Sometimes the line between the various functions, rights and duties of the Red Caste comes into question. Too often, warriors lose sight entirely of the limits of their authority as warriors.
It’s not uncommon, during times of war, for martial law to be declared in a Gorean city. The problem comes from the perception on the part of warriors that their duties and privileges under martial law are the same as their duties and privileges during peacetime.
Under the leadership of an Ubar during wartime, warriors must shoulder extraordinary duties, duties such as intelligence and counterintelligence, asset protection, interdiction and interrogation, to name only a few. In accordance with these duties, the soldiery is extended extraordinary powers within the city walls.
But during peacetime, the soldiery has no reasonable expectation that they will be required to perform any of these duties as a matter of standard operating procedure. The issue arises with recruits who join a city’s Red Caste during wartime – when war ends, they continue to do as they were trained to do under the rules of martial law. This is, of course, only natural – they were trained to operate within the walls of a city at war; a peaceful city isn’t an environment their training has equipped them to handle successfully. From a philosophical standpoint, some of them might argue that there is, in fact, no such thing as a peaceful city.
Setting aside that such a perspective ignores the transition from martial to civil law, it is in fact an accurate enough viewpoint – no city is ever truly peaceful, never truly safe.
But for soldiers in peacetime, real history and simple practicality alike inform us that they still do have a vital duty to fulfill within the walls of their city – as law enforcement personnel.
And yet, this raises another vexing question: If the Red Caste operate as a police force within the walls of their own homestone during peacetime, to what degree – if any – are their actions directed by and the responsibility of civil legal authorities?
To me, at least, the answer to this should be simple: During peacetime, warriors on duty within the walls of their own city are on what the military calls “TAD” – Temporary Additional Duty – as law enforcement personnel. In this operational context, they would fall under the authority of the Magistrates, who administrate the law.
This calls up the issue of competing authorities – if a raid occurs, are these men warriors or police? The answer is: it depends on the identity of the raiding party. If the raiders are themselves soldiery of a foreign city, then the Red Caste defenders are operating as warriors and their every action comes under the purview of their Commander. If the raiders are outlaws, then the defenders are operating as a police force and their actions are subject to the direction and review of the Magistrates.
The question then further arises: Under whose authority do they operate before the identity of the attackers is established? The answer is: Both the Red Caste authorities and the Magistrates, jointly.
