Commonwealth Colonial Marines

The Commonwealth Colonial Marines (officially called the Commonwealth of Man Colonial Marine Corps) are the primary terrestrial branch of the Commonwealth of Man's armed forces. The Colonial Marines are responsible for the defence of the worlds and stations of the Commonwealth, colonial policing duties, search and rescue, xeno lifeform control, spaceborne boarding actions, and the invasion of hostile worlds. The Colonial Marines draw manpower from a combination of volunteers, conscripts, and military clones.

History

The predecessors of the Colonial Marines originated on Earth, predating even the United Nations. Organisations such as the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and Royal Marines were famed across the world for their bravery and ability to successfully conduct amphibious operations against entrenched enemy positions. Although amphibious operations were rare by the time the Chrysanthemum left low Earth orbit, many of the security personnel onboard the colony ship had high opinions of those marine units - none moreso than former General Jayadeva Upalekar, an Indian-American who had served in the USMC for most of his life.

When the Chrysanthemum's command crew was massacred by native Denebians in 2101 CE and Deputy Head of Security Raul Valdez took power as the new Captain, he made Jayadeva Upalekar his right-hand man. Upalekar was given the rank of Field Marshal by Captain Valdez and instructed to create a new professional military unit, in order to supplement the ragtag militia units that had been defending the Unity Colony until that point. Field Marshal Upalekar drew upon both his own experience and that of other officers who had served on Earth, creating a new military unit based primarily on the USMC, but drawing from the multicultural colonist makeup of the Chrysanthemum.

The newly-established Colonial Marines took charge of the defence of the colony, training the members of the Colonial Militia as proper settler-soldiers. The Marines were the spearhead in numerous operations against the Denebians, and took part in many of the massacres and atrocities committed against them. Following the Denebian Pacification Campaign, the Marines were relegated to security and civil engineering duties.

The creation of the Colonial Navy in 2184 CE saw many of the personnel of the Marines transferred over, in order to kickstart its officer corps. Without an enemy to fight, the Colonial Marines of the late 22nd century became a significantly leaner force. This was amplified with the discovery of FTL travel in 2207 CE, as the Navy drew huge numbers of recruits eager to explore the galaxy. In order to pacify the Colonial Marine officers, who were becoming increasingly upset at the continued prioritisation of the Navy in the budget, the Admiralty placed the Marines in charge of all ship security and boarding duties.

The Colonial Marines were instrumental in the establishment of new off-world colonies, clearing hostile life forms and working with the Colonial Militia to secure planets. First contact with intelligent alien life in 2228 CE resulted in a series of escalations, and the Colonial Marines suddenly found themselves responsible for the defence of planets against invasion. Conscription terms were updated, from six months with deferments to three years for all Human adults - a policy which has remained in place as of the mid 24th century CE. Heavy equipment (such as tanks and artillery) had to be designed from scratch, adapted from old files scrounged from deep within the Chrysanthemum's data banks and improvised Denebian-era vehicles.

While no Commonwealth planets came under direct attack during the Xanid First Contact War, the Marines were now on permanent guard for alien attack. The first full-scale operations involving the Colonial Marines took place during the first contact war with the Tzynn Empire, on the Tzynn colony of Shi'Suma. Once the Navy had secured planetary orbit, the Colonial Marine Assault Raiders dropped into enemy positions, silenced air defences, and secured landing zones for the Marines. Unprepared for the surgical strike, Tzynn defences collapsed and the planet's political centres were secured within a single rotation.

Since then, the Colonial Marines have been involved in numerous operations to both defend and invade planets, habitats, and stations. One of their more notable conflicts was the Commonwealth-Ix'Idar War, where they took heavy casualties during a failed initial invasion of Aruz III. The abandonment of the 52nd Assault Division by the Colonial Navy in particular was a major embarrassment to the military. Although the planet was taken during a second invasion, the war left deep institutional scars in the Marines. Many high-ranking officers involved in the conflict were demoted or reassigned, and thorough reviews of tactics, doctrine, and equipment were conducted. However, the overall commander of the operation - Field Marshal Yong Zhao - faced no demotion or reassignment.

Organisation

The Colonial Marines are, like the Colonial Navy, under the overall command of the Grand Marshal of the Commonwealth. The Grand Marshal acts as the commander-in-chief for both branches, while the highest position within the Marines itself is the Grand General of the Colonial Marine Corps. The Grand General reports directly to the Grand Marshal, and is always a ranking Field Marshal in the Marines (though is itself not a rank, but a position within the military command structure). The Grand General oversees the Marine Headquarters, located on Unity and spread across a number of cities on the planet. The Grand General resides in the main headquarters facility located in the Capital District of Unity Prime.

The Colonial Marines follow a similar organisational structure to the UNPF. Commonwealth military studies have concluded that each commander should control three subunits, so the organisation of the Marines follows this rule of three. The basis of a squad, the fireteam, has three marines, and three fireteams create a squad. A squad is commanded by a sergeant or staff sergeant, and three of them form a platoon. This continues, with the higher levels of organisation being the company, battalion, brigade, division, corps, field army, and army group. A fully-equipped Colonial Marine army group has approximately one million total marines within it, and is commanded by a Field Marshal.

Aside from standard marine units, the Colonial Marines have a number of non-standard commands. The most well-known of these is the Colonial Militia, which, due to its nature as a paramilitary unit, operates semi-independently from the Colonial Marines. The Colonial Militia is designed to train and equip Commonwealth citizens, especially those on frontier worlds, for the patrol and defence of their homes and planets. During peacetime it is relatively independent, but is brought under the Colonial Marine command structure during wartime. The Marines also have a number of special forces units, falling under the command of MARSOF - Marine Special Operations Forces. One of the most famous of these special forces units are the Colonial Marine Assault Raiders (CMAR), shock troops that drop onto heavily-defended enemy positions in drop pods to silence them before making a quick getaway.

Equipment

Unlike many other armed forces across the galaxy, the Colonial Marines are armed with traditional ballistic firearms. The AR-85 assault rifle is the standard-issue rifle for all Marines, notable for being incredibly rugged and resilient to all environmental conditions. The rifle is fully capable of firing even when exposed to mud, sand, dust, water, ash, extreme temperatures, and vacuum. The rifle wirelessly links to the standard-issue Colonial Marine heads-up display, providing information on aiming, ammunition count, barrel temperature, and various other factors. While this information can also be transmitted to nearby marines, the Colonial Marine philosophy is against the widespread use of information networks like the UNPF use. Although this makes information gathering by a commander harder, it also makes them extremely resilient to electronic warfare.

The preferred vehicle of the Colonial Marines is the LM-63 light mobility/utility vehicle, commonly called a "ell-ems" by marines. It is a rugged, all-terrain, four-wheeled drive patrol vehicle capable of carrying up to four passengers internally, as well as a rear-mounted weapon, two additional passengers, or extra cargo space. Lightly armoured, it is designed to quickly drive long distances through rough terrain with a minimal logistics footprint. The cheap cost of these vehicles allows them to be widely distributed, and they often act as effective low-level fire support when mounted with heavy machine guns or anti-tank weapons.

In the air, Colonial Marines are transported by the UV-46 utility VTOL. In keeping with their preference for more affordable and low-logistics-footprint vehicles, the Colonial Marines rely heavily on non-repulsor vertical takeoff and landing vehicles. The UV-46 can carry a full squad of marines and their equipment up to two thousand kilometres, or a somewhat shorter distance if also carrying a heavy payload like an underslung LM-63.

Founding Date

2106 CE

Type

Military, Army

Training Level

Professional

Veterancy Level

Experienced

Leader Title

Grand Marshal of the Commonwealth

Parent Organization

Commonwealth of Man

Subsidiary Organizations

• Commonwealth Colonial Militia

Location

Unity

Related Items

• Automated Combat Unit H6
• Military Clone Template 2340