Doctrine Minbari forces are surprisingly unprofessional with a tendency to assume their powerful ships and fighters can get them out of difficulty. They are almost always right. Disciplined and professional Minbari forces are almost invulnerable, but Minbari forces are sensitive to losses and relatively light losses will shake them. The chaotic nature of the Minbari forces, with ships crewed by clans and castes, makes it difficult to make a proper doctrinal statement as different factions are likely to react in different ways to various situations. However, Minbari units are meticulous, and like to stick to a plan despite changing circumstances. This leads to an increased vulnerability to more flexible enemies when they lose the initiative.
Telepaths The Religious Caste controls the Minbari telepaths and treats them as individual specialists, rather than organizing them into groups.
Organization The Religious, Worker, and Warrior Castes all control warships. The Warrior Caste has the responsibility for conducting peace-time or low level combat operations and normally the Religious and Worker Castes are merely called upon to patrol and guard planets. The Warrior Caste is also responsible for planning and control during large scale operations. The Warrior Caste trains all of its personnel to minimal standards for all aspects of war, from unarmed combat to fighter piloting to starship duty. This is reinforced by a program of reinforcing and cross-training throughout a career. Promotion occurs based on both excellence and longevity, though after the middle level officer ranks, longevity will provide no more assistance. Only excellence will prove capable of securing the highest ranks. The Anla'Shok were originally a specialized branch of the Warrior Caste, trained for operations against the Shadows. With the defeat of the Shadows a millennium ago, the Anla'Shok were reorganized into recon teams to warn of a revival of the Shadows. Now that the Shadows are moving again, and the Warrior Caste Anla'Shok have been removed, we are being reorganized for operations with Minbari Religious Caste veterans and new Worker Caste recruits, as well as Terran recruits. The Minbari fleet is currently led by Shai Alit Neroon, following the death of Shai Alit Branmer, leader in the Earth Minbari War.
Diplomacy The Minbari have avoided contact with other powers for centuries, and only the Earth-Minbari War forced the Minbari to face the rest of the galaxy. The Minbari Federation is attempting to pick a diplomatic path that emphasizes sentient rights and the moral high ground without committing themselves to actually participate in anything. The Minbari are the only nation to actually maintain good relations with the Vorlons, and in this the Vorlons are clearly the senior partner.
Nation The Minbari Federation is a large, powerful and old nation with very mature colonies. The Minbari are therefore not very vulnerable to attack by weapons of mass destruction. The Minbari Federation is ruled by a Chosen Leader, who presides over the Gray Council. These provide the leadership of the nation as a whole, drawn equally from each of the three Castes. The Chosen One can be a strong leader, or a figurehead. The Chosen One was Jenimer, who has now died. He was of the Religious Caste, and was selected to delay the decision over who will ultimately have permanent power over the Council as the conflict continues, making selection of Jenimer's replacement controversial. Unique among the major powers the Minbari have integrated associated powers not as puppets or second class citizens, but as real components of the Federation. Minbari colonies are quite old and thus are large and industrialized to a degree virtually indistinguishable from Minbar, though such colonies are few. This makes the Minbari a very resilient nation as there is a tremendous degree of redundancy in almost all matters except the government. Note that the Gray Council stays on a cruiser ostensibly so that they will consider themselves part of the Federation as a whole, rather than citizens of a particular planet. The actual reason may be to make decapitation of the Federation more difficult, a legacy of the last war against the Shadows. The Minbari have been an interstellar power since approximately 1100.
FleetEx A typical Minbari Fleet Exercise is based on the last war against the Earth Alliance. The Minbari Warrior Caste re-fights that conflict, seeking improvements in their performance. It is a sign of professionalism to seek improvement in the face of successful operations, though the end of the war and resentment over the lack of victory may be more important.
Current Tensions continue to rise between the Warrior and
Religious Castes, and we are endeavoring to remain focused on
our mission, despite the sympathy of the former Religious Caste
Anla'Shok for their Caste. The biggest structural weaknesses are
the vulnerability of the Gray Council on the Valen'tha, and the
tension between Castes. As the Valen'tha is not likely to be found
except by luck or treason, inter-Caste controversy is the biggest
concern. The Minbari are planning to avoid taking sides in the
Narn-Centauri War, restricting themselves to humanitarian aid.
Delenn has been removed from the Gray Council, and replaced by
Neroon, of the Warrior Caste. This could be the first step in
the destruction of the balance between the Castes. The Minbari
are currently seeking some way to aid the scattered Markab survivors
of the Draffa plague, though what help might be of actual service
is proving difficult to find.