My husband is indisposed right now, so I thought I would check in to see how the Grand Council was going. 
Military debates are always such fun! But a perfect example of the alive democracy here in TSP.

""TSP's military will try to not actively go against allied operations but we acknowledge the reality that our allies have varied interests that may be at cross purposes. TSP will engage in missions that are symbolically or ideologically important to its elected minister and allies will have to accept that." - Escade

I think what you suggest here could be easily dealt with like so:

"Neither TSP nor <other signatory> will engage in military hostilities against the other. Participation by TSP and <other signatory here> on opposite sides of a military engagement that does not constitute an attack on either region shall not be considered "military hostilities against the other" for this purpose." 

Unrelated to the above:

TSP has had a successful military before. The Military saw great success under both Minister Sheepa and Minister Rebel Topia. The Army also saw success under Minister's Southern Bellz and Minister Belschaft, but those terms of activity were a little more sporadic than the former two. I believe that TSP had a force to be reckoned with in late 2012 and early 2013. Milograd's coup did disrupt a lot of the good work that was occurring in this area, suddenly the military was completely internally focused and the rebrand/restructure after the coup wasn't perfect.

I think that part of the issue has been that the military seems to be constantly undergoing an attempt to rebrand or name it. Things get up and running again, there is a proposal to change it, and the entire military structure & name changes to something else. I do not think the answer is to attempt to completely remove the ability of the military to actively participate in game play operations, nor is the answer to simply rename the Military and to give it a different structure. I think the approach needs to be one where certain standards are adopted, and the military command structure is able to effectively operate under those standards. I think it would be healthy to take a break from ideology/military related debates, and simply allow the army to focus on recruitment, training, and military exercises. Once the military is at a sustainable level, the debate can shift to some of those matters, if necessary.

When I first joined NS, and was put in charge of the development of the North Pacific's regional military - the Army of the South Pacific was held up as something to work towards. It was active, successful, filled with native TSPers, and dedicated to achieving workable goals. I do not see how it is impossible for TSP to return to having an army of that gold standard.

To see a former Delegate strongly criticising Professor Henn and his involvement in the military, is quite absurd. It is true that the Minister of the Army is elected independently, but the Delegate still has a role in the overseeing of cabinet. I think that Kris Kringle should accept part of the blame for the state of the military - given that he held absolutely no interest in it while Delegate, had no involvement whatsoever in recruitment efforts, and had next to zero involvement in coordinating military operations with allies. Former Delegates such as Hileville, Brutland, Belschaft, and Southern Bellz had a much wider involvement in supporting their elected Military leaders than the Kringle administration. The fact that Professor Henn and Quiet Dad were still turning up to participate in military operations, despite little support from the rest of the government, is a testament to their dedication to the military. I fully believe that having TWO people show up for a military operation, is better than having nobody show up at all. I am actually shocked by the criticism I read earlier in this thread.

The Ministry for Regional Affairs, the Delegate, and the Ministry of the Army should be able to coordinate effective recruitment techniques that will benefit all areas of the region. Similarly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can step in to assist the MoA in the coordination of military activity with foreign allies. I think a more supportive working environment is needed for the Army to return to it's previous success.

A region as large and as vibrant as the South Pacific should be able to have a functioning military. It simply requires a focus on recruitment, recruitment, recruitment, and then constant training activities to keep the new recruits active and engaged. It is most definitely doable. There are a lot of hugely qualified individuals, a lot of excellent military minds, great delegaters, and effective leaders. The answer is not to toss the military out the door in the name of demilitarisation - the answer is to focus on the grass roots development of that organisation. I believe that will be enough to return TSP to the age of successful military activity that it has seen previously.