The Global Defense Group

[Voxamerica]

Global Defense Group

The Global Defense Group is a small, but rapidly growing, new alliance on the Green sphere. We are seeking new members who are willing to be active participants on our forums and IRC and to be part of building a fledgling alliance to its full potential.

We are protected by the Viridian Entente, one of the largest and most respectable alliances in the Cyberverse.

Our government is democratic, with an elected President, who appoints cabinet members to assist in conducting alliance business. An elected Senate approves foreign treaties and major changes to our policies.

Since we are a democracy, and the newest nation who joins us today could very well be a leader of our alliance in a short time, the training & growth of our members is our highest priority. We provide training, generous financial aid, and assistance in finding resource trades and tech deals.

New members who join us will be expected to enroll in our Academy to learn the basics of Cybernations. Upon completion, they are given an initial $3 million in starter aid. Active members will be eligible for future assistance to complete infra jumps and for rapid nation growth.

Older, more experienced nations are also welcome. For a small and new alliance, your experience and expertise will be an invaluable asset. Those who would like to take an active part in government or the military will find that their experience opens multiple opportunities for them.

We ask of all applicants that they have no ongoing wars with any other nation, and that they honor any obligations to their current alliance before applying to us. If you are not a member of the Green sphere, be willing to change, although we grant waivers for those with established trade circles.

If you have any questions, please feel to ask. We are located at:

Forum: http://globaldefense.co.cc/

IRC: #GDG

Preamble: In order to provide a machinery for the achievement of our goals of security, prosperity, and friendly cooperation, this Constitution is adopted for the Global Defense Group.

Article I. Executive Branch.

President: Supreme executive power will be invested in an elected President who will serve as the head of state and exercise general supervision over all aspects of alliance operations.

• Selection: A Provisional President will be selected by consensus at the alliance's founding. Not later than 45 days from the declaration of the existence of the Global Defense Group, elections will be held to select a permanent President. Presidential elections will be held every six months thereafter by popular vote.
  
• Qualifications: To be eligible for nomination to the office of the President requires:
  A. A minimum of six months in Cybernations.
  B. A minimum of two month's membership in the Global Defense Group (this requirement is waived for the first permanent Presidential election).
  C. Satisfactory performance in at least one Cabinet-level office. Experience in other alliances within the CN community can be used to satisfy this requirement, if verified.
  D. Completion of the CDG Academy. This requirement can be waived for nations above 20,000 Nation Strength, if the current President certifies them as having equivalent or better experience or training from other sources.
  
• Impeachment: The President can be removed from office only with a unanimous vote of the Senate.
  
• Powers of the President: The President is granted the following powers by this charter:
  A. General policy direction. Establish general goals and policies for the alliance as a whole in accordance with the limitations of this charter.
  B. Appointment of officials. The President will appoint and remove cabinet-level officers. Confirmation of their appointment or removal by a majority vote of the Senate is required.
  C. Veto of legislation. The President may veto legislation passed by the Senate. However, the Senate may override such a veto, and the measure become law, with a unanimous vote.
  D. Declaration of war. The President may declare war against another alliance, subject to concurrence by a majority of the Senate.
  E. Foreign affairs. The President will approve all treaties, their amendment, and termination, subject to the concurrence of a majority of the Senate.
  

Vice-President: A Vice-President will be elected to assist the President in the performance of his duties and to perform those duties in the President's absence.

• Selection & Qualifications: The Vice-President will be elected in the same manner as the President, and must possess the same qualifications as specified above for the President.
  
• Impeachment: The Vice-President may be removed from office in the same manner as the President.
  

Chief of Staff: The Chief of Staff is responsible for assisting the President in the supervision of the Cabinet. His or her specific duties will be as directed by the President, although they may not exceed the powers delegated by this Constitution to the President, nor abrogate any provision thereof.

• Selection: The Chief of Staff is appointed by the President and serves at his or her pleasure.
  
• Impeachment: The Chief of Staff can be removed from office in the same manner as the President.
  

Cabinet: Cabinet officials will be appointed by the President, with Senate approval, to set specific policies and to perform various duties necessary to govern the alliance. Cabinet officials are authorized to appoint personnel as they deem necessary to assist them in the performance of their duties. Cabinet officials will serve terms concurrent with that of the President who appoints them. All cabinet terms are considered to have expired at the conclusion of a new Presidential election. The incoming President (or re-elected President) may then choose to retain, or replace, the current cabinet members, subject to Senate confirmation.

Cabinet officials will include:

• Secretary of Defense: The Secretary of Defense is responsible for the organization and readiness of the military forces of the alliance. His duties include, but are not limited to:
  A. Organization of member nations into units based on nation strength.
  B. Appointing commanders of the alliance's military units.
  C. Preparing and maintaining guides to the conduct of warfare for the alliance.
  D. Establishing recommended and mandatory military wonder purchases based on nation size.
  
• Secretary of the Interior: The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for:
  A. Organization of technology trading within the alliance and with other alliances.
  B. Assistance with setup of profitable trade circles for alliance members.
  C. Recruitment of new members, screening them for eligibility, background checks, and approving applications.
  D. Mass communication with alliance members.
  E. Reporting alliance news and information.
  F. Monitoring forum participation of members.
  G. Conduct nation audits
  H. Supervising elections, determining eligibility, certifying results, and maintaining records of the same.
  I. Establish and maintain an organized system for providing aid to newly joining nations for harbor/startup aid, infra jump aid, and rapid nation-growth programs.
  J. Establish and supervise a bank program for the alliance.
  
• Secretary of Foreign Affairs: The Secretary of Foreign Affairs will:
  A. Provide information & guidance to the government regarding relations with other alliances.
  B. Appoint diplomatic personnel and supervise their performance.
  C. Draft necessary treaties with other alliances, subject to ratification by the Senate and approval of the President.
  
• Secretary of Education: The Secretary of Education will:
  A. Compose and maintain guides for economics and nation-building for the alliance.
  B. Establish and run an academy training program for new nations joining the alliance and proctor examinations.
  C. Organize and supervise a mentor program for new nations.
  
• Deputy Department heads: Cabinet officials are authorized to appoint personnel to assist them in the performance of their duties, at their discretion. The President, Vice-President, or Chief of Staff must approve these appointments.
  

Article II. Legislative Branch.

Legislative authority will be invested in a Senate, elected by popular vote by all member nations of the alliance. The Senate will initially be composed of a minimum of four members. The number of Senators may be expanded or contracted by Presidential decree, based on his or her estimation of the number needed due to current alliance size.

• Eligibility: Any member nation in good standing, who meets the forum participation rules incorporated into this charter and has been a member of the Global Defense Group not less than thirty day, may seek election, with the exception of members of the Executive Branch, who are ineligible, unless they resign their executive office position prior to the election.
  
• Selection: An provisional Senate will be appointed upon declaration of the existence of the GDG. Thereafter, Senators will be elected to three month terms, beginning on the first day of January, April, July, and October. Elections will be held the last day of the preceding month. A campaign period will open ten days prior to the election date, whereby any member who meets the eligility criteria may announce his candidacy and state his platform. On election day, each member of the alliance may post the names of up to four candidates in the designated election thread. Upon conclusion of the election, the Secretary of the Interior will determine the four leading candidates, who will enter into office on the following day.
  
• President of the Senate: The Vice-President will serve as the President of the Senate. He or she will lead the conduct of Senate sessions, call the Senate into session, and transmit the results of Senate votes to the President for approval or veto.
  
• Authority: The Senate must approve any proposed measure that imposes an obligation on member nations that is not already incorporated into this charter, by a majority vote. A majority vote of the Senate is also required for the approval of treaties with foreign powers, confirmation of cabinet officer appointments, declaration of war, and approval of peace terms. Unanimous vote of the Senate is required for overriding a veto by the President, or his impeachment.
  
• Time limits: Any proposal that has been submitted to the Senate for consideration, and has not be acted upon within seven days of submission, can be approved or disapproved by the President and obtain force of law, without Senate approval. Laws that attain force by this procedure may be overturned by the Senate only after the next Senatorial election.
  

Article III. Judicial Branch.

In the event that judicial action against a member of this or another alliance is necessary, the Senate, President,will sit jointly as the alliance court.

Impeachment. Any member of the alliance may propose the impeachment of a member of the government. Doing so requires creation of a poll for this purpose, which will last not less than 48 hours. If a majority of respondents approve, the court will take action on the proposal. Requirements for impeachment are:

Cabinet officer:- Impeachment of a member of the executive branch requires a majority vote of the Senate, subject to the veto of the President. Presidential vetos may be overriden by a unanimous vote of the Senate.

President:- Impeachment of the President requires unanimous approval by the Senate.

Senator:- Impeachment of a senator requires unanimous approval of the other Senators, and approval of the President. In such a case, a special election will be concurrently called to fill the vacant seat in the Senate that results.

Expulsion from the alliance: A member who acts dishonorably, acts in a manner than may bring the alliance into disrepute, fails to fails to honor agreements for technology trading, fails to maintain required forum participation, or fails to report for duty for military service when required will be subject to expulsion from the alliance. This will require simple majority vote of the Senate and concurrence of the President.

Military punishment: In exceptional circumstances, a persons conduct may be such as to merit punishment involving a sentence to a certain period of war, or to zero infrastructure. Upon recommendation of the President, and approval of a majority of the court, the Secretary of Defense will supervise the carrying out of the approved sentence.

Article IV. Constitutional Court.

A Constitutional Court will be established upon inception of the CDG. The Court will consist of three founding members of the alliance. Upon termination of alliance membership of a member of the Constitutional Court, the remaining members may select a replacement.

Duties: The sole duty of the Court is to insure the provisions of this Constitution, as amended, are adhered to all by the government.

Authority: Upon unanimous agreement, the Court may suspend the sitting government from office and call for immediate special elections, to be held within seven days of suspension, for the replacement of the suspended officials. During times of war, elections may be postponed until the end of hostilities. Between the date of suspension and the date the new government takes office, the Court will serve as a temporary executive council, ruling by majority vote among the Court members.

Article V. Fundamental principles of the Alliance.

Fundamental policies of the alliance that cannot be altered without a formal amendment to this charter include the following:

Technology raiding: The practice of attacking another nation to seize technology or cash reserves is not encouraged. It may, however, be conducted in certain circumstances, upon approval by the Secretary of Defense, with concurrence of the President. In no circumstances may tech raids be conducted in violation of the Revenge Doctrine (i.e. against unaligned Red sphere nations), or aligned nations of any color sphere. The President or Secretary of Defense may suspend tech raiding altogether at any time.

Resignation from the alliance: A member may leave the alliance during peacetime, upon posting of a resignation thread. Departing members who have received any financial aid within the last 60 days are expected to repay the provider or to a nation he designates, unless the provider waives the repayment. A member may not depart the alliance during wartime or alert without approval of the President. Members

leaving without making or honoring aid repayment agreements, or during wartime or alert status, will be subject to military action in accordance with the provisions of Article IIIc of this charter.

Admission to the alliance: No nation will be granted admission to the alliance who has a record of dishonorable or disreputable conduct, is currently in a state of war, or who is on the ZI list of any alliance. Any member of the alliance may challenge the admission of an applicant based on these criteria. The Secretary of the Interior will, in conjuction with the Secretary of Foreign Affairs (if the objectioninvolves past actions involving other alliances), investigate the challenge and make a recommendation to the Senate, who will approve or reject the applicant's admission by majority vote.

Activity: Nations who join the alliance are expected to be active participants. Unless they have submitted a request for a leave of absence or nation-sitting due to RL considerations, a nation is expected to participate in the forums and/or IRC a minimum of twice every seven days. In the case of government members, participation is expected not less than once every three days. Failure to adhere to these guidelines are grounds for impeachment of government members or expulsion of non-government members and, as a minimum, disqualify the offender from participation in any aid program, alliance tech trading deal, and makes them ineligible to hold any elective or appointed office.

Warfare: Participation in defensive or offensive military action by the alliance is required of every member, to include alliance wars or attacks on alliance members by rogues or raiders. Those who fail to support their alliance comrades during wartime will be subject to automatic expulsion from the alliance, as a minimum, upon certification by the Secretary of Defense that the nation failed to respond to military orders.

Spying: OOC spying against another alliance or individual is prohibited. Individuals found guilty of doing so face expulsion from the alliance, and sentence to military punishment for the offense.

Treaties with foreign powers: Honoring our word is an inalienable value. The GDG will not enter into treaty obligations with other alliances without careful reflection and consideration. Once a treaty is signed, however, the alliance will honor it in letter and spirit, regardless of the consequences, except in cases of breach of the treaty by the other party, or grotesque acts of misconduct on their part.

Article VI. Amendments.

Any member of the alliance may propose an amendment to any provision of this charter. The Senate and President will review the proposed amendment, and submit it to the alliance for a vote within seven days of its proposal. Voting will last a minimum of seventy-two hours. The amendment will pass and the charter be so amended if a 3/4 majority of voters approve of the measure.

Edited April 6, 2009 by Voxamerica

[Voxamerica]

We've now grown to 34 members, but the more, the merrier!

[GopDrager]

I hear y'all got some awesome protectors.

[Voxamerica]

I hear y'all got some awesome protectors.

I heard the same thing!

[Bill Wallace]

The year is 2012. GDG rules planet Bob. Get on board now. B)

[rattlehead]

Bump.

That is all.

[Voxamerica]

Mods: please close. Leaving the GDG and CN, a current .gov member should be in charge of the GDG's recruiting thread.