Note: This is an opinion and policy statement made in response to questions and conversations directed to me regarding our policies in response to the debate another region is having regarding joining an inter-regional organization. This is not legislation and is not a legally-binding decree, simply a statement of where the Monarchy stands on this particular question of relevance to our community.
Given the recent debate in Spiritus, and the many dual-Citizens we share, it's understandable that some people have asked questions regarding our own future when it comes to defending. We've come a long way in less than than two months. Our own military, the Hvitt Riddaral, conducted inaugural operations last week, and I'm very proud of our War Council of Denth Rowan, Saeturn Valerius, and Horse. Putting together a new military from scratch in a new region is a tough calling, but we are succeeding. Nonetheless, at the same time we must be able to work with our fellow defenders elsewhere when needed...having a bunch of small bands that can't work together is simply shooting ourselves in the foot.
That being said, I do not feel that it's appropriate for Wintreath to join any inter-regional defender organizations, now or in the future.
Operationally, I want for our region to be able to make independent decisions of the sort I made when I was President of Spiritus. For example, I spearheaded an operation to protect the sovereignty of Osiris at nearly the same time the FRA pledged not to defend Osiris, due to their invasion of Soviet Union. The invasion of that region by Cormac was shortsighted and foolish, and it was followed by a complete failure of leadership by the then-Empress. However, I still believed that the region had as much right to self-determination as it did before, thus the operation. I'm sure that on paper this sort of disagreement would be acceptable, but it would nonetheless be...diplomatically awkward at best. I would also point to the FRA decision not to oppose the UIAF during their recent failed summit with the nations behind that military as another area of awkward contention along the same lines.
Additionally, during the two instances that I handled FRA membership discussions for Spiritus, in May and September, one of the things that gave me pause was the fact that some members of regional militarizes are invited or allowed to join the FRA's own military force, the Rangers, but not all of them. It was further explained to me during the second discussion that this is because the Rangers are an elite military unit that isn't compatible with those that are considered untrustworthy or new to defending. Still, to me that seemed rather...unfair. If the best and the brightest are accepted to this elite group, isn't that simply creating dual, and perhaps competing, loyalties in regional military members? What of those that don't join and remain in the regional military? Where's the motivation for that group to receive all the activity and opportunities that are promised? At the end of the day, I feel that it's wiser for a region to grow and work on creating their own military activity and opportunities than to depend on an external organization for that, and I believe that in time Wintreath will do that.
And finally...I believe that as a defender region, we can best make our mark as an independent defender force. I recently read that joining an org is the best way for a region to break through and become known, but I disagree, and I'm not entirely sure how such a statement would make sense. How would being part of a blob of regions, many of which are inactive, help Wintreath stand out? How often do you hear of any of these particular member regions, other than a few of the larger or more relevant ones once in awhile? Where's the mark that all these regions are supposed to be making with the organization's help? This idea just doesn't make sense...what makes sense is that individual militaries, working together as equals, making their marks on the world together. That regions x, y, and z protected founderless region a, not that some acronym that has a lot of regions I don't know behind it protected it.
For these reasons and more, I don't believe Wintreath to be compatible with an inter-regional organization. I believe the contributions required are too great, and the benefits to an active defender region to be too small to justify compromise on these issues. But of course we still must work with defenders outside Wintreath in order to be effective, so there must be some other solution. I should note that defender militaries already work with each other on an ad-hoc, informal basis all the time...one example being our assistance to the UDL last week in a liberation. It's hardly necessary to join anything to work with other defenders.
However, I also believe that it's important to build respectful, equal, and mutually beneficial ties with our fellow defender regions. For that, I would like to pursue bilateral treaties when the opportunity presents itself...treaties that promote cooperation between individual, unique militaries, build respect between regions that work together, and promote a cultural component to provide familiarity between the regions while assisting both in activity and growth. Of course this takes time and work, and I can't even say how much progress will be made five or ten months from now, but I believe this will be a more rewarding course for Wintreath. I believe Wintreath has a great deal to offer our fellow defender regions both on and off the battlefield, and I'm sure that those other regions have a lot to offer us as well.
In time, I hope to announce real progress in this area, but for now I simply wanted to make a statement of where my thoughts stand on this issue, considering the questions raised to me in response to Spiritus' FRA debate. I'm certain that there will be some people that will disagree with this policy stance. We have people here that are part of inter-regional organizations, and relations with inter-regional organizations ourselves. I hope I've stated our position without being offensive or hurtful, as neither was my intention and I truly appreciate everyone that's a part of this region as well as everyone we have relations with. This is simply an opinion piece for a policy statement prompted by questions and discussions made to me about this aspect of our region's policy in response to a debate that's happening elsewhere.
Regards,
-Inric Nordrim Stark (Wintermoot of Wintreath)
-Monarch of Wintreath
