State Department of Engineering & Design
From AuroraWiki
The State Department of Engineering & Design is a research department and think-tank of the Antaran Dominion responsible for research, development, design and implementation of new facilities for both State and civil use throughout Antara. These include hydroelectric power plants, geothermal research, aero-power research, unique bridge and road construction, and a myriad of other construction projects. It is one of the largest such government organizations in the world, and has a vast research and implementation budget.
The SDED is very closely affiliated with Olduvai Research Facility - which it was largely responsible for the construction of - and has an extensive presence there. At least 4,000 of the personnel stationed at ORF are part of the SDED. The SDED is also heavily invested in research and development in the fields of medicine, communications, transportation, and multiple disciplines of engineering outside of civil.
Personnel of the SDED are currently in Sam'thuma assisting in the design and construction of the Million Tonkata Highway. Another great project of the SDED was Project Hammertong, the effort to harness nuclear energy for power production and other utilitarian purposes. This project, however, met considerable international scrutiny and was ended by Praetorian order on 31 January 2117.
Another major SDED presence can be found at Bartolomeo Fortress in western Oceanward Province. This facility, a major base of the Munitorum, is also home to personnel of the State Department of Military Research.
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Structure
Ranks
The SDED has a clear-cut hierarchy for its personnel that resembles that of any engineering firm, and even mirrors the methods of a craftsman guild or the like. There are set ranks, each of which one achieves after meeting certain criteria of acknowledgement of ones skill.
Chief Engineer
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The top rank is that of Chief Engineer, which only six people in the SDED can hold at any given time. These men are the ones who oversee a range of important projects. These ranked engineers only handle projects that have a Security Four or higher classification, and are State-sponsored top-level interests. These can vary wildly in focus and purpose. Only a Chief Engineer may oversee a Security Five classified project.
Those who earn this rank are given the Spherion Battery, which is the name for test the candidate must pass with a minimum 95% on to be accepted to the new rank. The candidate is chosen by the other five existing Chief Engineers by simple vote choice. The Battery centers around the candidate's primary specialty.
The six Chief Engineers comprise what is known as the Select Committee, which is the decision-making body that oversees the SDED. It answers directly to the Fabricator General, and he reserves the right within his authority to dismiss or remove any member of the Committee at any time and direct its members to choose a replacement.
Master Engineer
The next rank down is that of Master Engineer, which is granted to those who have been with the SDED for a minumum of five years and have successfully completed their Engineer's Review, during which they must successfully pass with a 90% accuracy testing in at least three different engineering fields. They oversee Operating Engineers and their projects, and will personally oversee projects of Security Three clearance, and occasionally one Security Four. Only five percent of SDED personnel will ever achieve this rank.
Operating Engineer
The mid-level rank is simply that of Operating Engineer. These engineers oversee general projects under SDED auspice and answer to a Master Engineer who oversees their project alongside several other of Security One through Security Three clearance. This is the highest rank most SDED personnel hope to achieve.
Engineer Associate
The second-lowest rank is that of Engineer Associate, which all SDED personnel must achieve after spending no more than one year with the rank of Engineer Initiate. Those who do not achieve this rank after their first year of SDED service is completed have a minimum of three months to reach the prerequisites for promotion or they are dismissed from the SDED. This is the rank of the bulk of SDED personnel.
Engineer Initiate
The lowest rank is that of Engineer Initiate - or simply, Initiate - which is the rank held by all those new to the organization. They hold this rank for a maximum of one year, during which time they receive all SDED training and orientation necessary for their career and work.
