PlatformSecessionists, Far-Left & Anti-War Dissidents - The idea of a independent Cascadian state has existed since the days of the first settlers in the Northwest. A nation run by those who live on Northwestern soil and breath the air of the Pacific tugged at a sense of unity, instead of following laws and customs dictated by politicians who didn't leave the eastern seaboard.
Important IndividualsGeneral
Richard Beckard - While not the de-jure leader of the Republic, General Beckard is the man who truly rules the Cascades. Before heading the Oregon National Guard, a younger Beckard served in a command position during Desert Storm in Iraq and Odyssey Dawn in Libya in 2011. After his retirement he returned to Oregon and worked a simple position in commanding the state guard and organizing defense for war-time America. After the failures of his country to conduct themselves in Asia, Beckard quickly began to lose faith in his nation. Thus it came as no surprise when the commander ordered his men to stand down to the Cascadian rebels and joined their cause. Being one of the few men of former high position, General Beckard quickly rose to be a leading member of the Cascadian movement; though his political apathy has made him look weak to his more politically oriented leaders.
President
Dianna Hochin - Dianna Hochin, alongside her husband Alexander, were at the political forefront of the Cascadian independence movement since the 1980s and led countless protests and marches in favor of a multitude of social and economic issues in the former United States. Starting off her career as a mere Democrat she found herself quickly feeling alienated for her more radical social beliefs and by the 90s had removed herself from mainstream politics entirely, opting instead to form 'The Oregonian Greens'. When the war came the Hochins were quick to begin protests against 'imperialism' in Asia and demanded the federal government cease their aggression against China and the DPRK. Then the massacres in Shanghai and Korea, thousands of lives lost in a destined to fail and rushed offensive by joint Japanese-American forces. Taking the front lines of the protest Hochin marched with her comrades in Portland and, when the rioting broke out, stood headstrong alongside her fellow Cascadians. While not officially elected, Hochin has stood as the face of the Cascadian independence movement for over a decade and her rise in popularity among the far-left, environmentalists, and even some liberals will likely see her elected officially when the storm clears.
TerritoryOregon and Washington
HistoryFor decades there had existed a small but active Cascadian movement, made up predominantly of leftists and environmentalists with very little political support. However with the war and its great loss of life came many new voices calling for a cutting of ties with the United States, men and women who wished only for peace and neutrality in a war they no longer felt was even their's to fight. Thus, when the day came and American soldiers began firing on peaceful protesters, the revolt began. The protests in Portland, Salem, Seattle, Olympia, and other cities across the region turned to full riots. Within hours national guard armories were raided and barricades were made in the cities, and the doug flag flew from them all. National Guardsmen and citizens were given three options; join the revolters, flee, or fight. Many simply accepted defeat and laid down their arms, unwilling to die for the stars and stripes any longer, but some stood for the America they believed in and firefights across the major cities continued for days until finally the revolters stood victorious.
In the immediate aftermath of their victory there was utter chaos. With no real organized leadership a majority of Oregonians and Washingtonians turned to the now defunct national guard and police force. Through the chaos the former head of the Oregonian National Guard, Richard Beckard, rose to prominence and ordered the guardsmen still loyal to him to put down any unionist unrest and looters within the Portland area. Soon after he reached out to the Washington Guardsmen and began plans for a joint effort by both states to militarize a Cascadian Militia to restore order in the two states. On the political front, the heads of the Cascadian secessionist movement and leader of the Oregonian Greens, Alexander and Dianna Hochin, organized citizen militias across the state to combat the crisis and establish legitimacy via popular support for the new 'government'.
In the weeks following the revolution the riots in major cities were quelled by the new 'Cascadian Mounted Police', a force of former national guard and police officers utilizing captured APCs and home made gun mounted trucks. With a uneasy peace taking the major cities and outlying rural areas an emergency government was organized by General Beckard's militia, the Oregonian Greens, politicians in Oregon and Washington willing to cooperate with the rebels. Dianna Hochins was chosen as the emergency Madame President and General Beckard as her adviser, though the General was quick to assert his own influence over the new government.
There remains a war to be raged in the east against any federalists that will inevitably attempt to restore their control over the Pacific Northwest and unionists within the new Republic who continue their guerrilla war in the dense and seemingly endless forests and mountains of the region. The Cascades are unstable, but standing none the less.
Military ForcesThe Cascadian Mounted Police and the Cascadian Militia are one in the same both in equipment and manpower. Both forces utilize equipment looted from the National Guard, mostly rifles and land vehicles with very few being able to actually operate the helicopters left on air bases, and civilian firearms and vehicles repurposed for military use. While the Mounted Police primarily uses trucks mounted with machine guns, the Militia takes the APCs and heavy duty firepower for usage on the border with Idaho.
The men that use the equipment are a different story. While virtually all former national guardsmen were either conscripted or volunteered for duty in the Militia, the Mounted Police is primarily made up of volunteers and untrained civilian conscripts tasked with keeping the peace. Leading both forces is the Cascadian High Command lead by General Beckard and his subordinates, mostly former Guardsmen and U.S Army veterans loyal to the General. Due to this commanding bias, the Cascadian forces fight according to the U.S Army Codebook and militiamen are trained in the same order. However, the Mounted Police utilize a much wider and less strict code of conduct and the strategies and tactics of the force vary town to town, with some being almost savage in their method of dealing with unionist rebels.