Starfleet Marine Corps
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The Starfleet Marine Corps, or SFMC, was born out of the need for dedicated ground troops in light of the First Federation-Klingon War. At the time, Starfleet relied on the MACOs, the predecessor to the SFMC. The MACOs were poorly matched against the more numerous and more well-trained ground forces used by the Klingons. Shortly after the war, the SFMC was commissioned as a supplementary branch of Starfleet. The Commandant of the SFMC directly reports to the Starfleet Commander-in-Chief.

The SFMC's primary mission is to provide a deterrence force capable of broad-based ground operations in any habitable planetary environment in the minimum amount of time necessary for deployment. This force-based mission has evolved over time, but one will find marines stationed at Federation colonies, starbases, and at various camps throughout the Federation in their original deterrence role.

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The SFMC was also seconded a number of obsolete starships (usually New Orleans, Nebula, or Akira class ships) which have been heavily modified as marine transports. Each is usually capable of transporting a full battalion of marines to and from deployments. These SFMC ships are crewed by Starfleet officers and crew, but are primarily meant to be used as a SFMC quick reaction force (QRF). The SFMC is formulated primarily around light infantry as per it's mission. The SFMC fighter squadrons are composed of ground-support fighters, which are usually Starfleet cast-offs such as the obsolete Mace and Firebolt class close air support platforms.

The marines are organized in divisions (2 brigades, approximately 12,000), brigades (2 regiments, approximately 4,000), regiments (2 battalions, approximately 2,000), battalions (5 companies, approximately 1,000), companies (5 platoons, approximately 200), platoons (5 squads, approximately 40), squads (2 fireteams, approximately 8), and fireteams (approximately 4).

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Due to the SFMC focus on light infantry, there is a limited number of heavy armor units within the Corps. Typically, a marine unit consists of a majority of riflemen armed with M-116A2 phaser rifles (which can be fitted with the SPW-201A1 weapon-mount grenade launcher) or Type III-E compression phaser rifles (outfitted with holographic battle sights for squad designated marksmen).

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As heavier support is needed, units can draw from M-302 man-portable 60mm mortars, P-622A2 light automatic projectile weapons, M-1024 light infantry support phasers, M-1160 heavy infantry pulse phasers, and M-220A isomagnetic disintegrators.

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These weapons allow the SFMC to maintain it's fleet presence as light infantry, but pack enough firepower to take on heavy infantry and light armor units fielded by any of the major powers in the galaxy.


To differentiate themselves from other Starfleet personnel, the Marines adopted various modifications of standard Starfleet uniforms, but in keeping with the traditional Starfleet look for ease of identification.

Onboard ships, starbases, and planetside posts, the marines often wear a traditional duty uniform that consists of a black jumpsuit with matching belt and boots. The upper chest, shoulders, and upper back have a dark gray fabric with hunter green accents.

When deployed, the marines will wear combat fatigues combined with light, medium, or heavy armor depending on the purpose of their deployment or their own role within the Corps. The fatigues are a mottled camouflage pattern that is selected at the time of deployment based on the most common terrain in a given area.
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