Citizen Defense Corps

The Citizen Defense Corps is a massive scale civilian organized and run paramilitary organization that operates throughout the Aegian Star system. Originally it was created on Dragonia in 2103 in order to provide a last line of defense and general warfighting capability for citizens if the Grand Army isn't available for whatever reason. To that end, a number of civilian programs were created and instituted by the Imperial government to aid with training the citizens who took the oath of the corps. When the Dragonian Civil War kicked off, the Citizen Defense Corps was a major component of the AcDragonian Free States defense forces and contributed significant manpower toward their general offensive capability as well. The CDC fractured during the Civil War with those who stuck to the ideals of the corps siding with the free state but those who were loyal to the Dragonian homeworld siding with the empire. It wasn't until about 5 years after the Corsari Conflict that the CDC was reformed but this time encompassing volunteers from all applicable nations in the Aegian star system. This occurred on July 13th, which is also known as Unification of the Forces Day, where the nations of system entered into an alliance.
The CDC played and continues to play a pivotal role in the defense of the home system of the Dragon Protectorate and it's territories beyond. As an organization it isn't beheld to any particular nation but instead is a force that is comprised entirely of the citizenry. Generally serving the greater good, they tend to be active in regions where military presence from an established nation tends to cause friction with the local populace. The CDC's combat forces tend to be made up of troops ethnically located from any region, which is great for local relations although it isn't uncommon to find squads and platoons with a wide mix of troops from different nations fighting together.
The main headquarters of the CDC is on Aegis, located in the AcDragonian capital Lieberman City. They own a massive complex several kilometers away from The Cube.
The CDC is one of the most active forces that are hunting down and rooting out Blood Knights who escaped prosecution after the Corsari Conflict. They were also incredibly active after the supernova bombing of the core worlds and continue to play a pivotal role in general security to this day. Despite their mixed reception among political circles, they are received quite well by the general citizenry of the protectorate as a whole. Aside that, they are too powerful to simply disband without a fight. It's been tried after the Corsari Conflict however it was quickly abandoned as it was evident they would go to war over their right to survive. AcDragonia actually accepts them quite openly, which prompted their headquarters being established there.
== Combat Strength ==
The Citizen Defense Corps is comparable in strength to some major militaries. While it won't be able to stand up to the Grand Army or Corsair, it's possible they could take on the AcDragonian Armed Forces. At any given time on it's active roster the CDC has about 3.25 million service personnel with about 2.75 million of those active combat personnel. In it's combat reserves, it has about 10.9 million troops that can be called up and assigned if the situation calls for it.
The CDC has a robust technical corps and support structure allowing it to support ongoing operations with technologically advanced troops and equipment. Though it isn't comparable to a military with an established nation's backing, they have enough to enable comfortable levels of operation.
The CDC has a standard ground infantry army, an expeditionary force comparable to most nations Marine Corps, an airforce, an armor corps, and a small but present space force. Currently they are in the process of building a missile command.
== Technology and Equipment ==
The CDC uses weaponry from all of the major factions in the Aegian star system. However, due to some controversies regarding the CDC they have been backburnered when it comes to recent procurement of tech. What this means for them is that they aren't permitted to purchase the newer generation of weapons that the other militaries in the Dragon Protectorate have access to. It was actually written into the charter so there's no way they can legally get around that either. Because of that, the CDC has begun looking outward for stock and they require a lot of it. They've began purchasing quite a large assortment of weapons from Chandelier, Krueger-Malon, Vixa and other entities as applicable.
The CDC possesses quite a large number of tanks and other armored vehicles. Most of their tanks are the Partisan MBT used by the Dragonians. Most of their other armored vehicles are AcDragonian in design.
All of the aircraft used by the CDC are AcDragonian in design. The space vessels used by the CDC are a mix of ships from all major powers in the system.
Despite being barred from purchasing the newest military stock in the Dragon Protectorate, their ability to make external purchases with other nations such as Chandelier have made them a rather technologically advanced force.
== Superweapons ==
The CDC has access to at least 2 known superweapons. One is the Ballistic Burst Missile. The other is an Ion Cannon that they somehow either purchased from Corsair or reverse-engineered and had made for them. These weapons allow them to go toe to toe with any military.
== Combat Involvement ==
The CDC isn't just a defensive force that only shows up when things go wrong for the citizens. They have actively engaged in armed conflict with other forces both at will and at the behest of other nation's governments. This is both good and bad depending on who you ask
=== Dragonian Civil War ===
The CDC played a major role in the manpower of the AcDragonian Free State during the Dragonian Civil War. They were actually the primary combat force aside the AcDragonian Provisional Army. Being originally a Dragonian entity, they were trained and well enough equipped to hold against the Grand Army until the war ended in an armistice.
=== Reclamation of Geladria ===
The CDC continued to compose a major fighting component of the new AcDragonian Army. Upon landing on Aegis they provided much needed combat support in the campaign to reclaim the Geladrian continent from an unknown aggressor force that was later identified to be a contingent of the The Empire of the Rhein. They progressively took a less and less frontline role as the AcDragonian Army established itself eventually becoming support troops.
=== Corsari Conflict ===
The CDC was not one of the major combatants in the Corsari Conflict. They did however play a large role as the war drew to a close. Once the Black Dawn event occurred the CDC activated it's full combat force and focused it's attention on the Rheinland on Corsair, where most of the casualties of the apocalyptic event took place. They got into a full scale conflict against the Blood Knights, who were attempting to kill anyone who tried to defect from the Dread Empire. The CDC was who discovered the full breadth of Blood Knights atrocities and while they were more than a match for the Blood Knights, the Blood Knights still managed to escape. The CDC turned their full attention on the Blood Knights after the war.
=== Void Hopper Campaign ===
The Void Hopper Campaign was a solely CDC initiative. This campaign entailed hopping all around what was then the Dragonian Sphere of Influence looking for the Blood Knights and any sympathizers to the Blood Knights. There was no mercy to anyone who was caught during this campaign. They were given authority by Dragonia and Corsair to kill anyone who has Blood Knights allegiance as well as kill anyone who was harboring them. This actually prompted a public outcry as this meant that family members of Blood Knights could possibly be targeted. This outcry made clear to the CDC to not just exercise extra judicial punishment and instead created a tribunal of their own and tried those who surrendered without resistance.
=== Hive Incursion ===
The CDC was the first line of organized defense for the Aegian system when the Hive invaded. In the initial stages of the war with the Hive, the CDC was the first to fight - and incur heavy losses - in the defense of the citizenry. Unlike the militaries of the newly formed Dragon Alliance, the CDC wasn't concerned with where the Hive were coming from, their goal, or whether or not diplomacy was a valid course of action. The only thing they were concerned about was defending the population centers and clearing out any bases the Hive were striking out from. As the militaries of the Core Worlds rallied and set upon the Hive properly, the CDC relocated most of their forces to Alexandria, who didn't have as powerful a military as those in the core. They remained in and around Alexandria for the during of the incursion. During this time the numbers of the CDC swelled to around 15 million after a general call to arms.
== Controversies ==
The CDC's power has given politicians all over the Dragon Protectorate concerns about the overall stability of the protectorate. Normally a monopoly on violence is held by the government but having a force like the CDC composed of the citizenry with enough power to stand up to essentially any government challenges that status quo. One of the main concerns is that no one knows exactly what's going on with the CDC. While their leadership maintains a policy of almost complete transparency, it's almost impossible to know who's in the CDC and who isn't. There have been accusations that blood knight defectors have made their way into the CDC as well as Lushanean dissidents and other undesirables.
A semi-major controversy that cropped up in the Mid-2610's was documented evidence of the CDC providing weaponry and fighting power to rebel forces in the system. The CDC countered those accusations by stating it's main goal was to provide the average citizen the means to defend themselves against people that would mean to do them harm. While on paper that meant an enemy force against the planet in question the stated goal of the CDC was defense of the common citizen against all threats. There was no specification of who that threat was and if it happened to be one of the governments in the protectorate, much like how they sided with the AcDragonians during the Dragonian civil war, then so be it.
There were a number of calls from prominent individuals in several of the nations to force the CDC to be disbanded; to which the CDC leadership responded that regardless of the outcome of whatever votes were held that they would not disband and that they had a right to exist. In response to this, some of the more radical voices implied that if they refused that it might come to the leadership being forcefully detained and the CDC being forced to disband. That was the wrong move as the CDC called the bluff and simply told them to bring it on and if someone felt that they could force them to disband then they would fight over it. The CDC moved a large number of assets and began to stage them all throughout the system. Leaders in the protectorate realized that having a force as powerful as the CDC as an enemy at the time was not going to be good for anyone so de-escalation was the name of the game. Eventually everything was smoothed over but in response to this, the CDC was barred from procuring new military tech from any of the nations in the system. This was so that they could maintain an edge over the CDC should this issue be revisited in the past. Unfortunately for them the CDC found other methods of procuring advanced tech.