The list of the departments below are key to the running and continuation of the Federation, not just because of the defensive capabilities they provide but because it is through these departments that Federal civilians are turned into citizens and given the privilege to vote and exercise political authority in the goings on of the Federation and, by doing so have the smallest say in the overall running of their home planet.
Federal Service
Before talking about the different departments, it is worth while talking about the method in which the departments obtain new blood.
Upon a civilian’s eighteenth birthday the civilian gains the right to decide on whether or not to attempt to get citizenship and gain access to certain professional fields as well as obtaining the right to vote (which is the usual way of describing the acquisition of political authority one gains upon completion of their Federal service). They don’t have to decide there and may make the decision years down the line, but regardless of when they decide, they may only try once to obtain citizenship. Should their only attempt be a failure then they will forever be a civilian, which doesn’t mean they have any less rights, just that they can’t vote or become a policeman for example.
When a civilian applies they then apply at their nearest
The term of service is technically two years long, but the Federation have the right to extend it if it is necessary (i.e. an enlisted MI is part of a division sent to war and is stationed on the front line when the two years is up, will find themselves remaining there and in the division until they die or return to the Federation and are allowed to leave). During this time they are treated no less than a career member of the department, and indeed are allowed to request to “go career” during their term. A term may also end with the person being kicked out of a department for not being good enough or have the heart for what they’re being asked to do or they may wish to drop out seconds before their unit begins an assignment. In which case they are given their form 1240a and their records are marked with “Term completed unsatisfactorily” and they are never allowed to try again. However should circumstances force the enlisted to be removed (e.g. serious injury) and they still wish to continue, they will be re-assigned to somewhere their condition allows them to be put and serve there.
The Departments
Mobile Infantry
This is the name of the PDF forces and Imperial Guard regiments that are stationed in or originate from the Federation. A highly efficient, highly traditional and highly trained fighting force. They are a drop troop army who are either fired to the battle zone in capsules or drop ship, and are retrieved via retrieval ships, or “boats” as the troopers call them. They never promote a man to fill a T.O. slot and live by unofficial rules such as never leaving a man behind; everyone fights, everyone works, no-one quits; a soldier is measured by the number of drops he’s made, not how well his skills may be and so on. As their name suggests they have little in the way of vehicles and almost entirely made up of infantry squads. Their training is brutal, their drill sergeants at boot camp are notorious for only accepting the best and they are somewhat experts at fighting Tyranids. Like any other regiment, each division is known for having its own motto, such as the MI 1st Division motto being “Death From Above” and 7th Division’s being “Bring It On!”
Federal Fleet
Sometimes referred to as just “Fleet”, they have an intense, but friendly, rivalry with the MI, with each side claiming they are more important and useful than the other. Fleet is in command of the star ships and aircraft of the Federation and its positions include all jobs and positions a vessel needs to operate at full capacity. The ships of fleet serve two purposes- defending Federal Space and supporting the MI with deployment and retrieval methods as well as orbital bombardment and aerial support for units on the ground. They also provide the essential service of giving MEDEVACs to wounded soldiers on the ground.
Engineering Corps
The Engineering Corps are a tough unit. They have nerves of steel which helps when you are stuck building or repairing fortifications, communications networks, broken and damaged vehicles etc whilst a battle rages on around you. They have earned the mutual respect of the MI- when it hits the fan the Engineering Corps are more than willing to lend fire support to the MI and when all is quiet an MI will quite contently, even if not willingly, help out the Combat Engineers in their duties. This, plus their trademark sense of humour every combat engineer seems to possess, had led to their unofficial motto of “First we dig them, then we die in them!” being created (Their official motto being “Can Do!”). They look similar in appearance to MI but have access to vehicles from Chimera troop carriers to Atlas recovery vehicles. They are also in command of any slave labour battalions that may be raised and/or sent to operate on Federal campaigns
Logistics and Communications
As with any war effort the MI, Fleet and Engineering Corps always need supplies of food, weapons, equipment, spare parts, ammunition etc and it is the job of the Logistics and Communications corps to provide these enmities. They don’t possess a standing armed force as such, convoys are usually escorted by MI or Fleet, but they do have access to armoured transports, both for the group and space/air. It is also the job of this department to provide and maintain communication networks everywhere for all departments of the Armed Forces. Very rarely seen anywhere near the front line, this department are often working in conjunction with others.
Tactical Reconnaissance
Tactical Reconnaissance, or Tac-Recon for short, is the department responsible for providing field intelligence for units operating in war zones (not this differs from Games and Theory). They usually do so via long ranged radar sweeps, xenograph sweeps and satellites orbiting planets where the conflict is taking place. They do, however, possess a small but highly trained number of reconnaissance vehicles, aircraft, escorts and reconnaissance teams. Operated in conjunction with Fleet and MI, they are used when accurate intelligence can’t be gathered at long range.
This department is where you would find the infamous Calebs, or cyber-dogs. These beasts are either grown in vats, augmented as they grow with implants and cybernetic components or they are mostly a cybernetic construct with organic tissue implanted, such as a brain, eyes, tongue, etc and are about as smart as a human moron (although a moron is defective whilst a Caleb is a genius and a miracle of modern engineering). Upon reaching maturity each Caleb is assigned to a handler who will be the only person to ever work with the animal. The training they go through and experiences they share leads to a unique bond forming which is stronger than a marriage and should one of the pair, or team, die the other is either hospitalised an slowly rebuilt mentally (handlers) or put down (Caleb) to prevent insanity and serial illnesses and depression from kicking in.
On the battle field a K-9 team usually fill one of two roles- advanced surveying and intel gathering ahead of the main force or as supplements to ground forces present, whether it will be helping face an enemy or keep slave gangs in check. The dog is neurally connected to the handler and is capable of human speech so will often go ahead and report to the handler as well as relaying images.
Medlab
This department is responsible for the training of all field and ship medics as well as running and providing medical attendants and doctors for field and military hospitals. For field and ship medics they go through the training of an MI or Fleet recruit but it is slightly altered to give time for studying military medicine from space-sickness and battle fatigue to grievous wounds and protocols for MEDEVACS. The others who are purely there to treat will be trained in medicine and various treatments and disciplines and then will be working in hospitals all over the galaxy, wherever Federal citizens are being injuries and falling ill. This is not to be confused with the civilian doctors and nurses, Medlab is a military department, and works in conjunction with other departments as is no less dangerous than serving in the MI or Fleet and have access to some vehicles, mostly field ambulances and MEDEVAC Vultures.
MI Journalism
As well as conventional weaponry such as lasguns and lance batteries, the Federation also makes use of propaganda to help win wars and battles. Volunteers in this department are trained in the use of the media to help boost morale and enlistment figures when necessary, keep everyone informed of loved ones at war or just how the war is going for Federal Troops, via FedNet. These volunteers risk their lives acting as camera men and presenters on the front line, whilst their MI bodyguard are busy fighting off unwanted viewers. Teams usually consist of a presenter and three camera men, all are however trained to present or take shots whilst under fire. A common sight on ships and battlefields when the federation is fighting for the Imperium, these minor celebrities (as some become due to talent, luck and good looks) also boost soldier morale with on ship game shows and interviews- who wouldn’t fight harder if they knew the entire Federation was watching?!
Internal Security Services
One of the main Intelligence departments, IS (Services is often removed from the name for fluidity) is responsible for making sure that the Federation itself remains pure and untainted. They specialise in hunting down cults, hidden alien groups, heretics, rebels, traitors as well as various sub-species of Tyranids that can take control of a human or indeed imitate the appearance of a human to a certain extent. Although a separate entity Internal Security is usually working in partnership with various Imperial organisations such as the
Games & Theory
The most senior department of the Federal Armed Forces, Games & Theory is military intelligence. Very, very rarely seen fighting on the front line or indeed anywhere near it, it is the people in Games and Theory that have to make the decisions of where to fight, when to fight and who should be sent to fight- essentially ordering hundreds of soldiers to their deaths everyday. Due to the nature of the work only the very best of applicants who have good mental abilities and deductive reasoning as well as those who would truly be able to understand and accept the responsibilities they gain are given the assignment to this department. As military intelligence and senior department, they may request assistance from foreign forces, such as the Adeptus Astartes or even the Officio Assassinorum or Titan Legions.
Like senior officers of all departments and officers of Internal Security, if any member of Games and Theory looks likely to be captured any nearby troops are to execute them as quickly as possible. This isn’t always possible so now the Federation are psychically and biologically protecting them so should they be captured and interrogated their body will automatically kill itself by releasing a fast-acting toxin from a gland sack or will shut itself down permanently to prevent vital information to be revealed.
Psychological Warfare
Psychological Warfare, or PsyOps as most members of other departments refer to it, is the department which has the duty to sort out and train or execute (if the psychic looks like they are/would be dangerous to others) psychic applicants who have opted to serve their term.
The various Psychic academies of this department train psychics for all roles, from field psychics and astropaths, to memory men and sensors. The Imperium has even made it law the navigators in the Federation must also go through this procedure, but they are forced to go career and become permanent ship navigators, although some go on to become instructors at the academies. The Adeptus Astra Telepathica and Inquisition are believed to have connections with this department to aid in its running and the safety of serving men and women. The academies also work with Starside R&D on psychic equipment and weaponry for it’s enlisted.
Starside R&D
War and enemies the Federation faces are constantly evolving. To deal with this Federation’s weapons and equipment must also evolve and it’s this department which is tasked with this monumental task. Starside R & D is where Federal scientists, researchers, engineers and so on design, create prototypes, test prototypes at the various laboratories, which are usually located on barren and inhospitable worlds and moons, for obvious security reasons. If they work as they are meant to then the plans are given to Federal Armourers who start producing them for the men and women of the Federal Armed Forces.
Once produced batches are then sent to wherever they are needed, courtesy of Logistics and Communications.
Biological and Chemical Warfare
Working closely with R&D and Games & Theory, this department of the Armed forces concentrates its efforts on the research into and the development of biological and chemical weapons that will aid federal troops on the front line against their enemies. Bio & Chem. Laboratories are often positioned on even more desolate and uninhabitable locations than Starside R&D labs so should a chemical or biological agent escape and be harmful to humans and Chiss then loss of life will be reduced.
Some of Bio & Chem.’s creations include the chemical grenades that the MI call “bug spray”- it forms a stick layer where it lands which slowly boils from natural heat and forms a green gas cloud that is harmful to Tyranids, but completely safe to humans- and also the “‘Nid bolts”- shells containing a hollow point filled with this chemical- are a creation of this department
Diplomatic Corps
When a planet and/or city is recaptured from the alien menace that plagues the Federation and its neighbouring systems, it is then the Federations duty to rebuild, restore, re-fortify and re-populate. The Diplomatic Corps is the department who organises these details out in the new Federal territories, so they fall under the Security Council’s colony/annexation guidelines. During this period, they have operational command to all forces in the vicinity of new colony/territory. This can mean they may request MI units to defend their position until a local regimen is erected, or ask Fleet to protect a convoy of supplies, workers, settlers, equipment etc until it reaches orbit. They also take control when a new planet is brought into the Federation, even when its ownership isn’t being contested.
A lot of pressure and power is put on the Diplomatic Corps and so it is often said that this department has the second largest amount of the Federation’s serving geniuses (enlisted personal with an IQ over 150), first being Games and Theory.
Combat Ecology
A strictly none fighting Department of the Federal Armed Forces, Combat Ecology and it’s members are tasked with creating and testing theoretical models on behalf of the fighting and intelligence departments for possible events in relation to the relations of other parties and races with the Federation and Imperium. Usually ComEc, takes information gathered from battle reports, officer reports, intelligence and observations already gathered etc. and then analyses them with the aid of highly advanced computer systems and then gives their findings to other departments or Command HQ who then make of it what they want and make their decisions. Just as many officers trust these simulation generated numbers as those who don’t.
Rumours floating around the armed forces are that ComEc is due to be absorbed by Games and Theory as their work often overlaps and Combat Ecology do not possess the authority to sanction missions and commandeer forces for these missions, whereas Games and Theory does.
As well as these combat related departments there are numerous others which are strictly non combatant, such as Land Reformation (the Terraforming legions) and Scientific Exploration (which is not what it sounds and is in fact the Federation’s chief, non-military, tri-science research department which has heavy links with the Adeptus Mechanicus, as opposed to scientists who explore new worlds, which is covered by Games and Theory mostly)