Tritonia

= Background = The nation of Tritonia was originally conceived as the business venture of an Australian-American megacorporation. It is an artificial island, or “floating city”, located between Hawaii and Fiji. It was constructed using complex engineering which allowed the city not only the ability to float, but the ability to shift with the winds and waves. As such, immigrants and visitors often have a difficult time initially adjusting to the constant swaying of the structure; usually mild sea-sickness can be expected for a few days. Occasionally, to avoid infrastructure damage during significant storms, parts of the structure will be entirely sealed off and allowed a greater freedom of movement. Movement between sections are exceptionally dangerous at these time and reserved for emergency personnel.

Tritonia's corporate backers used it as a hotspot for fishing, undersea mining and salvage, and marine research. It remains a leader in these fields today. Its main exports include oil from deep-sea refineries, and purified water. Tritonia gained nation status on April 22, 2007. In order to achieve its nation status, however, Tritonia pledged to offer a recurring subsidy to its founding corporation. Due to this, tax rates in Tritonia are exceptionally high.

= Government = Tritonia was formed as a quasi-Federalist Government. The Director and Administrative Board of Tritonia were originally appointed by the company, and hold a lifelong station unless they choose to resign; in which case the remaining Administrative Board members elect their replacements. Administrators are the heads of the Scientific, Financial, Security, and Maintenance Departments of Tritonia. The current Director of Tritonia is Eric Bunker.

Tritonia also has a Board of Representatives. It acts as an advisory board to the Administrative Board. The members of the Board of Representatives are elected by all Tritonians over the age of sixteen. Though the Board of Representatives has no official powers, its influence over the Administrative Board is considerable, and its opinions are not taken lightly.

Tritonia's judiciary system is overseen by the Hearing Board. its members are appointed by the Board of Representatives. It operates in a very straightforward and blunt manner, demonstrated by the typical assumption that the accused is guilty until proved innocent. Tritonia has a high conviction rate and harsh penalties. The general population has mixed feelings about the Hearing Board. For the most part, they agree that its current mode of operation keeps crime rates, and keeps foolish tourists from doing anything that might jeopardize the precarious and unique order of the floating city.

The Pirate Concern
Recently, public outrage about piracy within Tritonian naval territory has driven Eric Bunker to declare a State of Emergency on May 28, 2007, effectively turning Tritonia into a Dictatorship. He has promised the Board of Representatives that he will rescind the declaration within the coming weeks. Tritonia's military force is receiving a major overhaul; the most noteworthy being the establishment of the Sea Wolves, an anti-piracy unity, which will act as a special forces detachment for superior national security.

= Foreign Relations and Government Policies = Tritonia is a fiercely independent nation. The Administrative Board and the Board of Representatives unanimously agree in this respect. The official policy of Tritonia is that it will not follow any order or take any action which it does not conclude to be in the best interest of the nation or its people. As such, it remains independent and refuses to sign major treaties which bind it to a global Alliance. That said, Tritonia does occasionally enter into minor agreements with other nations and attempts to keep abreast of foreign affairs. The Director has issued a statement that he will strive to maintain diplomatic relationships with some of the larger Alliances. Tritonia's independence policy extends to its remaining in the Grey Trade Sphere so that trade sanctions and senators will not interfere with Tritonia's foreign affairs.

Tritonia has a predominantly, but not exclusively, defensive war policy. It will always establish diplomatic contact before engaging in offensive operations and will include means of avoiding immediate aggression in its ultimatums. When coming to the aid of allies, Tritonia's primary goal is to establish a ceasefire and find a diplomatic solution as quickly as possible. Its formal agreements do not exceed the stipulations of a weak mutual defensive pact. Tritonia's international skirmishes have been small and swiftly resolved.

Tritonia, at this time, does not approve of nuclear weapons or research. The Administrative Board, with support from the Board of Representatives, has decided that the risk of nuclear catastrophe is too great on such an unstable platform as the floating city.

Tritonia has a zero tolerance policy on drug trafficking within its naval territory.

Free speech is taboo in Tritonia. The Administrative Board is largely immune to reprimand except from the Board of Representatives. Protest gatherings are strictly monitored by the police and Hearing Board.

All immigrants and tourists are welcome in Tritonia. Racism lingers on only in trace amounts. The Hearing Board is very strict on racial intolerance issues, deciding that Tritonians need a solid sense of unity to make their situation work; if that requires enforcing tolerance, the Hearing Board will not shy away from it.

Tritonia empathizes with countries suffering from national disaster, but is consistently besieged by similar problems on a near-weekly basis. As such, it will send the aid it can to the countries it deems to be allies, but does not send aid in order to bolster a nation's economy.

While Tritonia's government walks a very fine line between maintaining order and establishing oppression, it will not engage in trade with countries it knows to have poor or inhumane treatment of its citizens.

The current Administrative Board has a lax policy regarding Tritonia's national religion. The religion with the most supporters influences the Board of Representatives which is largely responsible for the occasional changes to this national policy.

= Military =

Structure
Tritonia's military was originally a privatized para-military organization. After Tritonia became officially recognized as a nation, however, it expanded into a full fledged military. The minimum age to join Tritonia's National Guard is sixteen years of age. The minimum age to apply to Tritonia's Expeditionary Force or the Sea Wolves in eighteen years of age. Due to the hostile conditions that threaten the operation of the floating island, a mandatory one-year conscription is served in the National Guard upon completion of a citizen's GED; those already having served an equivalent amount of time before its completion are not required to do so afterwards.

All military personnel are vigorously trained. Basic training involves general marksmanship, sailing, diving, long-distance naval navigation, naval combat, and close quarters combat. Tritonia is, by its nature, a confined city, and long range combat is typically overlooked outside of its naval application. All soldiers are instructed in emergency procedures including CPR, first aid, search and rescue techniques, and drills targeted towards natural or mechanical disasters effecting the floating island.

Branches
The National Guard is Tritonia's first responder to all national crises. It also defends the floating city should it come under attack from pirates or foreign nations which refuse to acknowledge its sovereignty. its naval forces are the pride and joy of Tritonia, with its warships represented on the war battle screen by number of “Tanks”. The National Guard is strictly defensive in operation.

Tritonia's Expeditionary Force is the nation's offensive military branch. To join the Expeditionary Force, the candidate must be at least eighteen years of age and have served in the National Guard for at least six months for conscripted soldiers or eight months for volunteer/career soldiers. Expeditionary Force recruits spend three months abroad in a land-based allied country. Here they receive traditional training for land and air-based operations including long-range marksmanship, tank operation, and for a select few, aircraft operation and parachute training.

The Sea Wolves are the members of Tritonia's special forces detachment, originally established by Eric Bunker under the Anti-Piracy Act of May 29, 2007. To join the Sea Wolves, the candidate must be at least eighteen years of age and have served in the Expeditionary Force for at least six months. Sea Wolf recruits undergo further training in intelligence, counter-intelligence, covert operations, and, most famously, boarding procedures. The Sea Wolves may assist Tritonia's Expeditionary Force in offensive operations or Tritonia's National Guard for city-based peacekeeping. Predominantly the Sea Wolves work in tandem with the National Guard Navy for counter-piracy/smuggling but also act as a special weapons and tactics team for other “delicate” assignments. The Sea Wolves have adopted, “Pirates, ye be warned!” as their motto.