UNIT 1: The United States marine Corp"There's this colony - outbound in the arm - on some Terraformed rockball orbiting Zeta Reticuli. Apparently, some crazy women appeared at Gateway six months back, said she landed on the place back in the '20's and some bugs - big alien sonofabitches - overran her ship and ate her crew. She said she escaped by blowing the bugs out the airlock and then froze herself until a rescue ship came along - nearly sixty years later! Anyway, th' ICC asks Space Command to send in some squads of Colonial Marines, armed to the teeth and ready for bear, to recon the planet.UNIT 2: Colonial marine Infantry
UNIT 3: Aerospace Operations
UNIT 4: Heavy Weapons and Armor
UNIT 5: Combat Support
UNIT 6: Space Transport
UNIT 7: Aliens
"They never came back."
"True story."
- L/Cpl Jim Kasulka, USCM
THE UNITED STATES COLONIAL MARINES
1.0 THE CORPS"From the balls of Hancock's juniors,
- Unofficial arrangement of the Marines' Hymn (trad.). Note, the first line refers to Maj.Gen. Gayle B. Hancock, the legendary commanding officer of the Colonial Marine Officers Candidate School, Quantico, VA during the '60s and early '70s. The Misery reference is to Tamburro station, one of the remotest Marine garrisons, orbiting Myssa 340 (78 Nu Ceti III).
1.1 THE UNITED STATES COLONIAL MARINES (USCM)The United States Colonial Marine Corps is America's interstellar force-in-readiness. This role, distinct from that of the US Army, stems from the country's position as a starfaring, colonising power, and its leading role within the structure of the United Americas. Though the term 'Marine' has its roots in describing a soldier who fought from ships at sea, in the modern era it has become synonymous with those elite forces of soldiers who are always ready to fight, regardless of their nation's readiness for war, and who are capable of operating far from their home soil. The Colonial Marine Corps has a dual responsibility. First, to serve on land, on sea, in air and space; second, to exploit the advantages of readiness and interstellar deployment capability.
The capability to project power across the vast reaches of space to the surface of a distant world is an essential element of national strategy. Colonial Marine forces, operating with the space fleet, are the nation's only major means to forcibly enter any hostile area from space. They are an independent, combinet force having all the elements of combat power. Their versatility and responsiveness add a significant dimension to the options avalible to the National Command Authority in time of crisis.
The National Security Act of 2101 established the Colonial Marines structure as four combat divisions and four aerospace wings, plus support service organic to these formations. At presents, fiscal year (FY) 2179, Colonial Marine Corps strength stands at 165,000 Marines; roughly the same figure as at the turn of the century, though this has declined from a peak of 240,000 in FY 2165 at the end of the Tientsin (8 Eta Bootis A III) campaign. Reserve manpower stands at around 50,000, comprising a fifth division and aerospace wing.
The USCM is fully integrated into the joint command structure of the United Americas Allied Command (UAAC) and forms the major striking elementh of the UA forces. Within the UAAC, the Colonial Marines Corps is tasked with maintaining the collective security of all UA signatories and their recognized interstellar colonies within the frontiers of Network. Operating in tandem with local forces, the USMC is often the first line of defense and the vanguard of any counterattack.
UNIT 1: The United States Marine Corps"I wouldn't belive it if I hadn't been there. We dropped screaming onto Cristobal, capturing the spaceport and shield colony and spreading out into the countryside. By nightfall we held half the continent out to the gulf stream. We all felt so studly with our armor and firepower. Psyops broadcast to evryone that Hetos was a schmuck and a crook and that we were there to nail his ass, like we were no more than some simpleshamus come around the block to slap the cuffs on a persistent offender. We had some tiny contingents of Panamanians and Argentines with us to wave the UE flag and yell at anyone who'd listen that this was jaoint op, legally enacted under the provisions of the Washington Treaty. A lot of people bought that one, just like they bought Space Command's estimate of 254 locals dead. Meanwhile, the cadavers of five hundred colonial militiament and over fifteen hundred civilians were being bulldozed by USCM engineers into mass graves and seeded with vicious bacterias designed to turn them into pools of goo.
- Patrice Riegert, former Capitan, USCM
1.2 CORPS ORGANIZATIONThe United States Colonial marine Corps is broadly split into two parts: the supporting establishment and the operating forces. The supporting establishments includes recruting, training, research and development, administration and logistical support. This essentialy non-fighting part of the Colony Marine organization is essential if the Corps is to perform its mission. The operating forces are the fighting arm of the Marines, organized and maintained as a force-in-readiness. Some 58 percent of all Marines are in the operatinig forces.
The operating forces are under the direct orders of US Space Command, with command posts at Huston, TX and O'Neill station, L-4 Earth-Lunar system. To enable it to project fighting power to the frontiers of the ISC Network and beyond, the Colonial Marine Corps is organized into Marine Space Forces. There are three in all: Marine Space Force, Sol, with responsibility for operations throughout the core systems; Marine Space Force, Eridani, operating out along the American and Chinese colonised arms; and Marine Space Force, Herculis, with responsibility for the Anglo-Japanese arm up to the fringes of the Network. In practice, thes are administrative designations, the practicalities of frontier operations requiring the breakdown of operating forces into autonomous taskforce of regimental size or less. Additionally, astormetrical realities of colonised space mean that the operating areas frequently intertwine and overlap, so that combined operations between the Space Forces are day-to-day necessity.
The Marine Space Forces (MSFs) are integral parts of the United States AeroSpace Force fleets, and are subject to the operational control of the fleet commanders. The Marine Space Forces contain both ground and aerospace elements transported aboard USASF ships.
The Colonial Marines Divisions is the basic ground element of the Marine Space Force (although MSF, Sol, consist of two divisions). It is essentially a balanced force of combat, support and service elements. Organized around three infantry regiments, the division is especially designed to execute the orbital assault mission, and is capable of sustained surface operations.
The Colonial Marine Aerospace Wing is the aerospace combat element of the Marine Space Force. Designed for aerospace support and the airmobility missions, the aerospace wing is essentially an administrative formation, since much of its fighting strength is directly attached to the Colonial Marine divisions. Typically, a Marine aerospace wing operates some 300 dropships, 30 heavy-lift shuttles and 100 strikeships.
Using the assets of the division, wing and supporting units, the Marine Space Forces can form task organizations of any size appropriate to the mission.
1.3 DISPOSITION AND READINESSMarine Space Force, Sol, is headquartered at O'Niell station, L-4 Earth-Lunar system. Its major units consist of the 1st Colonial Marine Divisions, 1st Marine Aerospace Wing and the 1st Marine Brygade, stationed in Camp Lejeune, NC; Camp Pendelton, CA; Kennedy ASFB, FL; O'Neill station; and Gateway station, Earth-GSO. The 2nd and 3rd Colonial Marine Brigades and portions of the 2nd Marine Aerospace Wing are based at Redlake Field ASFB and Gleen GSO station, Aurore 510 (Alpha Centauri A V); Ezell ASFB, Nene 246 (52 Tau Ceti II); andTitleman station, L-1 Lucien-Avril system (Lacaille 8760 IV). Support elements consisting of Force Troops, Sol, and 2nd Colonial Support Group are located in North Carolina, Florida and Trobrinds, Nene 246.
Marine Space Force, Eridani, is headquartered at Happy Days, Helene 215 (82 Eridani II). It comprises the 3rd Colonial Marine Division and the 3rd Marine Aerospace Wing, based largely at Kuat ASFB, Surier 430 (Delta Pavonis IV), and at a number of garrison locations along the American arm as far as Thetis (20 Reticuli) and the Solomons (Alpha Caeli V b-h).
Marine Space Force, Herculis, is headquartered at Chinook 91 GSO station, Georgia 525 (70 Ophiuchi A V). This front-line force, comprising the 4th Colonial Marine Division, the 4th Colonial Marine Brigade, and the 4th Aerospace Wing is deployed at a number of UA recognized colonies through the Anglo-Japanese arm from the outer veil up to the fringes of the ISC Network, which extends approximately 35 parsecs along this arm. The largest support contingent includes the 1st Colonial Support Group at Tithonis Mountain, Bernice 378 (Mu Herculis A III).
All Colonial Marine units are kept in an advance state of readiness, ready to respond to all commitments in their theater of operations. Marine Space Force, Sol, is capable of reinforcing either of the other two MSFs and has earmarked the 1st and 2nd Colonial Marine Brigades as well as the 2nd Marine Aerospace Wing for rapid forward deployment. The Colonial Marine reserves, comprising the 5th (provisional) Division and the attached Reserve Aerospace Wing, are based mainly in the continental United States and Panama, Earth, though two reserve regimnets can be raised on Aurore 510.
1.4 BADGES AND INSIGNIA
Since its incorporation at the end of the last century, the Colonial Marine
Corps has vigorously maintained its independence and its strong sense of
identity. 
The
battle honors and unit histories of its predecessor, the old 'amphibious'
Corps, were carried forward to the current 'intrstellar' Corps, along with
many of its traditions. However, some of these - particulary the badges
and insignia - have long since passed into history. The current Corps badge
is a geometrical design, depicting a launch column of seven stripes - three
red and four white - flanked by four white stars against a blue background.
Often jokingly referred to as "tiptree's wigwam' after the former secretary
of defense who approved the design in 2101, it represents the 'pathway
to the stars' forged by the Colonial Marines. The three red stripes signify
the ability of the Marines to fight in aerospace, on land and the sea,
whilst the starfield represents the limitless American Frontier.
1.4 MARINE RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING"I'd read somewher that at book camp the DIs [Drill Instructors] were not allowed to touch, abuse or even curse the recruits. First day and we've just arrived at the island on the shuttle and this two-meter tall Gunnery Sergeant who looks like he drinks rocket fuel and craps lighting gets on board and shouts 'GET OFF THE FREAKING BUS. MOVE!'
- Recruit Arnie Caulfiels\d, Parris Island, SC
To be eligible to join the Colonial Marines a potencial recruit is required to be a high school graduate (or the equivalent), have a clean police record, be between 147cm and 200cm tall and pass a physical examination and some simple written tests. Basic training has changed little in three hundred years, and the Colonial Marines still maintain 'Boot' camps for recruit basic training at Parris Island, SC; San Diego, CA; and Guantanamo Bay, CB.
Statistics show that the average recruit is 178cm tall, weighs 72kg and is a high school graduate. The ratio of women to men the Corps is approximately 1:2,6. Of the thousands of recruits that apply to the Corps every year, some 24 percent fail to make the grade.
"The technical challenge for recruits is intense. In the modern Corps we fly starships and aerospace shuttles and carry space-age doohickeys into battle. We need men and women who instinctively understand these how these things work, who can learn how to fix them in the field without the aid of manual, while crouching in a muddy foxhole being pounded by shellfire. Some of the new boots flunk because of the physical or moral requirements, like they can't rappel off a tower or they suffer from severe SAS [Space Adaptation Sickness]; but most of those who fail to hack it are simply not technically minded enough."
- Captain Karen Marquis, Parris Island, SC
Officers are inducted at the Officer Candidates School at Camp Barrett, Quantico, VA, though the Colonial Marines continue the ancient tradition of accepting officers from the 'Blue Water' naval academy at Annapolis, as well as the USASF Aerospace school at Gateway station. After basic training, officers pursue their military speciality. Aerospace crew go to the Aerospace school at Gateway station or Kennedy ASFB, FL; artillery officers go to the Army field artillery school in Fort Sill, OK; armor specialists go to Fort Knox, KY; however, infantry officers take the specialized infantry course at Quantico and an advanced hostile environments course at Camp Hanneken, Valles Marineris, Mars.
"We still get asked whether there is racism or sexism in the Colonial Marines. I say no. We have 'light green' Marines, we have 'dark green' Marines and we have 'bumpy' Marines; but they're all MARINES!'
- Brigadier General Mike 'Dancing Bear' Norrbom, CO 2nd Marine Brigade
CDN...