United States Antarctica Command (ANCOM)

“To deny another front to the enemy in this war, we must demonstrate that military action in Antarctica would be hopeless. It is our duty to show the world that the United States is ready for conflict in Antarctica, because only through strength can we ensure peace on this great continent.”

Rear Admiral Henry Dufek on the creation of a United States Antarctica command.

The United States unified command responsible for operations in Antarctica (ANCOM) is a regimented and well-resourced armed naval task force, specialising in Antarctic deployments and responsible for the logistics of American research bases on the continent.

To provide logistic support to American research bases and ensure US military operational readiness in Antarctica.

In 1946, the US navy launched Operation Highjump, which kick-started US military involvement in Antarctica and developed the Navy's ability to project power on the continent. Not long after, in 1948, ANCOM was founded to oversee and manage US operations in Antarctica.

Operation Deep Freeze was initiated in 1955 to test training and equipment in frigid conditions, supply research bases, and expand the American presence on the continent.

With the Antarctic Treaty of 1961, ANCOM's responsibilities shifted to be primarily logistics based, with training and equipment testing only being conducted on the other side of the world, in Greenland.

In 2001, ANCOM was brought under the direct command of USINDOPACOM (United States Indo-Pacific Command, the largest geographic command of the US military) which is responsible for operations in the Indo-Pacific region.

ANCOM is a member of the NATO trifecta sent to investigate APERIS alongside GRAIL and the Bundesgeheimnissesamt. With similar areas of responsibility, GRAIL and ANCOM have come into contact before, culminating in the politically embarrassing South Georgian Islands incident in 1986. Shots were exchanged between both sides but no casualties reported. Since then the two have cooperated infrequently during joint American-British ventures in the Antarctic ocean.

ANCOM also has procurement contracts with Petrogon, and has signed contracts with SPRHD for server maintenance and management.

As a division of the US military, ANCOM considers units from the Sino-Russian JCP—Unit 871 and the 13th Independent Special Investigations Battalion—as national rivals to be treated with caution.

Terra Indomita tends to be reviled among military circles; ANCOM is no exception to this attitude.

ANCOM utilises an immense number of personnel. Amongst many other roles, ANCOM deploys engineers and other specialists, officers of various ranks, and, of course, enlisted soldiers.

Members of ANCOM include military personnel, and civilian specialists. The latter usually brought on one-off missions for their expertise. These personnel may have various levels of experience; they may be a fresh recruit, a veteran of many ANCOM operations, or a transfer from another branch of the U.S. Military.

However, no matter their role or origin, every member of ANCOM has a clear position in the Faction's hierarchy. The table below gives a brief outline of the ranks in ANCOM and the responsibilities and authority that gives.

Civilians brought into ANCOM may be given any one of these ranks—with the exception of Rear Admiral—depending on the access afforded to them during their employment. They will still have a commanding officer, although they will typically have no personnel directly reporting to them.