Imperial Marine Corps (Dragonstar)
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The Imperial Marine Corps is branch of the Dragon Empire armed forces.
The Corps
Emperor Khelorn established the Corps early in the Empire's history, and has it has served with distinction under all the Dragon Emperors. The Corps has been reorganized several times and came into its present form under Emperor Kupric.
The Imperial Marine Corps is a mobile strike force capable of aerospace, land and sea operations. The primary mission of the Marine Corps is to protect the Imperial colonies in the Outlands and to patrol the border between the Empire and the Dark Zone.
Thousands of missions on hundreds of worlds, not to mention countless holovid dramas, has established the Corps as one of the Empires finest fighting forces in the mind of the Imperial citizen.
The Marine Corps consists of skilled, motivated troops trained and equipped to a high standard. It is capable of every conceivable operation, from platoon level reconnaissance or direct action to planetary assault. While the Corps is smaller than the combined Imperial Legions, it is larger and better trained than any single Legion. This is probably the cause of the traditional rivalry between the Corps and the Legions.
The role of the Corps has changed under Emperor Mezzenbone. The resources of the Corps are not sufficient to protect every colonization project in the Emperor's new great expansion. No longer the natural leader and protector of colonization efforts, the Corps has become more of a police force. It still retains executive power over the colonies and can enforce very draconic measures in order to meet its objectives, much to the chagrin of the colonies and corporations who call upon the Corps for help.
Many of the officers and troops of the Corps were trained during the reign of Emperor Kupric and are firmly loyal to Qesemet. Emperor Mezzenbone has made little effort to change this. Instead, he has placed the IMC firmly under the thumb of the ISPD. Every mission includes an ISPD Liaison who sees to the Emperor's interests and can assume command of the mission at any time.
Corps Organization
The Marine 4000 program was initiated by Emperor Kupric and transformed the Corps into its present form. The program improved personal equipment, training and combat doctrine, and supplied the Corps with strike vessels and dropships. The Corps no longer had to rely on the Imperial Navy for transports. Instead, the Corps now had organic (i.e. part of the unit) interstellar transport capability at the platoon level.
The Marine Corps is organized into a number of MarineDivisions. Each division is composed of about 6,000 troops and is commanded by a Marine General. A division consists of three infantry brigades, one armor brigade and one aerospace wing, plus support service and special formations. For larger operations, several Marine Divisons are grouped into a task force under the command of a Marine Marshal.
Each brigade consists of three battalions of three companies each. A company consists of four platoons.
Disposition and Readiness
The Marine Corps has some 40 divisions, for a fighting strength of 250,00 troops. In addition, various support services such as training and recruitment are required to run the Corps.
The 1st Marine Division is stationed on Draconis Prime at the Marine Corps Headquarter.
The 7th Marine Division is stationed on Outlands Station, serving as force in readiness for missions in the Outlands and the Dark Zone.
The other Marine divisions are based on the worlds of House Qesemet. They are deployed for large scale operations in the Empire or the Outlands, such as campaigns, police actions, and border patrols.
Insignia
The Marine Corps insignia is a sword over crossed bolts of lighning. This symbolizes swiftness and martial prowess, and alludes to The Warrior and The Stormlord, the deitypes traditionally associated with the Corps. The Corps symbol functions as a holy symbol for clerics and paladins of The Stormlord and The Warrior, but only if they are members of the Corps.
Uniform
Marines wear camouflage battledress with medium armor. The Marine dress uniform is grey and is worn with a black beret. According to Marine Corps lore, the uniform is grey because it is the color of spaceship bulkheads, and this makes it easier for the Navy crew to ignore the Marines on board. The black beret is the color of space. Minor uniform variations exist for some units.
Recruitment and Training
To be eligible to join the Marine Corps, a recruit must be an Imperial citizen and have 10 years (or equivalent) of schooling.
Statistics show that the average recruit is a human male who is 178 cm tall and weighs 75 kg. The ratio of men to women in the corps is approximately 2:1. The most common races in the corps are humans, orks (including half-orks) and dwarves.
During basic training a Marine recruit learns basic combat skills, and must demonstrate initiative, teamwork, discipline and technical proficiency. About 20 percent of recruits do not pass basic training.
Requirements are generally lower for officers, and in fact sorcerers and Dragon Nobles are automatically qualified. The nepotism that is so common in the Dragon Empire mean that the Corps has its share of incompetent officers. Unlike most other services, the Marine Corps also has a large number of officers that have come up through the ranks.
Rank and Pay
The Pay Scale of the Imperial Marine Corps is designed to promote capable soldiers on active duty. To this end, Marines have a basic Pay Scale depending on experience (level) that is adjusted by Marine Rank.
Advancement through the ranks is by merit and not by time in service. As a result, a Marine can serve decades and muster out as Specialist or Corporal.
The same applies to officers. While the dragonblooded are all officers, advancement to the higher ranks are reserved for those who are actually competent.
Life in the Corps
Once a Marine, always a Marine.
The Corps prides itself on its identity as a force. Morale is high, an all Marines share an esprit-de-corps regardless of their race and planet of origin. While a marine may take a certain pride in the accomplishments of his unit, his primary loyalty is to the Corps.
Marine Infantry
Marine Rifle Platoon Table of Organization and Equipment
"Check it out. Me and my team of ultimate badasses..."
The Marine 4000 doctrine emphasizes the need for small, mobile infantry units capable of independent action. A Marine rifle unit must be capable of moving great distances rapidly using its own transport, carry its own heavy weapons and sensors, and be able to apply great concentrations of firepower rapidly. The current organization of the Marine Corps rifle squad and platoon is the ultimate development of this doctrine.
A rifle squad consists of four Marines, including a Corporal and three privates. Each squad divides into two-man fire teams, the Rifle Team and the Gun Team. The rifle team consists of a pair of riflemen assigned together on the 'buddy' system, both armed with the M32 Assault Laser Rifle. The Gun Team is made up of a rifleman with an M32 and a gunner carrying an Gatling Laser.
Two squads, led by a Sergeant and riding with a driver in an M177 'Ferret' Armored Personnel Carrier, make up a section. In a drop operation, a A8 'Banshee' dropship is attached to the section from the aerospace wing.
Two sections, led by a lieutenant, form a rifle platoon, for a nominal strength of 25 Marines including the APC dropship crews, though in practice this is often less. An ISPD Liaison Officer is routinely attached to the platoon.
The flexible nature of Marine missions mean that the troopers need to be able to perform a wide variety of tasks. Each section includes Marines who are trained in the Med Tech and/or Com Tech MOS. Depending on the skills required for a mission, other troopers from the same company may be assigned to the platoon. These are deployed as fire teams or attached as specialists on the platoon level.
Support Weapons
Support weaponry available to the platoon includes Chemichal Projector (flamers), sentry guns, rocket launchers, and spider drones.
APC
Twin laser cannons in turret. Twin automatic grenade launchers in front turret (ammo selectable), primarily used to deploy smoke or fire anti-personnel grenades.
Variants: medevac, command
Marine Armor
Marine armored forced include tanks and artillery. The are used to take terrain and support the advance of Marine infantry units. Marine armored vehicles are based on the M80 chassis. M80 class vehicles are too heavy to be transported on Banshees, and require heavy lift transports.
Several configurations are in service, notably tank, MLRV, mine clearing, and recovery. These differ mostly in turret configuration and externally mounted equipment. A large number of parts are therefore interchangeable.
Tanks
Tank variant uses a turret mounted plasma gun and missile launchers.
Artillery
MLRV features a large turret with multiple re-loadable rocket launch tubes. Ammo carrier vehicles are required for sustained fire mission capability.
Marine Aerospace
Aerospace Wing
The aerospace wing provides transport and strike capabilities for the parent division.
The aerospace wing of a marine division typically consists of 400 AV8 Banshees, 40 heavy lift transports and 20 strike cruisers. This is sufficient to transport the entire division and perform air superiority and ground support missions.
A8 'Banshee' Dropship
The A8 Aerodyne dropship is the primary aerospace vehicle in Marine Corps service.
Variants
Gunship: (excellent for ground attack, good space but poor air-to-air combat capabilities). Internal weapon bays makes it impossible to carry an APC, but it is possible to squeeze in a rifle squad.
Medevac: equipped with operating table, cryotanks, used for emergency surgery or evac of wounded personnel.
Strike Cruisers
The Marine Strike Cruiser is primarily used as transport and mobile base for a Marine Company. The Cruiser carries missiles and energy weapon batteries for attacks on ground targets and for defense against space vessels.
The Strike Cruiser is designed to meet the Corps requirements for a large number of armed space transports. It is capable of defeating pirate, smuggler and civilian vessels, and is an excellent patrol craft. The Corps does not have the resources to maintain an fleet of larger spacecraft, and must rely on the Imperial Navy to fight larger space battles. These are rare, and the Strike Cruisers are a more than a match for the naval forces of less technologically advanced planets.
The Strike Cruiser has accommodations for a Marine Company including support personnel (120 troops). Aerospace assets typically include 10 A8 'Banshee' dropships and a heavy lift shuttle.
Capital Ships
The Marine Corps operates a single dreadnought, the Thunderbird, docked at Outlands Station and used as the HQ of the 7th Division.
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