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Today is the big quadrennial election day in the United States, so I wanted to reshare a magnificent article that LOAF put together a few years back on everything we know about how the human government functions in Wing Commander. The snippet below pertains to the role of the Confederation president, which is fascinating unto itself. You can read the whole piece here!
The Executive BranchThe Terran Confederation is lead by an elected President and Vice President. There is no known term limit; President Harold Rodham held the office for fourteen years. 2634 was a presidential election year.
The President has the ability to order the military to mobilize for emergency action. He may elect to order the military to Defense Level Two, authorizing the putting of ships to space and the cancellation of leaves and mobilizing the active reserve forces, or Defense Level One, which also authorizes cross-border reconnaissance and shoot-to-kill orders. He is expressly prohibited from ordering offensive action without a declaration of war from the Senate. In 2634, the President ordered the military to Defense Level Two shortly before the McAuliffe Ambush, alerting key forces hours before the invasion. In 2668, President Quinson ordered the fleet to prepare for emergency action after taking office in preparation for the expected resumption of hostilities. The President has the ability to declare a disaster area; President Vasura declared the site of the 2654 Assembly bombing a disaster area. The President has the ability to order law enforcement to conduct an investigation; President Rodham ordered that Foreign Secretary Jamison be investigated after demanding her resignation.
The President is responsible for appointing the Cabinet of the Terran Confederation who advise him and manage the departments of the executive branch. The President may also demand the resignation of cabinet members. Cabinet positions include the Foreign Secretary (also called Foreign Minister) who is responsible for interactions with foreign states and who oversees treaty negotiations. The Foreign Secretary is head of the State Department (also referred to as the Foreign Office.) In the period leading up to the Kilrathi war, the State Department was in favor of fighting a limited conflict as a show of strength and generally avoiding outright warfare with the Kilrathi. In 2668, Foreign Secretary Rhonda Jamison persuaded the President to support armistice talks with the Kilrathi. Jamison negotiated the resulting armistice agreement and was essential in persuading the Assembly to pass rapid military cutbacks in order to appease the Kilrathi. It was ultimately revealed that Kilrathi intelligence operatives had provided her proof that her son had been taken as a prisoner of war during the Third Enigma campaign. Also called the Confederation Foreign Service, the State Department oversaw the Confederation Peace Commission after the war, deploying officials to ensure that human worlds (members and non-members) abide by the Treaty of Torgo. A formal suit is considered to be the uniform of the Foreign Service. Jamison was unhappy with the war and desired to replace Rodham as President. The Kilrathi used this information to manipulate her actions to reduce the Confederation's readiness. Prior to his resignation, President Rodham demanded Jamison's resignation. Incoming President Quinson appointmented a new Foreign Minister but Jamison refused to resign, convincing some in the Assembly she was the victim of a military conspiracy. The Secretary of Defense is the President's key adviser on military issues. There was a cabinet-level position on cultural sensitivity whose role Senator More sought to expand in 2634 (though the Kilrathi invasion later that year likely rendered this a distant concern.)
The Vice President of the Terran Confederation is the first in the line of presidential line of succession and succeeds the President in the event of death, resignation or removal, completing his term. Vice President Rodham succeeded President Vasura after her death in 2654 and was himself succeeded by Vice President Quinson after his resignation in 2668. The Vice President also assumes the duties of the Senate’s Assembly Master in the event of death, resignation or removal until a new master is elected. Vice President Rodham had previously assumed this role following the 2654 bombing which of the Assembly which killed Assembly Master Pequin Gydideron.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a group of senior military leaders who advise the President. The Joint Chiefs are lead by the Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff is appointed by the President. The group is made up of representatives from each branch of the military, including the Army, Navy, Space Force and Marine Corps. A red-and-gold card identifies that someone works for the office of the Chief of Staff; Winston Turner used such an identity card to access the base headquarters at Johnson Island as he attempted to mobilize the military for the impending invasion of McAuliffe. Admiral Wayne Spencer Banbridge was Commander in Chief of the Confederation Fleet (CICCONFEDFLT) at the outset of the Kilrathi war. Space Marshal Susan Jayhefsa was CICCONFEDFLT during the Pilgrim crisis in 2654. The Chief of Staff in 2654 was Marine General Jon Linta. The In 2668, a suicide bombing killed Chief of Staff Admiral Noragami the rest of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, save Commandant of the Marine Corps General Grecko. Appointments may carry over from one administration to another: President Rodham appointed Grecko Chief of Staff hours before his resignation and he served the remainder of his term under President Dave Quinson (Grecko was killed shortly after his appointment during the Battle of Earth.) The Chief of Staff is legally required to inform the President if the military engages in combat during peacetime.
The President is protected by the Terran Confederation Secret Service. Secret Service agents are said to be identified by their black suits. President Vasura was preceded by two Secret Service agents when she appeared at Tolwyn’s tribunal in 2654.
