Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare

Nuclear Weapons

Authorization for the release of nuclear weapons can only be given by the senior officer present in theater.  Given that some FORCE Marine operations take place in small units on the periphery, access codes are made automatically available to the next line of command should the senior officer be incappacitated.  Though the decision to use nukes is discretionary, FORCE Space Command has strict guidelines for the deployment on inhabited worlds, designed to limit collateral damage to inhabitants, installations, and the enviroment.

The FORCE Marine Corp. employ only three means of delivery for nuclear weapons: the small, hand unit nuclear device, the transcontinental cruise missle, and the orbital reentry vehicle.  Because Marine nukes are designed for tactical employment and because of their great accuracy of delivery,  the warheads are of comparitively low-yeild to those used by the FORCE Infintry and Fleet Deployment services.  The absolute largest being that of 5-megaton nominal yeild.  With the excpetion of nuclear landmins, the employment of airburst attacks is recommended to reduce the effects of fallout and radiation residue.

Defense against nukes is largely limited to preventing the delivery of a hostile warhead.  Against Marine military the effects of EMP and TREE (Transient Radiation Effects in Electronics) are almost nil due to the hardening and sheildinjg techiniques built into all systems.  In the event of a hostile nuclear strike, decontamination procedures and the administration of anti-radiation treatments must be immediatly implemented. 

Chemical Weapons

Chemical weapons in the FORCE Marine Corps.  are used more for tactical rather than strategic deployment.  At the low end, they can be used to quell riots and other civil disturbances using riot gases and pyshoatric chemicals for incapacitation.  At the high end are deadly nerve gases for use against troops in the feild.  The permission of the commander must be sought before employing any chemical agent other than riot toxins.  Chemical weapons may be employed in either two ways; 1, as a direct attack on the enemy or 2, to contaminate an area thus denying the enemy valuable land.  For direct attacks, chemical agents range from mild non-persistant riot gases such as orthochlorobenzalmalonitrile, through pyschoactive agents such as ALD-91 (A chemical weapon designed to incapacitate the enemy but not cause longterm genetic damage) and the chemical BZ-1242, to a menu of of highly lethanty and persistent nerve toxins such as VX-80, VZ, and CN-20.  Most of these chemicals are stored in a safe, binary form for delivery as a spray, artillery shell, rocket warhead, or orbital reentry device.

Biological Weapons

Biological weapons are primarily strategic attack weapons and are not generally issued to feild units.  Biological weapons come in two forms, bacteriological and exomorphic. 

In the past ten years, the primary employment of bioweapons has been the through the use of bacteriological warfare to cull indenginous populations of enemies and also ammasses of rally posistions.  However, against human populations, viral diseases can be engineered to meet specific purposes before being introduced into a hostile populations along predterminded vectors.  Disease vectors include animals (via food sources or biting animals), introduction into the areas watersupply, or through airborne delivery. 

Exomorphic bioweapons are animals the size of insects or greater.  They are usually some for of swarming creature that can be used en masse against an are or large populations.  Such exomporhic weapons can be deadly in themselvesthey contain a lethal bite or sting-or can be carriers for bacterial weapons.  This is the main guide for the construction of the Geneome Soldiers. 

The major problem associated with both types of bioweapons is control- a disease or exomorphic weapon can easly backfire on the user.  Therefore, careful protocols must be observed when using such weapons; and care must be taken to engineer some means of deactivation of the weapon.  The usual method is to ensure that a bioweapon is unable to reproduce and has a finite lifespan, after which the weapon is inert or dead.