Caspian Defence Force

The Caspian Defence Force is a name given to the Armed Services of the Caspian Democratic Union. It is a misnomer, though, because the "CDF" doesn't actually exist. There isn't a supreme commander of the CDF; there isn't a CDF Headquarters; there isn't a shoulder patch that all soldiers, pilots, techs, and officers wear. Military endeavours are typically directed and maintained by the Admiralty, or by the Crest directly. Amongst the different branches and departments within the military, they never refer to a "Caspian Defence Force".

The name is propagated by galactic politics wanting to typecast the military of the Union into a particular role. Indeed, the notion is given strength by past (and a few current) Crest members who maintain a pacifist stance, attempting to either curtail military spending or limit the actions and deployment of Admiralty assets. Or, worse still, they use the moniker so as not to "offend" other galactic governments. The Admiralty, though, remains firm on deploying assets where it deems necessary, even if that includes beyond the boundaries of Union space, and does not care if they are deemed offensive or not.

A few Senators and Delegates in the Assembly are opposed to the use of "CDF" as well, primarily because it indicates the defence of Caspia. While the other commonwealth constituancies can tolerate any other entity of theirs being labelled "Caspian", they feel that the use of it in this application under-represents them, and their contributions (which are substantial, such as with Rauther).

"When we're plummetin' through some swill to attack a rock with a few dozen terrorists hidin' under it, we ain't "defendin'" nothin'"

- Sergeant in the 8th Marines Line Company