Defense Staff

The Defense Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the Ministry of Defense who act as the supreme high command for the Central Galactic Defense Forces, and as the chief military advisory body to the Minister of Defense, the National Security Committee, and the Supreme Chancellor on national and galactic security matters and on issues of military policy. While most operational matters are handled directly by the interstellar regional commanders, these commands are subordinated to the Defense Staff.
The composition of the body is defined by law and consists of a Chief, a Vice Chief, the Senior Enlisted Advisor, and the Service Chiefs of the four branches of the Defense Forces, and the commanders of the Joint High Commands. Outside of their Defense Staff obligations, the Service Chiefs otherwise work directly for their departmental secretaries and the Minister of Defense. The Chief of the Defense Staff is statutorily the highest-ranking military officer and is considered the Principal Military Advisor to the Supreme Chancellor.
== Roles and responsibilities ==
During the Great War, the overlapping areas of responsibility held by the Personal Adjutant to the Emperor, the Imperial General Staff, the Admiralty Board, the Combined Chiefs of Staff, and the Allied Command Staff led to administrative and operational chaos. The conduct of the war was slowed by this bureaucratic confusion, compounded by civilian command authorities similarly overlapping between the allied powers. After the final victory, and the founding of the Central Galactic Union, an extensive military reform was crafted by Minister of Defense Alexander Hamilton George Compton. Under the National Security Act, the Defense Staff was established as the unified command staff, with operational authority over the joint and regional high commands, as well as a collective advisory role to the Supreme Chancellor. The Chief of the Defense Staff acts as the senior military advisor to the Chancellor and the National Security Committee. However, in times of emergency, the Supreme Chancellor can bypass the Defense Staff and directly issue orders to the respective commanders.
The Defense Staff's primary responsibility is to ensure the personnel readiness, policy, planning and training of the branches of military service for the operational High Commands to utilize.
== Current members ==
By statute the membership of the Defense Staff consists of the Chief of the Defense Staff, the Vice Chief, the Senior Enlisted Advisor, the Army Chief of Staff, the Chief of the Air Staff, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Space Operations, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Subsequent executive decree has mandated the membership of the chiefs of the Joint High Commands.
The current members are:
Position 	Name 	Service Branch
Chief of the Defense Staff 	Supreme Marshal Celeste Beaumont 	Central Galactic Marine Corps
Vice Chief of the Defense Staff 	Air Chief Marshal Richard James Clovian 	Central Galactic Air Force
Senior Enlisted Advisor 	Sergeant Major Joseph Dunnley 	Central Galactic Union Army
Chief of Staff of the Army 	Grand Marshal Rudolph Lanning 	Central Galactic Union Army
Commandant of the Marine Corps 	Grand Marshal Jan van Merck 	Central Galactic Marine Corps
Chief of Naval Operations 	Grand Admiral Charles Wilkins Taylor 	Central Galactic Navy
Chief of the Air Staff 	Air Grand Marshal Nestor Telemachus Gordon	Central Galactic Air Force
High Commander for Joint Cyberwarfare 	Air Grand Marshal Oloweyo Mbale 	Central Galactic Air Force
High Commander for Joint Special Operations 	Grand Marshal Hector Clinton 	Central Galactic Union Army
High Commander for Joint Strategic Operations	Grand Admiral Shang Jieshi 	Central Galactic Navy
High Commander for Joint Medical Services 	Grand Admiral Lyndsey de Vere 	Public Health Corps
In addition, the Defense Staff contains its own headquarters staff, drawn from all military services. This staff assists the Chief of the Defense Staff as the service chiefs and joint high commanders act as a collegiate body to make decisions, while those decisions are informed by the professional expertise of its headquarters staff. Each of these is a general or flag officer, typically below Field Marshal rank. This includes:
* Adjutant General, chief of staff of the HQ staff
* Quartermaster General, head of J1 and J4 directorates: personnel and logistics
* Director of Intelligence, head of J2 directorate: intelligence and information
* Director of Operations, head of J3 and J5 directorates: operational and strategic planning
* Director of Communications, head of J6 directorate: command and control technology and cyberwarfare
* Director of Force Development, head of J7 directorate: training, education, doctrine, and exercises.