Royal Surveyors Corps

  

Royal Surveyors Corps
Emblem
Founded	July 16, 1859 (1859-07-16)
Country	Kingdom of Sierra
Type	Uniformed service
Role	Land management Geological and cartographic research Civil engineering Civil works
Part of	Land Management Agency
Headquarters	Menlo Park, San Francisco, K.S.
Motto(s)	"Mapping Sierra's future"
Red, white, and gold
March	"Surveyors of the Land"
Anniversaries	Centennial, 1958
Engagements	Eugene War War of Contingency Sierran Civil War Han–Sierran War Continental Revolutionary War Mexican Revolution Mesoamerican War Great War Vietnam War Colombia War Nicaragua War Syrian Civil War
Commanders
Surveyor General	GEN Mario Ricci
Deputy Surveyor General	GEN Tyler Powers
Insignia
Logo

The Kingdom of Sierra Royal Surveyors Corps (KSRSC, commonly referred to as the Royal Surveyors Corps, the Royal Survey, or simply the Corps) is an agency within the K.S. Ministry of Interior responsible for the administration and management of federally owned land, as well as the surveying, platting, and selling of such land. It is also a scientific agency devoted to the national study of cartography, biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. It is tasked with evaluating, managing, and protecting Sierra's natural resources and lands, as well as assessing the impact of natural disasters. It is one of the eight uniformed service branches in the Kingdom of Sierra and historically played an important role in Sierra's military history. It continues maintaining a limited presence in the K.S. military, mostly functioning as a scientific and technological support group in conflict areas and overseas bases. Each year, the Royal Surveyors Corps publishes detailed atlases and maps of Sierra and the world for professional, commercial, and private use. It collaborates with the Royal Intelligence Agency to publish the almanac-styled The Book of the World.

The Royal Surveyors Corps was established in 1859 through the Land Distribution Act, which empowered the agency to commission field surveyors to map out and organize Sierra's land into divisible plots for identification, classification, development, management, and sale. It became a uniformed service during the War of Contingency in 1868 when its officers were assigned combatant status devoted to gathering military intelligence and providing accurate cartographic information to the Sierran military leadership.

As technology developed and newer agencies acquired control over some of the Corps' core responsibilities, the Royal Surveyors Corps saw it transition towards a more research-oriented agency during the 1970s, especially through its research on earthquakes. It played a crucial role in identifying Sierran fault lines and educating the public on earthquake preparedness. It has remained a uniformed service branch and its officers may be deployed for service during times of emergency or war by the Supreme Field Marshal.

History

On July 16, 1859, Parliament passed the Land Distribution Act, which created the Royal Surveyors Corps, an agency established for the purpose of surveying and mapping Sierra's land. It called for a force of active duty surveyors, scouts, cartographers, artists, and scientists to explore the vast Sierran landscape and produce accurate maps for use by the government. At the time of its creation, the Royal Surveyors Corps was also responsible for charting Sierra's waters and standardizing weights and measures. It further empowered the Royal Surveyors Corps to manage and preserve Sierran federal land and to report illegal trespassing or activities on government-owned land. It became a uniformed service by 1864 as Parliament authorized the Corps to become a force of commissioned officers with a military-like hierarchy. The Surveyor General became the administrative and operational head of the Corps and reported directly to the Prime Minister and King. The Corps saw its first wartime operations during the Eugene War and the War of Contingency as its surveying efforts and maps aided military leaders and commanders on strategic placement, movement, and logistics. Seven members of the Corps were captured but later released at the end of the War of Contingency.

In 1872, Parliament authorized the Royal Surveyors Corps to commission and charter its own ships, most of which were leased by the Sierran Royal Navy. Its initial fleet of survey ships numbered just four at the time but represented a period of growth and expansion for the Corps. Under Surveyor General Michel Brouleau, the Corps conducted an systematic study of oceanography, hydrography, geology, and biology of the Pacific Current and its environs. The Corps' research on tidal patterns and sea currents proved indispensable to Sierra, especially seafarers and trading companies. The Corps quickly became distinguished as a continental leader in geophysics and geodesy due to its research.

During the Sierran Civil War, the Corps resumed its wartime responsibilities by working with the Royal Army and the Royal Navy in overcoming the Republican forces. Officers of the Corps were often at the front lines and risked their lives as Landon maintained a no-tolerance policy towards spies, executing nearly any pro-Kingdom civilian or serviceman who was captured. At the conclusion of the war, more than 80 Corps officers were honored and recognized for their contributions to the war.

As the Corps resumed its peacetime operations, it refined its work on astronomical observations, triangulation, tidal observations, levelling, and magnetic observations and studies. Its mission was to perfect cartography and producing the most accurate and updated maps in the region. The Corps secured increased funding from Parliament following the lobbying efforts of Corps scientist Bruce Malkison, who presented detailed findings of the Corps' research on Sierra's inland desert geography before a House inquiry in 1879.

The Corps was deployed overseas across the Pacific during Sierra's imperialist expansion which included surveys of the Hawaiian Islands, the Christmas Islands (Bénieîle), and the Tondolese archipelago. Its maps and studies would later be used by the colonial governments in the lands surveyed. Hawaii became the favored site of interest due to its volcanic activity and a KSRSC outpost was established on the island of Hawaii in 1896.

Organization

The Royal Surveyors Corps is organized as a uniformed service branch. Most of its members are commissioned officers under federal and international law, and are therefore subject to the laws and privileges accorded to such individuals. It is administratively and operationally led by the Surveyor General and their assistant, the Deputy Surveyor General. The Royal Surveyors Corps is supported by a civilian workforce that run the Office of the Royal Surveyors Corps, which focuses on the day-to-day management of the Corps, and assists the officers in performing their duties and responsibilities, as well as in conducting research.

The Corps are divided into seven regions: Northwest, Central, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast, Pacific, and Atlantic. Unlike the other armed forces branches, the Corps are not divided into divisions or regiments. However, it is divided into commands, each assigned and dedicated to certain fields of study or administrative function, including: the Executive Command, the Geologic Command, the Cartography and Geodesics Command, and the Oceanography Command.

Role and responsibilities

The Royal Surveyors Corps is the nation's foremost and leading federal land management service. Its commissioned officers are specialized in various scientific fields and disciplines including biology, geology, geography, meteorology, oceanography, engineering, hydrology, chemistry, mathematics, geodesics, and seismology. All of these disciplines are applied in the line of work at the Royal Surveyors Corps as it is responsible for conducting and facilitating research relevant to preserving and safeguarding Sierra's national interests, its citizens' safety, and Sierra's land, environment, and resources. Its operations and activities are supported under the aegis of a military hierarchy. The Corps also plays a role in disaster management and response by providing its services to other federal and local agencies, and deploying its officers to disaster areas to assess, evaluate, and remedy the situation.

Although the Corps are unarmed and are not considered a part of the Sierran Crown Armed Forces, under K.S. federal law, the prime minister, by direction and order of the Queen, is authorized to militarize the Corps during times of national emergency or distress. Corps officers who are transferred to military service under the directive would be considered as having the same privileges, rights, responsibilities, duties, and protections afforded in proportion and equivalent to their rank in other branches, and subject to the same laws and regulations of those under normal, permanent military service.

Commissioned officers

The Royal Surveyors Corps uses the same naval commissioned officer ranks of the Sierran Royal Navy and the Sierran Royal Coast Guard. The current ranks of the Corps include all of the standard pay grades from O-1 to O-9. There is no Corps equivalent to the Supreme Field Marshal. The officers of the Corps wear similar uniforms as officers in the Navy although they are distinguished by the Corps' insignia and badges. In addition, they receive the same pay and benefits as commissioned officers in the other branches of the same pay grade. All Corps commissioned officers must undergo basic officer training prior to receiving a direct commission through appointment. Officers may not hold dual commission in another branch of the uniformed services, but inter-service transfer may be conditionally allowed.