The Space Marine Corps (SMC), is the space warfare branch of Earth's combined government that acts as an expeditionary force in the counter-invasions of Stroggos in retaliation for the Strogg attack on Earth. Comprised of exceptionally brave soldiers, the S.M.C. is thrown into the bloodiest battles humanity has known and is ready to take massive casualties in often near-suicidal operations to defend the Earth.
Presumably its origins lie in the Global Defence Force or GDF, the main body of Earth's defending armies that repelled the Strogg invasion. However, the S.M.C. is much better equipped, with planetary assault ships and drop pods used to invade the Strogg homeworld. It is unclear how the SMC was formed but it may have been created as a response to the Strogg invasion, and its assault ships and much of its weapons may have been developed using captured Strogg technology from the invasion.
Organization[]
The SMC have been in existence for years and fought across planets (eg. in the Mars uprising), and has a flexible organization. While it uses combined arms, infantry forms the bulk of SMC operations, with other elements used to support ground operations. To retain mobility, the SMC use planetside Mobile Command Centers as all-purpose bases for establishing a foothold in enemy territory as well as headquarters for higher command personnel and launch sites for drop pods.
All intel is analyzed through the SMC Intelligence Division, tasked with discovering weaknesses in enemy forces. They were instrumental in identifying the Nexus as the backbone of Strogg communications and their greatest weakness.[1]
The organization is flexible. Although troops are assigned to numerous high level military units, like the 482nd Airborne, the 379th Infantry[2]
Infantry[]
The backbone of the Corps, organized into Squads, the lowest level of infantry organization, each named after animals with their own insignia. Despite the name, Squads seem to work more like platoons, or companies with lieutenants as primary officers and sergeants as squad leaders. Despite being infantry, Squads seem to have members in all forms of military with multiple squads having soldiers who operate equipment on the USS Hannibal.
The number of personnel in a Squad seems to be variable, ranging from Rhino Squad, with nine members, to Raven Squad, with sixty three.[3] It is most likely that Squads have their own specific occupation; Rhino Squad being a small and elite special operations force and Raven Squad being a larger, more contemporary military force. There also seems to be three different lieutenant ranks; third lieutenant, second lieutenant and first lieutenant.
Military specialists come in two forms; combat medics (identified with Medic) and technicians (identified with Tech). Most of the specialists on Stroggos seem to be the same rank as privates. Medic Hayes and Tech Li both followed the command of Corporal Mahler. Conversely, Tech Newberry gives direct commands to Corporal Matthew Kane and PFC. Jones, indicating that he was a sergeant (or possibly even a warrant officer).
Armored vehicles[]
While infantry is organized into squads, supporting units on Stroggos are organized in a more traditional fashion. One of these units was the 3rd Armored Walker Division, swarmed and destroyed by Strogg infantry through sheer numbers after planetfall.[4]
Air force[]
Air units are organized into wings, such as the 401st Reconnaissance Wing.[5]
Technological level[]
The SMC possesses high technology, enough to go toe-to-toe with the Strogg military on the aliens' own soil. This is coupled with elite training to make the marines exceptionally effective against the Strogg. The main method of marine deployment is via drop pods (as shown in Quake 2) or drop ships (as shown in Quake 4), though this isn't always safe, with the SMC being reputed to negligently drop their soldiers in the wrong zones, for example deep in Strogg territory, which has taken many lives.
Vehicles[]
- Interstellar Cruisers (see USS Hannibal)
- Interstellar Carriers that can deploy Marines via Drop Pod or Dropship
- Dropships capable of spaceflight that can carry small groups of Marines into battle.
- Drop Pods that are deployed from orbiting SMC spaceships directly into the LZ; they can carry one soldier into battle and are even capable of penetrating buildings (see Operation: Last Hope)
- Two-legged Walkers and floating Hovertanks for ground assaults; also, the wrecks of four-wheeled SMC buggies armed with a small cannon and six wheeled armoured personal carriers with a mounted MG can be found in some places (maybe part of the first assault wave)
- Heavy floating trucks that possesses an armored cabin for the driver along with a heavy machine gun mounted atop the control cabin as well as a large platform bed for cargo; several of these trucks are used during Operation: Advantage to bring an EMP bomb to the Tetranode, a device essential for Strogg communication.
- Strike Fighters delta wing shaped fighter bombers seen during the landing of the Hannibal and shooting down Strogg Flyers during Operation: Advantage. They bear a resemblance to a F/A-35 Talon with its wings swept in for faster flight.
Small arms[]
The SMC possesses weapons that seem fairly high-developed by human standards, even though they are not as advanced as Strogg weapons. The most common weapons used by SMC Marines are the Machine Gun and the Shotgun, classical projectile weapons which seem to be standard armament of the Corps. In addition to these quite traditional arms, the SMC also uses less conventional weapons like the Hyperblaster, Grenade Launcher and the Rocket Launcher. However, these are encountered very rarely and seem to have been developed from captured Strogg weapons as they operate very similar. Also, the SMC receives examples of several new Strogg weapons during the Events of Quake 4 (some of them highly experimental), which have not yet been put to use for different reasons.
In the following there's a list of the small weapons used by the SMC:
- The Blaster: a small hand-held pistol that fires energy bolts.
- The Machine Gun: the standard rifle of the SMC, used by most Marines. It is a ballistic firearm utilizing classic explosive cased cartridges to propel a lethal projectile towards an enemy. Together with the Blaster, it's the second and last weapon to feature a flashlight.
- The Shotgun: another ballistic weapon, designed for short ranges. It fires a rain of shells, making it very effective at close combat.
- The Hyperblaster: an SMC rifle that fires very fast energy bolts at a very fast rate. It is rarely used by Marines, indicating that it's too expensive for widespread use, very new, or both. Some Strogg weapons operate the same way and it may have been derived from their technology.
- Grenade Launcher: a hand-held weapon that fires small grenades from a circular magazine. As it resembles the Launchers found in some Strogg units and fires exactly the same grenades, it was likely developed from their weaponry.
Notable marines[]
- Matthew Kane
- Scott Voss
- Marian Bidwell
- Dell Morris
- Alejandro "Alex" Cortez
- William "Billy" Rhodes
- Nikolai "Sledge" Sledjonovitch
- Jeremiah Anderson
- Johann Strauss
- Susan Wayland
- Athena Hayes - Originally GDF Recon, seconded to the SMC for the Second Invasion of Stroggos
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ General Harper: "Intelligence division has discovered that the Strogg function through a massive communication system called The Nexus. With it, Strogg leaders can instantly send instructions to soldiers in the field. And, although it's their strength, it's also their Achilles Heel."
- ↑ Hannibal terminals: "#str_200635" "2100 PROBALL FINALS (QUAD 3)
Come down to watch as the 482nd Airborne team battles the 379th Infantry team for Proball supremacy and the right to enter the final round robin. Your commanding officers would like to take this opportunity to remind you to watch this event." - ↑ It has been theorized that Raven squad was reformed several times, with the entire squad destroyed prior to each reformation.
- ↑ Hannibal Marine: "{scared}The third armored walker division fought Strogg infantry about thirty clicks from here. Normally it'd be no contest, but there were so many Strogg, they swarmed the walkers."
- ↑ Hannibal terminals: "401st reconnaissance wing"