Civilian Auxiliary Military Forces Act

Civilian Auxiliary Military Forces Act (CAMFA)
Affects:	The Initiative
Proposed:	2028 CE
Purpose:	Expansion of Military Forces

The Civilian Auxiliary Military Forces Act (CAMFA) is an act passed by the Senate of the Initiative.

History

As a response to the, at the time, on-going war with Earth, the Senate of The Initiative voted on, and passed, the Civilian Auxiliary Military Forces Act, as an effort to utilize more civilian resources and allow for a stronger defense. The act would be met with mixed regards from the general populace, concerned that the Initiative was forming into a military-run government. However, due to the lack of civilian-owned vessels at this time, the law and it's provisions were largely viewed as ambivalence once the optional nature of it was understood.

Provisions of the Act

The primary purposes of CAMFA were to induce and permit both private and merchant vessels to carry propulsion, armament, and armor of close to military-grade specifications. Those vessels equipped with weapons rated above a certain power-rating were in addition required to be registered into the Civilian System Patrol (CSP), a military auxiliary whose primary roles included defensive and scouting missions. The CSP was further opened to vessels with equipment of a lesser power-rating, on a volunteer basis.

An additional provision of CAMFA permitted the creation of volunteer auxiliary-military forces, under the command and control of the Civil Defense Forces, with the intent of allowing those auxiliaries to purchase civilian power armor and waive many of the restrictions on military-level implants and genetic enhancements.

Lastly, CAMFA further had a provision to encourage privateering against hostile forces, by placing bounties for confirmed kills on any hostile vessels. Bounties were also placed on recovered materials, to further boost the Initiative's economy and any potential war effort with an influx of new materials while simultaneously weakening hostile forces.

Ramifications

The Initiative's intended results from enacting CAMFA were to 1) nearly double the number of armed vessels that could be fielded at any one time, 2) enable those vessels to carry on longer military engagements, and 3) utilize, on requirement, such vessels as armed couriers and transports -- thus freeing up fully-rated warships from defensive roles.

In the event, CAMFA resulted quadrupling the number of ground forces available by allowing members of the "more militant" groups within the Initiative to serve in combat roles as needed, without requiring the troops to leave behind their civilian lives for a full-time military career.