[From The Brigade, by H. A. Covington. Fictional, of course. For now.]General Order Number One: The Army Council of the Northwest Volunteer Army is hereby constituted as the governing body of the Northwest American Republic. The Army Council declares a state of martial law, which shall continue until such time as the sovereignty and independence of the Republic is established, and authority can be transferred to the government thereof, and a State President pro tem and National Convention can be securely established under the provisions of the draft constitutional document published in the Second Edition of the Party Handbook dated January 2007.
General Order Number Two: All officers and other ranks of the Northwest Volunteer Army, and all persons acting under the orders of the NVA, or acting in any way in assistance to or in furtherance of the strategic and tactical objectives of the NVA, or of the provisional government of the Northwest American Republic, are herewith fully and permanently immunized from any and all legal prosecution or procedure for any and all actions undertaken in good faith toward the establishment of the Northwest American Republic as a sovereign nation.
General Order Number Three: No officer or other rank of the Northwest Volunteer Army shall voluntarily surrender himself or any other personnel, weapons, or equipment under his command to the forces of the Occupation while he or she still has the means and capability to resist and to continue operations.
General Order Number Four: No Jew or other non-white person, no homosexual, and no white person engaged in interracial sexual activity shall reside within the boundaries of the Northwest American Republic, or within any area of NVA operations. NVA field commanders shall deal with violators of this General Order at their discretion.
General Order Number Five: No officer or other rank of the Northwest Volunteer Army shall expropriate, confiscate, or seize any money, goods, materials, supplies, weapons, ammunition, vehicles, or other items of value, except that such goods or materials shall either be immediately paid for in cash or through presentation of an official receipt, such receipts where possible estimating the value of the goods taken, which receipts shall be honored for payment at a later date by the authorities of the Northwest American Republic.
General Order Number Six: No officer or other rank of the Northwest Volunteer Army shall expropriate, confiscate, or seize any money, goods, materials, etc. for his or her own personal use or profit.
General Order Number Seven: The provisional government of the Northwest American Republic demands the complete and unambiguous loyalty and cooperation of all white residents of the NAR, and of all areas of operation of the NVA, and will accept nothing less. Any and all collaboration, cooperation, informing, public incitement against the Republic or its armed forces, or giving of aid and comfort to the Occupation authorities is prohibited, and will be dealt with by NVA field commanders at their discretion.
General Order Number Eight: All NVA field commanders and personnel will exercise every reasonable precaution to preserve the lives, liberty, and freedom of action of all NVA officers and Volunteers, including their own. They will use every possible procedure and stratagem to maintain their commands intact, keep them in the field, and keep them fighting, consistent with the achievement of the Army's military objectives.
General Order Number Nine: No officer or other rank of the Northwest Volunteer Army shall conduct any negotiations, correspondence, or other contact with the Occupation authorities, civil or military, with a view toward ending hostilities, laying down arms, or surrendering any NVA command without the approval and participation of the Army Council.
General Order Number Ten: For the duration of hostilities and until this General Order is rescinded by authority of the Army Council, no officer or other rank of the Northwest Volunteer Army shall consume any alcoholic beverage or consciousness-altering drug, with the exception of medical pharmaceuticals administered on the order of a doctor or medical officer, or in a medical emergency situation.
5 comments:
Fictional for now. Of course.
#1: I see you're going with a republic. This is a mistake. The USA was pretty much the best attempt at a republic ever and it got off track rather quickly. A feudal monarchy, with direct ties of loyalty based on blood kinship and personal relationships, is more stable and more likely to last. Monarchies have historically been far freer and better governed than republics anyway.
#2: The mere fact that this needs to be said says ugly things. It shouldn't. It should be taken for granted that disciplinary breaches would be dealt with appropriately by their commanders (or liege lords, assuming the monarchy route), and that anybody attempting prosecution of acts of war is a traitor and can be summarily executed without too much bother.
#3: Unnecessary. Soldiers don't fight because you order them to - particularly in this sort of context - they fight because they are strongly motivated. If they get depressed enough to quit, ordering them not to will accomplish squat. First rule of leadership is never to give an order you know will not be obeyed; if this order ever becomes necessary, it's already too late.
#4: Unnecessary and redundant. "Who is the enemy" should be known. During wartime the army will have its hands full fighting existing enemies; clearing out the cobwebs can be done after military operations are over.
#5: Completely impossible. Far too moral and restrained for the likely exigencies of the time. Ugly things happen in war, that's part of why it's bad. If you make good use of the peace, you can make up for it, but if you avoid doing the necessary during the war, you may never get to peace. Also, first rule of leadership again.
#6: Unnecessary and bad, for a mixture of reasons from #2 and #5. Anyway, you don't punish theft in an army because it's theft; you punish it because it's a breach of discipline. If you order your army to sack a place, you want them to be good at it and have fun with it. It's part of what armies do.
#7: Again, first rule of leadership. You _cannot_ order loyalty. You can only inspire it, whether by admiration or fear. Ordering it makes people realize they have a choice.
#8: This is equivalent to ordering the officers to think. It's not helpful.
#9: Now you're ordering them not to commit treason. Again, not helpful. Trust their judgement. If you catch one demonstrating bad judgement, shoot him. The rest will catch on.
#10: ... ok, I haven't drunk more than three glasses of alcoholic beverages in my whole life, and even I know how impossible this is. If the whole list was an equally big joke, congrats, you got me.
Perhaps this was what scared the feds into coming to your door.
Rollory obviously has never served in an organized armed force, or doesn't understand these are general orders used by a military hierarchy. There has to be a chain of command including the civilian authority or army council, et al. The main reason for these are, We HAVEN'T secured this homeland yet. Yes, war is hell, but your a VOLUNTEER, you better get your mind right for and understand the process and need for strict discipline or there will be no NWR
Thanks for writing this.
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