Maritime Cutter Service

The Maritime Cutter Service is a branch of the Kiravian Armed Forces and an agency of the Kiravian Maritime Executive concerned with marine law enforcement, coastal defence, and maritime safety.

Mission
As the enforcement and operations arm of the Maritime Executive, the Cutter Service is responsible for maintaining security, safety, and the rule of law in Kiravian waters. Currently, the Cutter Service's geographic remit encompasses the waters surrounding Great Kirav, Æonara, Koskenkorva, New Ardmore, Uruvun, and (nominally) Wintergen, though its operations around Wintergen have been suspended since the conquest of the island by Burgundie. In the waters surrounding other Kiravian overseas territories, the Cutter Service's functions are undertaken by the Kiravian Navy and the maritime defence forces of individual federal subjects, such as the Sydonan Navy. It provides operational support for the civilian agencies under the Maritime Executive, such as the Fisheries Authority, in carrying out their respective mandates.

The Cutter Service enforces the applicable laws of the Kiravian Federacy over its territorial waters beyond the limit of state jurisdiction and its contiguous zone, as well as its economic rights in its and. It also combats and smuggling, and provides general law enforcement services to the Minor Insular Areas and certain federally-owned offshore islands. It is often called upon to carry out police actions on Kiravian-flagged vessels and offshore drilling platforms. Alongside the Navy and other agencies, the Cutter Service is responsible for enforcing the Federacy's strict ban on in Kiravian waters.

The military role of the Cutter Service has evolved from anti-piracy and the defence of coastal settlements to, reconnaissance, and surveillance. It also features in the Federacy's defencive planning against a hypothetical invasion of the Home Islands. In such a scenario, the Cutter Service would be integrated into the Navy's command structure, and any combat-capable vessels and aircraft would be mobilised to fend off enemy landing attempts, with non-combat units assuming support roles. The Cutter Service conducts regular exercises to maintain readiness for its role as the Federacy's "last line of defence".

Although chartered as a military force and law enforcement agency, a core responsibility of the modern Cutter Service is maritime safety, particularly incident response, search-and-rescue operations, and emergency medical services.

History
The Cutter Service considers itself the spiritual successor to the Provincial Fleets of the Coscivian Imperial Navy, which were militia raised in the Ixnayan coastal provinces to patrol coastal waters using locally-built and interdict marauding Cromwelute ships. More formally, it originated in the early Confederal Period following the Republican Revolution, and was organised as a division of the Confederal Navy called the Littoral Fleet. For the first centuries of its existence, its main functions were protecting the Kiravian coast and coastal settlements from piracy, enforcing customs laws, and transporting ground troops between Great Kirav and the Isles.

Command Structure
Unlike the Kiravian Army and Kiravian Navy, which report to the Defence Executive, the Cutter Service falls within the purview of the Maritime Executive. The civilian official most directly responsible for the Cutter Service is the High Cutter Executive, who reports to the Chief Maritime Executive.