Aston Groff

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Aston Groff was a Terran soldier, politician and statesman. He was the ninth President of the Republic

Early Life

Aston Groff was born in Viena, on Earth in 2495. Groff was born to a middle class family. His father had served in the Imperial Marine Corps and then gone into business whilst his mother was a high school teacher.
As a young lad, Aston was a bright but rebellious student, known for his charm and sense of humor. He attended Cydonia College on a partial sports scholarship where he studied military history and political science.
He played rugby & ran track for the Cydonia athletics team and was a solid student, graduating in the top quarter of his class. He applied to join the newly created Republic Marine corps out of college and enlisted in 2516.

Military Service

Aston Groff entered officer training in 2516 and was considered one of the best students in his class, with a great grasp of military tactics, rhetoric and personal deportment. He carried his battalion pennant and was named "Cadet of the Year" in his graduating class.
Groff graduated from officer training in 2517 as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was immediately transferred to Nova Terra to take part in the ongoing campaign there.

Nova Terra Campaign

2nd Lieutenant Groff arrived in Nova Terra in 2517 and took over command of a marine rifle platoon, 3rd platoon, Fox Company of the 18th Marine Regiment. He took part in several combat patrols and fought in the Battle of St Pierre, where he was lightly wounded.
He was recalled to the regimental staff in 2518 and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. He requested a transfer back to a combat command and was given command of his old company, Fox Company. He lead the company through many patrols, earning a mention in dispatches and the Bronze Star.
He was promoted to the rank of Captain in 2520 and transferred off-world for a four month spell where he trained recruits in close order and counter-insurgency tactics.
He was redeployed to Nova Terra in 2520 for his 3rd Tour as a Battalion Executive Officer. He took part in the battle of Firebase 770, where he was once again mentioned in dispatches.
In 2521, he lead elements of his battalion as a part of "Operation Sunset Shark". He was badly wounded by a gunshot wound to the abdomen and pulled from the line and recovered on the medical freighter "Epirus". He received the Wounded in Action Badge and another Bronze Star for his service on Nova Terra.

Post Nova Terra

After recovering from his wounds, Captain Groff was assigned as a training officer at Fort Lynx on Earth. Based near Lhassa, he trained young officers in tactics, training and counter-insurgency tactics.
In 2523, he was transferred to New Berlin where he took command of 3rd Battalion, 60th Marine Regiment. He was promoted in 2524 to the rank of Major. Major Groff had already begun to develop a reputation as a dashing, charismatic young officer and several senior officers began to mention him as a "rising star" within the Marine Corps.
In 2524 he joined the Marine Corps General Staff where he served as a Planning Officer. He was then reassigned in 2526 to the plum role as a Presidential liaison, giving military counsel to the Creed administration .
During this time, he made lots of key political connections and many top Senators and GA Reps spoke of Groff as charming, deft and able to parse complex information for them. They also spoke of his innate political skill.
He was promoted to the rank of Colonel in 2528 and reassigned in 2529 to New Berlin to take command of the newly formed 137th Marine Rifle Regiment. He helped to train the core cadre and then took command at the base of the regiment.
In 2531, he was named as a senior lecturer at the Marine Corps Academy on Earth, another prominent assignment. His time there ended early as he requested a combat command in 2532 to be a part of the Republic's fight to free the Hassal League. He was named a Brigade XO and lead marines first on Whitworth and then Vanheim.
During his time on Vanheim, he won the Navy Cross and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.
In 2537, after the campaign in the Hassal League had ended, he returned to the General Staff, this time as Deputy Chief of Staff. He was clearly being groomed for the very top spot in the Republic military.
In 2541 he was promoted to the rank of Major General. As Deputy Chief of Staff, he also oversaw marine procurement, training and doctrine and was considered a highly influential figure within the Marine Corps and the Republic military.

Chief of Staff

In 2544, General Groff was selected by President Xavier Inkerman to be the new Chief of Staff of the Republic Military. He was promoted to full General, skipping the rank of Lieutenant General.
During his term, he oversaw a huge expansion of the Marine Corps as well as the Republic military after the Antares Federation merged with the Republic. He oversaw the change in doctrine and bastardization of equipment across the various dispirate units and ships across the newly expanded Republic Navy & Republic Marine Corps.
He also advised the Inkerman administration regarding arms packages to the Rorn Republic and the newly emerged Ekuneri & Salborian states.
His name was mentioned as a potential role as Secretary of Defence but it was felt that his status as a serving marine officer precluded him from the role, which was traditionally held by a civilian.
General Groff championed the Marine Corps at every opportunity, overseeing a huge increase in manpower and equipment. He served under President MyAnna Wolf as well and speculation grew that he may consider seeking elected office at the end of the Wolf administration, with the new, likely left wing administration likely to cut military spending.

Politics

Groff had always had a keen mind for politics and a deep interest in it. He was known to be a "conservative" but was never drawn on politics and tended to keep a low political profile as a serving member of the Republic military.
Still, there were times when the odd tactical leak or coded comment could reach the press, which in the wrong circumstances could have stalled or even ended his career.
He had a good rapport with President Inkerman and his top team though and was promoted to the role of Chief of Staff. President Inkerman often involved him in close council and he was one of the most influential Chief's of Staff in the history of the Republic's military.
In early 2559 he began to take some quiet meetings with pollsters, fund-raisers and other political thinkers. In late 2559 he confirmed he would retire from his role in the Marine Corps in 2560, sparking rampant speculation that he would seek elected office in 2560.

2560 Campaign

In 2560, General Groff confirmed he would be seeking the Presidency under the Isolationist ticket. He was nominated at their convention and chose young, corporate minded Representative Lucinda Maizeland as his running mate.
The Groff/Maizeland ticket was seen as an outsider for the Presidency, as whilst Groff enjoyed huge personal favourability, often polling as the second most popular candidate, his party lagged behind him and the Isolationist ticket peaked at around 16% in the national polls.
Groff did very well on the road and outdid all expectations during the Presidential debates, where his honesty and sharply worded answers were very well received.
In the end, the Groff/Maizeland ticket got 15% of the national vote but was unsuccessful in winning the Presidency. General Groff congratulated new President Herrick Knottman and withdrew from politics.
He attended Isolationist fund-raisers in 2565 and also attended several campaign events, including campaigning on New Corinth on bhealf of Pike Handley. He also campaigned for Lucinda Maizeland, who was seen by most as the Isolationist Party's consensus choice for President in 2570.
He refused to be draw into the Cutbill Committee and the fall of President Knottman, only calling the whole affair "a very sad day for the Republic.

Corporate Interests

General Groff took up a lucrative role as a consultant, working for Cydonia based firm "Wenders & Honda". He also took a role as a guest lecturer at Cydonia College, teaching classes on military history and international relations.
He did a number of media appearances but turned down a role as a "talking head" on several right wing media shows.

2nd Zzenddi War

With the outbreak in 2567 of the 2nd Zzenddi War, General Groff, despite turning 72 years old, offered his service as a Marine. He offered to serve in uniform or "in whatever capacity is most useful".
The Meagher administration employed General Groff as a trainer at the Marine Corps academy and also invited him to consult for the Ministry of Defence.
In late 2569, with elections set for 2570 despite President Meagher's emergency powers, some figures began to speak of a possible "Unity candidate" with Secretary of Defence Beckett Solarin (IND) and AEA President Nurih Safin (IND) spoken of as possible choices.
However, behind the scenes, Senator Morse Cutbill (ISO) worked tirelessly to get all the parties to agree to set aside all Federal elections and back a unity candidate. The unity candidate he wanted was General Groff who apparently suggested that there were better choices out there. Despite this, Cutbill persisted and General Groff stated he would serve the Republic in whatever way they wanted him to.
General Groff did state that he would only serve as President as "an Independent" and would set his former Isolationist Party allegiance to one side.
In March of 2570, the "Dhaka Agreement" was signed by all major parties and a new Unity cabinet was announced. President Meagher confirmed by Executive Orders that she was "suspending all Federal elections" and transferring the power of the Presidency to General Groff, which took place on March 31, 2570.

Unity President

President Aston Groff was sworn in on March 31st, 2570 by Appeals Court Justice Shannon Swann. He asked for the inauguration ceremony to be suspended and began the office of government immediately.
He named former Marine corps colleague Keon Briar (IND) as his Chief of Staff. Briar had a difficult choice of senior staff to select to keep all the major parties in the coalition happy. Briar named retired Marine corps General Ecton Dempsey as Deputy Chief of Staff. He selected Valiant lawyer and press officer Dawson McGrael as Communications Director. He selected former diplomatic service officer Hope Williams as Senior Counsel to the President and finally retired prosecutor Lillian English as Legal Counsel to the President.
Keon Briar announced on 2nd April that he had appointed former Senator Morse Cutbill (ISO) as Senior Counsel and Legislative liaison.

Senior Staff

• Chief of Staff to the President - Keon Briar (Independent)
• Senior Counsel to the President - Hope Williams (Independent)
• Senior Counsel -Legislative Liaison -Morse Cutbill (Isolationist)
• Communications Director - Dawson McGrael (Valiant)
• Deputy Chief of Staff to the President -Ecton Dempsey (SDP)
• Press Secretary - Hollins Foley (Isolationist)
• Legal Counsel to the President - Lillian English (Independent)

The First Groff Cabinet:

• Vice President - Henderson Loke (Gurava )
• Secretary of War- Dr Eleutheria Ashpool (Valiant Party )
• Secretary of the Treasury- Lucinda Maizeland (Isolationist Party )
• Foreign Secretary - Pierce Moreland (Republican Centrist Party)
• Attorney General - Ceavan Ballard (Librarius )
• Secretary of Civil Defence - Hayley Rush (Social Democratic Party )
• Secretary of Information - Rosby Crockett (Ravenheart )
• Secretary of Intelligence - Baize Watkins (Vishnu Elpis )

The 2nd Zzenddi War

President Groff's administration had to deal with the huge Zzenddi invasion, with large fleets designated HYDRA, GORGON and SCYLLA moving in three separate directions. President Groff worked closely with his cabinet to develop a war strategy, following on from the "Fabian plan" of the prior administration.
President Groff undertook a major diplomatic trip to the Tazzyn Empire, where he personally appealed to both the Tazzyn Emperor and his court for aid, which appeared to be successful with a promise, later fulfilled, of an intervention on the Terran behalf.
President Groff also had to deal with an attempted coup on Avalon by Burning Path, which was put down by local marines. This coincided with the arrest of controversial governor Tyrell Winnant (RHC).
President Groff preferred to focus on the war effort and left his cabinet a huge amount of latitude to deal with domestic issues. He preferred to stay out of any domestic policy or law making, often stating that as he did not have a democratic mandate, he saw the war as his sole priority.
However, he did push back on a few decisions and was unhappy at some moves which he felt were bordering on tyrannical.
T/F Liberator won major victories on Sovindar Dahl, liberating the Gannid home-world and allowing scattered Gannid elements to link up with the other allies. It also won a victory over the Zzenddi in Heretae, destroying a Zzenddi star-gate which appeared to have cut the Zzenddi off from their home-quadrant.
T/F Liberator also won a major naval victory over the Zzenddi fleet GORGON in the Battle of Yolik, though this came at great cost in terms of ships and lives.
President Groff suffered a mild stroke after reporting of this battle and was briefly hospitalized. During this time, Vice President Loke was kept informed and briefed but President Groff was able to return to his duties within a short period.
The Zzneddi were able to overrun the worlds of Al Ahily, Avalon and Fort Kurzon during the invasion, with huge loss of life on all three worlds. The dogged resistance on those worlds, along with Nova Terra and Vanheim, bought time for the Terran war effort.
With the Allied victory in Yolik, GORGON had been crippled as a fleet and T/F Liberator needed to return to Terran space to refit and link up with the Tazzyn expeditionary effort.

Speech by President Aston Groff June 1, 2570
“People of the Republic, we stand here at the edge of midnight. At our borders, already casting a shadow over Terran worlds, is the greatest threat in our history. An alien fleet, vast in numbers, unknowable in thought and motive, incredibly hostile, comes to end our way of life.
This is a moment that none of you have asked for, believe me, I know this. Whilst I sought the Presidency once, I never expected it to happen the way it has. The burden is placed upon me and my administration to bring us through this crisis, to ensure that there is a tomorrow.
We have come together, settings aside partisanship and sacrificing our democratic expectations to fashion a unified response against this darkness. My administration consists of politicians of all the major parties, left and right, secular and religious. We disagree, we have fought bitterly and will have still contested elections but we shall do what we have to, to ensure that there is a tomorrow.
We have called together the largest mobilization of Terrans for war in our entire history. More than sixty-million Terrans have taken up arms, wearing the uniform of the marine corps, as I once did, or the Navy, or the newly formed Colonial Infantry, or doing their service in our government or factories or schools. They are men and women, old and young, human, Indirian, Atan, Jaradino, AI, Dhau & Chohan. They are doing what they can do be a shield of light against the dark.
We have called our allies to do all they can and will continue to push for cooperation to end this threat, which does not just affect us but affects all races in the quadrant. Some of have rallied to our side, some have troubles of their own and others have turned away from us. So be it. We shall fight with honor alongside the proud Vatu warriors, the wise Straetek, the dogged and determined Gannid who came to our aid a hundred years ago and, in time, alongside our valued CCN allies. To our enemies, both the invaders and those inside our borders who expect to defeat us, I say this to you. You must not know your history. Terrans are a bold, brave, stubborn people. We will not be beaten easily, we will not die out quietly, we will not be broken, we will not surrender, we will not will not go down without taking as many of your kind with us as we can. And even if the last ship is burning, the last barricade broken, the last Terrans will pick up a gun, or a blade or a stone and look you in the eye and say “No, not this time.”
We will fight for a tomorrow, that is what we have always done and what we will do now. Keep the faith, do your part and we will survive this test, this crisis and see that better tomorrow”

Day to Day

President Groff kept to a fairly tight schedule as President, working through security and military briefings during the morning and then taking part in good-will and press events in the afternoon. He'd often take an early afternoon nap and then return to work, working with cabinet or senior staff in the evenings and finishing at around 10 o'clock most nights.
Nearly all reports suggested that President Groff was very happy to empower his cabinet to run domestic policy and his administration attempted to stall or side-step all major legislation, using the emergency powers delegated to them by the General Assembly.
President Groff also met regularly with lawyers to keep him up to date on the legality of moves he had made and what laws were being bent or circumvented by the use of the emergency powers act.
President Groff refused to take part in any fund-raisers unless they were part of the war effort and seldom briefed the Press himself unless it was after a major military event.
President Groff began his term playing golf once a week but this tailed off quickly as the war went on. President Groff attempted to attend as many military funerals as he could as well.
President Groff had a very close relationship with his senior staff, which included three former Marines in Keon Briar, Ecton Dempsey and Morse Cutbill.

Preparing Loke

President Groff saw preparing Henderson Loke to be President to be a key part of his duties. He instructed his senior staff and security advisers to report everything that was reported to him to Loke as well. He included Loke in nearly all major strategic meetings and briefings and asked that the cabinet loop Loke in on major policy decisions.
He also met with Loke every week and the two talked about war strategy, the overall direction and aims of the war-time administration and how to lead the staff. They also spoke on a personal level and sources within the President's senior staff said that the President came to respect Vice President Loke very much, with the feeling mutual.

Death in Office

President Groff was in reasonable health when he took over the office of President but had stated privately that he felt he was too old to be President. Aged 75 when inaugurated, he attempted to keep to healthy working patterns and a healthy diet but work days were long and the stress was high.
Privately, President Groff had told close advisers that "He would not live to see out his term".
President Groff, who had a history of high blood pressure, suffered a mild stroke in 2572 but made a quick recovery and returned to work within a few days. During his convalescence, he had kept Vice President Loke informed the entire time but there was an issue of Presidential recusal and whilst he had been unconscious, technically no one had the authority to give Presidential orders.
In 2575, President Groff was rushed to Archangel hospital after being found unresponsive. Emergency aid was rendered but despite a gallant attempt, he was pronounced dead at 5:54 in the morning. He was eighty years old.
According to one doctors report, President Groff had lost sixteen pounds since being elected President and was getting no more than four hours of sleep per night, boosted by an hours nap each afternoon. They believed the stress of the office had overwhelmed him and caused his death, meaning he had literally died for the Republic.
In his will, President Groff dismissed his sacrifice as "Minor", referring to the marines, colonial infantry and sailors of the Navy as "the real heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice. They have given the last full measure to the altar of freedom".
President Groff was succeeded by Vice President Loke that day and a day of mourning was held within the Republic.

9th President of The Republic

2570 - 2574

Species

Human

Life

2495 2574 79 years old

Birthplace

Viena, Earth

Place of Death

Dhaka, Earth

Aligned Organization

The Terran Republic

Other Affiliations

• Isolationist Party