From Station
The United States Marines
21st-23rd Century
The roots of the Starfleet Marine Corps date back to the mid eighteenth century on Earth. The mission of these marines was to provide sharp shooting and security support to naval captains, as well as perform amphibious raids on shore facilities. The Marine Corps of the United States of America is of particular note, and many of the SFMC's traditions originated with them.
The Marines of the United States fought many galactically known battles during their Three hundred years of service, these included the landings at Tripoli, Libya, during the Barbary Wars, they marched on the Halls of Montezuma during the Spanish American War, in the Second World War, fighting actions on Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Tarawa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, among other places.
The United States Marines fought in several more battles during the latter half of the Twentieth century and the first half of the Twenty-first. Decimated by the Third World War, they were officially disbanded by the new world government in 2075 on their three hundredth birthday.
Jumpsuit of Marines, 2161
The first Starfleet Marines were commissioned under UESPA as Military Assault Command Operations, their first fully joint mission was on board Enterprise NX-01 during the Xindi crisis in 2153.
When the Earth-Romulan War broke out, the MACOs served as security forces on larger vessels, in case of boarding. With the Federation Charter in 2161 the MACOs were officially reorganized as the Starfleet Marine Corps. During the years following, the need for Marines dwindled and the Corps all but disappeared. Even during the Romulan War (2156-2160), the Marines did not have an active role.
Finally, just prior to the Four Years War (2239-2243) with the Klingon Empire, the Starfleet Marines were expanded to fill a serious hole in the Starfleet's TOE. Although Federation military planners were aware of the lessons of the Romulan War (2156-2160), it was widely believed that most modern conflicts would be entirely spaceborne affairs with little or no ground operations. Commodore Buckner "Buck" Kripney insisted that a specialized ground forces command with specially trained officers and enlisted personnel was vital to the security of the United Federation.
In 2235, the Federation Council authorized the funding and expansion of a new Starfleet Marine Corps. Commodore Kripney transferred his commission to the corps and was promoted to Major General, becoming the first commandant of the new version of the Starfleet Marine Corps. Many of the ancient traditions were brought back, and the pride of being a part of an organization with a history over 450 years long has served the Corps well.
The Starfleet Marines became a magnet, attracting many of the finest volunteers from the armies of Terra and Andor, both planets with long military traditions. In 2236, the Marine Corps Academy opened in Syrtis City on Mars to provide the fledgling Corps with its first specially trained officers, and in so doing reignited a friendly inter-service rivalry that goes back to 18th century Terra.
The value of the new Marine Corps was quickly demonstrated during the Four Years War. In one of the first engagements involving the marines, the officer corps of the 4th marine regiment was killed when the USS Landover was destroyed in orbit over Joia V on 10 November 2240. Sgt. Maj. Randall Robor-Wheeler, the senior NCO present, assumed command of the regiment and lead it in a campaign of guerrilla resistance and harassment of the Klingon army of occupation until relieved over six months later. Sgt. Maj. Wheeler was promoted to captain and given command of the 1st company of the 4th regiment.
In January of 2241, the 2nd, 8th and 13th marine regiments were dispatched to Sinbad IV to defend that world from an imminent Klingon invasion. With the numerically superior Klingon invasion fleet keeping the Starfleet ships busy, 12 Klingon regiments were landed on Sinbad IV. This not only marked the first large scale ground action involving the Starfleet Marines but also the first test of the first graduating class from the Marine Academy. Though greatly outnumbered, the Starfleet Marines showed incredible valor and resourcefulness. With the timely assistance of Starfleet artillery, the marines captured or killed over 30,000 Klingon soldiers and won a stunning victory.
August 2241, the marines spearheaded the first Federation assaults into Klingon space. The 5th Marine regiment lead the landings on Rudgur III. This operation saw the first use of chlortheragen gas against the Starfleet Marines. Losses were high and the remnants of the 5th regiment were evacuated after sustaining extreme casualties.
Perhaps the most famous marine exploit of the Four Years War was the assault on Karag II on 5 February 2243, when the 1st, 3rd, 7th, 12th and 22nd marine regiments were landed on Karag II. Atmospheric conditions made orbital support impossible and the marines took on the Imperial Army in numerous engagements, even conducting house to house and hand to hand assaults. On 12 February, the weather broke and Starfleet's orbital superiority was brought to bear and the Marines secured the planet. Due to the many acts of extreme valor performed during the Karag campaign, the Federation Council created a new decoration, the Karagite Order of Heroism and Colonel Ahab Anchar was the first recipient.
After the Khitomer Accords, signed in 2293, the Federation Council began to dismantle the Military Assault Command Operations, and hand control over to Starfleet Command.
- This article uses material from the "Starfleet Marine Corps (New Order)" article on the "Star Trek Expanded Wikia" at Wikia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.
