Combined Defense Forces of the New Republic

The **Combined Defense Forces of the New Republic** (**CDFNR**), also known as the **New Republic Defense Force**, **New Republic Military**, or simply the **Republic Military**, were the integrated military armed forces charged with the defense of the New Republic and its mission to peacekeep and protect the galactic government. Formed from the Alliance Military in 5 ABY after the Alliance to Restore the Republic reformed into the New Republic in the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, the New Republic military went on to liberate and defend Coruscant, defeat Imperial warlords and force Gilad Pellaeon's Imperial Remnant to surrender, ending the Galactic Civil War.

Throughout its history, the New Republic Defense Force also fought numerous local conflicts and small-scale skirmishes as part of its mission of peacekeeping and preserving the integrity and protection of the New Republic. It is composed of the land-based New Republic Army, the naval New Republic Defense Fleet, and the special operations New Republic Special Forces. While in essence, the Chancellor of the New Republic is the traditional commander-in-chief of the military, daily operations and general leadership is run by New Republic High Command, composed of the armed forces' admiralty, generalty and civilian officers.

## Role

The Combined Defense Forces of the New Republic comprised the New Republic Defense Fleet, subdivided into the New Republic Starfighter Corps and the New Republic Special Forces, as well as the New Republic Army. However, all elements were heavily-integrated, and in contrast to the Imperial Military's role of planetary invasion and occupation, the New Republic military concentrated on peacekeeping, patrolling, and defense against external attacks. The New Republic military was intended to complement the *Planetary Security Forces* that answered to local sector authorities. Consequently the New Republic military was smaller than the Imperial Military that had preceded it (though was much larger than the pre-Clone Wars *Judicial Forces of the Old Republic*), with a focus on rapid response over firepower.

The New Republic military's early organization emphasised flexibility, largely owing to the disparate collection of heterogeneous units that had comprised the earlier Alliance Military. Naval battle groups were designed so they could be shifted rapidly within the four main fleets and area commands as required while planetary assault became the most common mission profile. The Alliance Special Forces were reorganized as bridgehead commandos while a larger New Republic Army was created for peacekeeping and garrison duties. Integration and standardisation proceeded apace after 8 ABY and the defeat of Gilad Pellaeon's Imperial Remnant in 10 ABY, with all federal military forces coming under the control of the four main fleet commands as part of a fully-integrated Defense Force.

In the New Republic Defense Fleet, battle groups became subcommands with defined sectors, with larger forces blockading the main Imperial holdouts and smaller squadrons assigned to peacekeeping patrols inside New Republic territory.

## Organization

### Headquarters

The Defense Forces were headed by New Republic High Command, who took orders from the Chancellor, the civilian leader of the New Republic. In the first few years after Endor, the Defense Forces were organized under the Ministry of Defense, which had been reorganized from the Rebel Alliance's Ministry of War, with separate ministries below for the Army, Fleet, and Starfighter Corps. In practise this proved overly-bureaucratic and cumbersome, and following the Liberation of Coruscant in 6 ABY, the whole command structure was reorganized again, with the position of Minister of Defense being abolished and High Command becoming a Ruling Council position. New Republic High Command was the senior professional military body in control of the Defense Forces, which in turn controlled Fleet Command and Starfighter Command. High Command's headquarters is located on Hosnian Prime.

Legislative scrutiny of defense policy was conducted by the Defense Council of the New Republic Senate.

### Administrative organization

The branches of the New Republic military before the integration were the New Republic Defense Fleet, New Republic Starfighter Corps, and the New Republic Army. Federal military forces were fully integrated into the four fleet commands in 10 ABY, with the Starfighter Corps being integrated into Defense Fleet.

Other administrative departments within the Defense Forces included the Technology Section, the Training Section, the Quartermaster Section, New Republic Special Operations, New Republic Special Forces, and the New Republic Fleet Office. New Republic Fleet Intelligence was the military intelligence branch of the Defense Force, and was a separate agency to the civilian New Republic Intelligence Service. The New Republic Honor Guard provided ceremonial duties.

### Tactical organization

The Defense Forces were built around four main fleets and area commands, derived from the four original fleets that had conducted the advance on Coruscant from 4 to 6 ABY. Early organization emphasized flexibility, with pre-existing squadrons and flotillas from the old Alliance Fleet remaining intact and local loyalties being taken into account. Battle groups were designed so they could be shifted within the four main fleets as required or if necessary deployed independently. As the New Republic grew, Admiral Ackbar was faced with the challenge of creating a unified Defense Force out of the disparate units that had comprised the Rebel Alliance's *Sector Forces*, which had contrasting regulations, tactics and traditions. To achieve this, the squadrons that had not originally been part of the central Alliance Fleet Command were largely broken up and their ships and crews sent to different units. This provoked a degree of resistance, but on the whole Defense Force integration proceeded quickly. By 8 ABY, the New Republic *First Fleet* guarded Coruscant as the *Home Fleet*, while the *Second* defended Elom, the *Third*, Kashyyyk and the *Fourth*, Bothan Space. By 10 ABY the battle group and squadron forces met standards for strength, unity and discipline, allowing a more sweeping military reform.

## Departments

* New Republic Fleet Office, located on Hosnian Prime
	+ New Republic Defense Fleet
		- First Fleet, or *Home Fleet*, located at Coruscant
		- Second Fleet, located at Elom
		- Third Fleet, located at Kashyyyk
		- Fourth Fleet, located at Bothawui
		- Fifth Fleet, located at Chandrila
		- Sixth Fleet, or *Arrowhead Fleet,* located at Hosnian Prime

* New Republic Fleet Intelligence, located on Coruscant
	+ Asset Tracking Office, located on Coruscant
	+ Special Operations Headquarters, located on Hosnian Prime

* Training Section
* Technology Section
* New Republic Starfighter Corps
* New Republic Army
* Quartermaster Office, located on Corellia
* New Republic Special Forces