Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is the first rank of the Sparnell Armed Forces allowing almost full autonomy, although as with all things in the Confederation, those wishing to further their careers and prestige find themselves thrust even further into political maneuverings. While each admiral and vice admiral is granted a budget dependent upon their reputation and the existing size of their fleet, they will often need to trade people and favors in order to grow both their staff and their fleet. Without membership in Sparnell Fleet Command, as is granted to full Admirals, many vice admirals are left fighting over the scraps - unless they can find a powerful enough ally or prove themselves a worthy investment.
Those Sparnelli Families with the means and the drive to do so will often donate a portion of their own funds to assist their vice admirals with growing their fleets, all in the name of furthering the Family glory.
Appointment
Vice admirals are most often promoted from Commodore to replace retired, removed, or incapacitated Admirals or vice admirals. Most often they were the commodore of the admiral or vice admiral being replaced, although this is not often the case.
Additionally, as the Sparnell Confederation's holdings grow, Sparnell Fleet Command or the Fleet Admiral may decide an additional vice admiral is required. In this case a promising commodore will be selected by Fleet Command. In these cases the new vice admiral begins with a much smaller fleet, often only one to three ships with minimal crew, and will be required to negotiate their way toward a larger one through cooperation with their fellow admirals, often with assistance from their original admiral or vice admiral.
Benefits
Promotion to vice admiral allows an individual to lead up to two fleets, depending upon the strength and quantity of their ships and their personal strategies. Those with smaller fleets typically choose to combine all ships into a single fleet, serving as Ship Captain on their flagship while their Commodore takes the role of Executive Officer. One their fleet grows large enough they will typically split it in two, with their commodore commanding the primary attack fleet while the vice admiral leads the secondary defense fleet. In this way they can remain closer to Sparnell and its politics, increasing their chances of attaining the rank of Admiral.
Vice admirals are also the lowest rank permitted to Claim new recruits to join their fleets, including retaining the services of a TAG. A vice admiral is also permitted to retain a secondary TAG-in-training, although once this TAG's training is complete they will need to choose which TAG to retain. Surviving surplus TAGs are most often traded away to another admiral or vice admiral in an effort at diplomacy, or else retired through Soul Shatter if they have lost the trust of their admiral.
Grounds for Removal/Dismissal
A vice admiral may be removed if they lose the support of the majority of Sparnell Fleet Command. While not as common as cutthroat Sparnelli politics would suggest, this has happened often enough to set precedents on when Fleet Command will begin to consider removal. Most common occurrences include:
- a vice admiral managing antagonizing the majority of Fleet Command, due to open handed attacks against others or other inept politicking,
- a vice admiral's Family losing favor due to the unforgivable actions of one or several Family members, particularly if Fleet Command feels no suitable sanctions have been imposed upon the Family members in question, and
- treasonous behavior, from either the vice admiral or their Family.
SAF Vice Admiral Insignia by Hephaestus
Type
Nobility, Military
Form of Address
Admiral
Equates to
Grand Marshal of the Hydell Order
Source of Authority
Sparnell Fleet Command
Current Holders
Past Holders
Reports directly to
Related Organizations
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