Sovereign Aezenfjord Navy

The Sovereign Aezenfjord Navy (SAN) is the Sovereign State of Aezenfjord's naval warfare branch, and is the largest naval force in Rathnir. The service directly operates Aezenfjord Class, Sylene Class, and Vanguard Class warships, with a substantial pool of locally registered vessels which it can press into service in times of conflict. The SAN is based out of the Valdreach Admiralty Building in Upper Aezenfjord, and is currently headed by Fleet Admiral Círdan i Henèse.

Organisation

The SAN is divided into six services coordinated by the Admiralty: Naval Military Command (NMC), Auxiliary Logistic Command (ALC), the Department of Shipbuilding and Design (S&D), the Aezenfjord Marine Service (AMS), the Merchant Marine (SAMM), and the Naval College of Aezenfjord (NCA).

Admiralty

The Admiralty of the Sovereign Aezenfjord Navy is made up of all commissioned officers of Commodore rank or higher, and is responsible for making decisions that directly impact several of the services. The heads of all six services are members of the admiralty regardless of rank (although it is only in extreme cases that a service head will rank below Commodore). The Admiralty meets several times per year at SANB Svalden in Kurt's Landing, and is traditionally led by the Admiral of the Fleet, currently Fleet Admiral Círdan i Henèse.

Naval Military Command

Naval Military Command is responsible for commissioning and operating Aezenfjord's warships, and has divided the territorial waters of the nation into regions with designated fleets. Home Fleet (flagship SAS Aezenfjord) covers the south coast and anti-piracy between Aezenfjord and Concord, Rose Fleet (flagship SAS Relentless) covers the east coast, and Orchid Fleet (flagship SAS Vanguard) acts as the primary offensive force and covers the north coast. Lily Fleet, formerly operated by NMC, was integrated into the United Theios-Essukdal Navy (Now the Imperial Navy of Yimmu-Audal) after reunification. NMC is commanded by the Chief of the Naval Staff, traditionally a full Admiral, and is headquartered at SANB Svalden in Kurt's Landing. Vessels and bases operated by NMC fly a blue and white flag.

Auxiliary Logistic Command

Auxiliary Logistic Command is responsible for coordinating resupply and supply line logistics with NMC, both portside and through fleet auxiliary vessels, as well as managing the labour pool of the navy and giving individual crewmen their assignments. Logistic Command operates auxiliary ships under a separate prefix (FSV, Fleet Support Vessel), and requested the Sterling-Class refit to the Hebra-Class merchant design as an optimisation for fleet and logistics operations. They are also able to press private merchant vessels registered under the Merchant Marine into service as auxiliaries in times of conflict. Logistic Command is led by the Logistics Commander, typically a Rear Admiral, and is headquartered alongside the Admiralty and NMC at SANB Svalden. Vessels operated by ALC fly an orange and white flag.

Shipbuilding and Design

The Department of Shipbuilding and Design of the Sovereign Aezenfjord Navy is responsible for the design and construction of naval vessels for all other departments. Warships, auxiliaries, and commercial merchant vessels are all under the departments purview. They are usually led by a Commodore, and are headquartered within the Naval College of Aezenfjord in the Aezenfjord port district.

Marine Service

The Aezenfjord Marine Service is responsible for training, arming, and deploying (in coordination with ALC) marines on naval vessels. As the SAN is the only military force within Aezenfjord, the AMS is the closest thing the nation has to a formal army. The AMS is headquartered at the Marine Service base in Concord, and is led by the Commander of Marine Operations, usually a Commodore.

Merchant Marine

The Merchant Marine is the body responsible for registering merchant shipping in Aezenfjord, and assigning every one of these vessels a registry number in accordance with the International Merchant Registry. All private and government-owned shipping registered in Aezenfjord which is not commissioned into the navy is required to be registered with the Marine. In times of conflict, the Marine can be pressed into service subordinate to Logistic Command to support the war effort. This extra labour pool and efficient usage of existing shipping and manpower gives Aezenfjord and edge in naval warfare, and makes coordinating the logistics of fleet operations much simpler. The Merchant Marine is headed by the Commander of Merchant Coordination, traditionally a Rear Admiral, and is headquartered in Concord harbour. Vessels registered to the Merchant Marine fly a blue, orange, and white flag.

Naval College of Aezenfjord

The Naval College of Aezenfjord is an institution located in the Aezenfjord port district which recruits and trains personnel into the navy. It is heavily tied to Logistic Command and Shipbuilding and Design as ALC is in charge of managing the navy's labour pool and the Faculty of Shipbuilding and Design is NCA's largest and most prestigious school. The NCA is located in Aezenfjord and is run by the Administrator of the NCA whose rank varies, but is always Commodore or higher.

History

The Sovereign Aezenfjord Navy began its existence as the successor to the Imperial Valdreach Navy (IVN) after the secession of the city and collapse of the VIR. All of the VIR's existing naval infrastructure was in Aezenfjord, which meant that the SAN had access to the naval resources of a global power from the beginning. Where the government of the VIR often restricted the growth of the IVN, the SAN found itself in much better circumstances as the new sparsely populated state of Aezenfjord was bordered on three sides by ocean and required naval power to effectively defend itself.

Soon, the SAN drew the attention of the Empire of Escharia, who requested that the leadership of SAN and Kaiserliche Marine merge. The fleet admiral agreed, and so the two navies unified under different flags. The Escharian period saw the design and construction of Sylene Class Frigates, the largest ships at sea, and the rapid expansion of both fleets. After the Great War, the two fleets officially merged and the SAN ceased to exist except as the design department of the Kaiserliche Marine. In reality, most Escharian ships were staffed by SAN-trained sailors and officers, on loan until Escharia built its own base of trained sailors. The ascension of Escharia left these loan officers without leadership, and after a brief chaotic period involving the total destruction of Lileanen's Heimatflotte, control of the Marine reverted to the SAN.

Out of the four Escharian-operated fleets, two were destroyed during the ascension (Perlflotte in Neurun and Heimatflotte in Lileanen), and one was integrated into the newly reunified United Theios-Essukdal Navy (Lilieflotte/Lily Fleet). The fourth fleet was Roseflotte/Rose Fleet, which was split into the two fleets operating to Aezenfjord's south in the Cursed Sea.

In early May, 2021, the Sylene Class Frigate SAS Enforcer under Captain (Sr) Edward Sterling disappeared while escorting a small merchant fleet near Viodoxa. Weeks later it was discovered that it was lost in a battle against former Escharian deserters, which led the lord of Aezenfjord to push for a larger military presence in the Straight of Viodoxa. Viodoxa protested, and as a compromise Naval Military Command authorised the settlement and development of Kurt's Landing as a major fleet base and ordered the construction of Orchid Fleet. The fleet, under Rear Admiral Alice Truman, will be the largest ever mustered when completed, and will let Aezenfjord project its power into the Svalden Sea and Straight of Viodoxa as it does in the Cursed Sea. As well as Orchid Fleet, the admiralty has approved the expansion of Rose and Home Fleets under Commodores Orville and McKeon to make up for the loss of SAS Enforcer.

Registration and Numbering Conventions

Naval Military Command uses the prefix SAS (Sovereign Aezenfjord Ship) and the Aezenfjord System of designating its ships.

SAS Aezenfjord (C-01-001)

C designates a commissioned ship (CC for construction and P for planned), the first number is the class designation (01 for Aezenfjord Class, 02 for Sylene Class, etc.), and the final number is the ship number, which counts up for each ship constructed.

The Sovereign Aezenfjord Merchant Marine conforms to the International Merchant Registry System, with the prefix AMV (Aezenfjord Merchant Vessel) and the national code of MR.

AMV Hebra (MR-H0001)

Auxiliary Logistic Command uses the prefix FSV (Fleet Support Vessel) and the Aezenfjord System of designating its ships.

FSV Sterling (C-04-001)

Fleet and Bases

Rose Fleet (AMF 002) currently consists of one Sylene-Class frigate and six Aezenfjord-Class anti-piracy escorts, under the flag of Commodore Alistair McKeon aboard SAS Relentless (C-02-005).

Orchid Fleet (AMF 003) is a fleet consisting of two Aezenfjord-Class escorts, one Sylene-Class frigate, as well as a Vanguard-Class Ship of the Line. Two Sterling-Class Auxiliaries have been approved for construction by the admiralty. The fleet is under the flag of Rear Admiral Alice Truman aboard SAS Vanguard (C-03-001).

The Merchant Marine under Rear Admiral Helena Constance currently consists of ten Hebra-Class light merchant haulers in various locations around Rathnir.

SAS Power, not currently assigned to any fleet, is under construction in the Aezenfjord Naval Yards.

SAS Naydra, not assigned to any fleet, is a Naydra-Class airship currently located in Vraelea.

SANB (Sovereign Aezenfjord Naval Base) South Seas is located in the Aezenfjord Port District. Home Fleet and Rose Fleet are assigned to this base with the goal of defending Aezenfjord's territorial waters and merchant shipping.

SANB Svalden is located in Kurt's Landing. Orchid Fleet is assigned to this base. SANB Svalden, as the navy's primary base of operations, is situated to aid in the projection of Aezenfjord naval power north and east, and is the home of the navy's main offensive power.

(Updated August 19th)

Ranks

The SAN has 13 distinct ranks for commissioned and non-commissioned personnel.

Commissioned


 * Grand Admiral/Fleet Admiral - Interchangeable terms reserved for the designated head of the SAN. Within the structure of the military, Fleet Admiral is preferred, but in government the post is typically referred to as Grand Admiral.


 * Admiral - A senior member of the admiralty. The head of Naval Military Command carries this rank by tradition.


 * Rear Admiral - A junior member of the admiralty. The heads of Logistic Command and the Merchant Marine carry this rank by tradition, and distinguished officers in charge of fleets often do as well.


 * Commodore - The most junior admiralty rank, carried by the CO of a fleet as well as the head of Shipbuilding and Design.


 * Captain (Sr) - A captain of exceptional merit. Usually commands a flagship or other prestigious post.


 * Captain (Jr) - A captain. Almost always commands a frigate or larger.


 * Commander - The most junior rank that can command a ship. Often found commanding Aezenfjord-Class ships escorting merchant traffic or acting as a screen in fleet operations.


 * Lieutenant - A senior officer aboard a ship.


 * Midship(wo)man - A junior officer, lowest commissioned rank.

Non-Commissioned (NCO)


 * Warrant Officer - The most senior NCO.


 * Chief Petty Officer - A senior crewman.


 * Petty Officer - A junior crewman, although one put in charge of overseeing others.


 * Crew(wo)man - A junior crewman, and the most common rank. Responsible for most manual labour on board ships.