachment due to the research-oriented nature of the fleet.

The vessels operated by the Final Frontier Project, such as the Emissary, usually trek alone, their activities often being conducted millions of kilometers away from the nearest battlecruiser. As such, FFP ships are retrofitted to act as fighters of their own, boasting considerable artillery as well as advanced armor and shielding to protect against many threats.

Sector Commands
The SDC's area of operations is divided into several Sector Commands (SC), each responsible for the servicing of a certain area of the solar system. Each SC is assigned a primary fleet and one or more secondary fleets for regular duty and assignment.

Facilities
The SDC holds several enormous naval bases both planetside and in orbit, forming large shipyards and starbases for construction, mooring, and repairs, as well as hosting personnel training.

Military Bases
SDC holds several military bases for primary usage by the Navy, although they do support Marine Corps activity. While some bases act as drydocks and ground facilities for atmosphere-capable vessels, most are administrative offices or troop garrisons.

Starbases
The SDC additionally holds several military orbital installations in various places around Sol.

Service Academies
SDC's service academies are graduate universities providing both college education and military training to prospective officer candidates in both the Navy and Marines. Entry is selective, and for those who are accepted into an academy, tuition is entirely free along with a limited allowance for midshipmen.

Officer Candidate Schools
Officer Candidate Schools (OCS) provide an alternative means to training for officer candidates, able to provide training and education for prospective students who have already graduated college with a degree.

Officer Candidate Schools are also home to Officer Training School (OTC) programmes, used for educating staff corps cadets in military doctrine and training.

Basic Training Centers
Basic Training Centers (BTCs) are the SDC's designation for combined boot camps for recruits of both the Navy and Marine Corps. They are all divided into two separate camps located in the same area for training recruits of each branch differently.