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National service in Nouvelle Alexandrie

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National service in Nouvelle Alexandrie covers the obligations and programs through which the citizens and legal residents of the Federation of Nouvelle Alexandrie contribute to its defense and civil preparedness. Military conscription is authorized under Article 23 of the Proclamation of Punta Santiago but has never been implemented in the Federation, and the Federal Forces rely entirely on voluntary enlistment. Every citizen and legal resident between the ages of 18 and 30 must register for emergency mobilization under Article 7 of the Defense of the Federation Act, 1694. The registrations are held on the Federal Mobilization Register (Alexandrian: Registre fédéral de mobilisation) of the Department of Defense.

Proposals to make service compulsory have come before the Cortes twice. The Federal Assembly defeated the National Service Act, 1726, which would have required two years of military or civilian service from every national, by 356 votes to 332 in 1729 AN, and in 1745 AN the government proposed mandatory national service for unemployed citizens. A national referendum in 1761 AN rejected one year of service between the ages of 18 and 25 by 78.0 percent to 22.0. Civilian preparedness is organized separately, through the National Civil Preparedness Program and the emergency management work of the Department of the Interior.

History

Article 23 of the Proclamation of Punta Santiago, proclaimed in 1685 AN, makes every person responsible for taking part in the defense and security of the Federation according to their abilities.[1] In the union of Alduria-Wechua, before its forces transferred their allegiance to the Federation in 1693 AN, national service was required of all adult men aged 16 to 20.[2][3] The union's Secretary of Defense, the Count of Choquequirao, told the Federal Constituent Assembly in 1691 AN that its continuation remained justified by the public interest as the Proclamation defined it.[3]

In the Federation, the Defense of the Federation Act, 1694 was introduced by Deputy Augustus Strong of North Lyrica and passed by the Federal Assembly with 457 votes in favor, none against, and 162 abstentions. It received royal assent on 13.VI.1695 AN. Article 7 of the Act required every citizen and legal resident aged 18 to 30 to register for emergency mobilization, while providing that registration did not of itself oblige anyone to serve; Article 6 left personnel matters and the terms of military service to be set by other Acts.[4] The Home Guard Act, 1711 added a narrower duty, requiring registered firearms owners to associate with a Home Guard regiment as a condition of their licenses.[5]

The first attempt to implement conscription in the Federation came in the 7th Cortes Federales. The government of Federal Humanist Party Premier Paolo Antonio Aguilar introduced the National Service Act, under which every national reaching 18 from 1727 AN would have owed two years of service, to be completed before the age of 40, in the Federal Forces, the Gendarmerie, emergency management, the Federal Civil Service System, the Cultural Heritage Preservation Program, or the Federal Cultural and Sports Outreach Program. Evasion would have been a crime punishable, at the court's discretion, by a fine of 1,000 écus and a month of imprisonment for each month evaded, and by immediate impressment. The bill exempted nationals already aged 40 in 1725 AN and those with two years of prior qualifying service. As amended by the Assembly in 1729 AN, it required a declared conscientious objector to satisfy a court of inquiry, presided over by the senior Federal Forces officer of the municipality, before serving in a non-combat capacity with the Federal Guards Service.[6] On 3.VI.1729 AN the Federal Assembly rejected the bill by 356 votes to 332, with no abstentions, every opposition party and four independent deputies voting against it.[7] While the bill was before the Assembly, Aguilar, as statutory chair of the Federal Emergency Management Council, established the National Civil Preparedness Program under the Disaster Management Act, 1715.[8]

National service returned to the agenda in 1745 AN. Opening the 11th Cortes Federales on 8.I.1745 AN, Premier Juan Pablo Jimenez promised that his government would "undertake a full revamp of national service programs" and that "the unemployed will be put to useful work".[9] The government's program for the session included a restructuring of national service with mandatory participation for unemployed citizens, and the National Service Revitalization Act, 1745 was introduced. Opposition parties and civil society groups objected to the expansion of national service requirements.[10] The bill never came to a final vote and lapsed when the 11th Cortes ended at the 1749 AN general election.[11] The same Cortes passed the Reserve Forces Readiness Act, 1745, which set training and mobilization standards for the reserve components without creating any general duty to serve.[12] During the Grand Federal Tour of 1746, King Sinchi Roca II spoke on public and national service to regional leaders at a civic reception in Ciudad Real.[13]

1761 referendum

Main article: New Alexandrian national service referendum, 1761

On 20.I.1761 AN a national referendum was announced on the question "Should every citizen of the Federation complete one year of national service between the ages of 18 and 25, in a military, civil, or cultural corps of their choosing?", with voting to open on 22.II.1761 AN. Under the announced terms the existing registration for emergency mobilization would have served as the enrollment roll, and the Cortes Federales would have legislated the details of any service.[14] Voters rejected the question on 1.III.1761 AN by 78.0 percent to 22.0, on a turnout of 41.5 percent, and it failed in all thirteen Regions. The Federal Forces remain all-volunteer, and registration for emergency mobilization continues unchanged.[14]

Legal framework

National service rests on two articles of the Proclamation of Punta Santiago and three statutes, none of which imposes a general duty of military service.

Constitutional basis

Article 23 of the Proclamation provides that "all individuals shall take responsibility for themselves, and are responsible to take part in the positive development, edification, defense, and security of the Federation and their local communities, according to their abilities".[1] It is the constitutional basis of the authority to conscript, which has never been exercised in the Federation. Article 9 subjects citizens to the duties imposed by the Proclamation or by law.[15]

Registration for emergency mobilization

Article 7 of the Defense of the Federation Act requires every citizen and legal resident of the Federation between the ages of 18 and 30, men and women alike, to register for the purpose of emergency mobilization, in the manner prescribed by Departmental Order of the Secretary of Defense. Registration does not of itself oblige any person to render military service.[4] The registrations form the Federal Mobilization Register, which is kept by the Manpower and Personnel Directorate (D1) of the General Staff in the Department of Defense.

Reserve and Home Guard service

Service in the reserve components is voluntary. The Reserve Forces Readiness Act requires reserve personnel to train for 180 days a year and to be ready to mobilize within 72 hours, obligations that bind only those who have joined.[12] Enrollment in the Home Guard is voluntary and unpaid, but registered firearms owners must, as a condition of their licenses, associate with a regiment and be available for four hours of firearms training a week, for which they receive a stipend. The Home Guard musters only when a proclamation calls out the Federal Forces, and its members cannot be required to serve outside the Federation.[5]

Military service

The Federal Forces are an all-volunteer force, with approximately 3.5 million active-duty personnel and 2.5 million reservists as of 1750 AN. Enlistment is open from the age of 18 to 45 for active service and from 18 to 60 for the reserves.[2] The Basic Training Course of the National Ground Warfare School in Cárdenas runs for 28 to 34 weeks in two phases, recruit instruction followed by trade instruction.[2] Because conscription has never been implemented, the Federation has no system of exemptions, deferments, or conscientious objector status; the exemption and objector rules fell with the 1726 AN bill.

Civil preparedness

Civilian national service is organized through the National Civil Preparedness Program, branded AlexandrieReady, whose stated purpose is to "ensure that every citizen and every household is ready for contingencies, and resilient for the future".[8] Joint Department Order 1728.1 of the Council of State requires every federal agency and local government to file continuity-of-government plans and lines of succession each quarter, with copies to the Secretaries of Defense and the Interior and to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency and Disaster Management Administration.[16]

As of 1761 AN the Department of Defense is led by Secretary Rafael Escalante of the Democratic Socialist Party. The Department of the Interior, which holds the federal civil defense and emergency management portfolio, is led by Francisco Gabaza of the Federal Consensus Party.[17][18]

Public debate

Compulsory service has divided the Federation's parties since the 1726 AN bill. Polling by IOP/NBC News in 1729 AN recorded gains for the Federal Consensus Party on its opposition to the bill, a counterculture movement rallied against it, and The Aldurian Herald reported nationwide celebrations after its defeat.[19] The Progressive Alliance counted the bill's defeat, achieved with the Wakara People's Party and independent deputies, as its most significant legislative success.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Proclamation of Punta Santiago, Article 23.
  2. ^ a b c Federal Forces of Nouvelle Alexandrie.
  3. ^ a b The Times of Alduria-Wechua/Issue 2.
  4. ^ a b Defense of the Federation Act, 1694.
  5. ^ a b Home Guard Act, 1711.
  6. ^ National Service Act, 1726.
  7. ^ "National Service Act, 1726 defeated in Federal Assembly: a blow to FHP minority government", NBC Newsfeed, 3.VI.1729 AN.
  8. ^ a b National Civil Preparedness Program.
  9. ^ "Jimenez throne speech promises 'a Great Society' built on security, service, and sacrifice", NBC Newsfeed, 8.I.1745 AN.
  10. ^ 11th Cortes Federales.
  11. ^ National Service Revitalization Act, 1745.
  12. ^ a b Reserve Forces Readiness Act, 1745.
  13. ^ Grand Federal Tour of 1746.
  14. ^ a b New Alexandrian national service referendum, 1761.
  15. ^ Proclamation of Punta Santiago, Article 9.
  16. ^ Joint Department Order 1728.1 (Nouvelle Alexandrie).
  17. ^ Council of State of Nouvelle Alexandrie.
  18. ^ Department of Interior (Nouvelle Alexandrie).
  19. ^ NBC Newsfeed, 1729 AN, months IV, V, and VI.
  20. ^ Progressive Alliance (Nouvelle Alexandrie).
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