Gotei 13

The Gotei 13, or the 13 Court Guard Squads, is the main military force of the Soul Society.

The Court Guard Squads are composed of 13 divisions, each consisting of Shinigami specializing in a certain discipline.

Current Mission
The Gotei 13 serves as a military force with its primary responsibilities consisting of:
 * The defense of the Seireitei, the center of Soul Society.
 * The deployment of Division members into enemy territory for combat operations.
 * The deployment of Task Forces as defensive measures in the Human World.
 * The guiding of souls to Soul Society, usually achieved through Konso.

Chronicles of the Soul Official Ranks
== ●Trainee

▩Duties - Trainee's are required to pass the Shinigami Academy and be assigned to a squad.

●Unseated

▩Duties - Duties of unseated are dictated by the squad Fukutaichō and Taichō.

●Seated

▩Duties - Seated officers are the remainder of the officers in the Gotei 13 that hold ranks at or below 3rd Seat. Captains and lieutenants have the ranks of 1st and 2nd Seats, respectively. Next to that, there are 18 more seats (3rd-to-20th). These ranks are somewhat analogous to junior officers or non-commissioned officers in modern military. There seems to be a distinction between senior and junior seated officers, just like in real-life armies. In the Gotei 13, only one person can hold a senior officer rank (such as 3rd or 5th seat), but there are several holders of junior officer ranks (e.g. 20th seat). Seated officers often lead subunits within each division (for example, Hanatarō Yamada is leader of 4th Division's 14th Advanced Relief Team).

●Fukutaichō/Lieutenant

▩Duties - Lieutenants function as executive officers for their division, taking care of or supervising day-to-day operations. They (along with their captains) are not assigned to one specific squad. They generally only know the Shikai of their Zanpakutō, but are still the second strongest in their division. In the case of a division captain's death, departure, or other circumstances making him unable to perform their duties, the lieutenant acts as the "substitute captain" until another can be assigned.

●Taichō/Captain

▩Duties - Captains are generally the most respected Shinigami within the Soul Society, with the Kidō Corps, and Onmitsukidō leaders possibly being on equal status. With one exception, all captains are able to utilize the final stage of their Zanpakutō, and are far more powerful than even their lieutenants. Knowing Bankai gives captains an average of five-to-ten times the strength of Shinigami who are unable to perform it.[8] They have also extensively-trained, if not mastered, their Bankai, allowing them to actually use the enormous power effectively in battle. Most captains are also skilled in the use of Flash Steps, Kidō, and generally have extensive knowledge of Shinigami history and battle tactics. All of these factors create a vast power-gap between captains and lower-ranked officers.

Captains determine the course, organization, tactics and policy of their division. The power a captain has over his/her division is absolute and cannot be questioned by subordinates or the captains of the other divisions. A captain can choose to change the division specialty (As Kisuke Urahara did upon gaining command). Due to captains having supreme authority in their respective division the divisions have become separate entities and not a cohesive military. In this way they only have the right to punish the actions of their subordinates and not those of other divisions unless in the instance that the division in question has no current captain or the subordinates actions are against the laws or rules of Soul Society.

Although not commonly stated, the true power of the Soul Society lies in the captains of the Gotei 13, as they are the leaders of its military arm. With them at full strength, the Soul Society is safe and almost unbeatable. If they are broken, their strength dwindles, making them highly vulnerable.

●Sōutaichō/Captain Commander

▩Duties - is the supreme leader of the Gotei 13. The position requires the Captain-Commander to oversee the overall operations of the Gotei 13, Onmitsukidō and Kidō Corps when the well being of Seireitei and Soul Society is at stake. The only power the Captain-Commander is answerable to is the Central 46 Chambers.

Organization
While the Gotei 13 can be regarded as one single militia, the 13 Squads are largely independent of each other. The Captain Commander maintains authority over the entire Gotei, but operations encompassing the entire Gotei are rarely ordered.

Each Division specializes in a certain area.

{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table article-table-selected" style="width: 500px;" ! scope="col" style="text-align:center;"|

Division Number
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;"|

Purpose
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;"|

Current Taicho
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;"|

Current Fukutaicho
Vacant
 * 1st
 * Leadership/Command
 * Salem Nagatera
 * Vacant
 * 2nd
 * Special Ops/Assassination/Steath/Special Forces
 * Allen Hyogo
 * Luekresia Yoko
 * 3rd
 * Intel Gathering
 * Vacant
 * Haku Yowane|
 * Intel Gathering
 * Vacant
 * Haku Yowane|
 * Eon Fang|
 * 4th
 * Healing and Janitorial
 * Ender Taylor
 * Haku Yowane|Eon Fang
 * 5th
 * Kidou Specialization
 * Aria Bennett
 * Haku Yowane|Vacant
 * 6th
 * Internal Affairs/Law Enforcement
 * Vacant
 * Vacant
 * 7th
 * Offensive Tactics
 * Vacant
 * Vacant
 * 8th
 * Reserves and Security
 * Mizuki Taylor
 * Vacant
 * 9th
 * Counter Intelligence/Security
 * Vacant
 * Vacant
 * 10th
 * Diplomacy
 * 11th
 * First Strike Force
 * Zennosuke Kurogane
 * Vacant
 * 12th
 * Research and Development
 * Luke Taylor
 * Vacant
 * 13th
 * Defensive Tactics
 * Vacant
 * Vacant
 * }
 * Current as of September 12th, 2013
 * 11th
 * First Strike Force
 * Zennosuke Kurogane
 * Vacant
 * 12th
 * Research and Development
 * Luke Taylor
 * Vacant
 * 13th
 * Defensive Tactics
 * Vacant
 * Vacant
 * }
 * Current as of September 12th, 2013
 * Defensive Tactics
 * Vacant
 * Vacant
 * }
 * Current as of September 12th, 2013