Space Marine Corps

SMC Logo as seen on USS Hannibal

Stroggos under the assault of the SMC second wave (also note the rear view of a large SMC carrier ship)

The Space Marine Corps, or S.M.C., is the branch of Earth's combined military 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 Under Orders of the Dalek Empire.

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.

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 bare a resembalance 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.

Organization

As an interplanetary Marine military organization, the SMC organize their ground infantry through Squads, deployed either by dropship or drop pods from orbit. Once on the ground, the SMC use landed Mobile Command Centers as all-purpose bases for establishing a foothold in enemy territory as well as headquarters for higher command personnel.

The SMC have an odd way of troop-level organization. All soldiers are organized into Squads, 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 schizophrenic, ranging from Rhino Squad, with nine members, to Raven Squad, with sixty three. 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.

Notable marines

• Matthew Kane
• Scott Voss
• Marian Bidwell
• Dell Morris
• Alejandro "Alex" Cortez
• William "Billy" Rhodes
• Nikolai "Sledge" Sledjonovitch
• Jeremiah Anderson
• Johann Strauss

Gallery

Concept art of SMC armor. In-game, the helmet incorporates a full face mask with an air intake filter, and it's helmet tip is far less pronounced.

Concept art of a female trooper. None were seen in-game.

Concept Art of Marine Model.

Marines stand guard over a Hovertruck convoy.

Marine

SMC Technician

A Marine Corpsman in full armor.

See also

• Marines
• Global Defense Force
• Terran Coalition of Man