MARINE AND FIGHTER CORPS

Protocol:

Every organization has some form of protocol for formal and non formal occasions, the Marines are no different.

The standard duty uniform is the same as every other department. A two piece suite, consisting of a black pair of trousers, and a black/grey shouldered top. Under this a color specific long sleeved top is worn. In the case of the Marines this is Dark Green and the fighter Corps is Blue. This uniform should be worn during peacetime and when not on missions off station and requires the individual to wear all parts.

Formal dress uniform consists off a black tunic, and navy trousers, with a single red strip across the chest and down the trousers with medals on the right chest, white beret or peak cap in the case of Officers, and white cotton gloves. The dress uniform should be worn to all formal occasions, the welcoming of dignitaries and any other formal occasion.

Battle Dress uniform is slightly different A two piece suite, consisting of a black pair of trousers and a black/charcoal shouldered top under this a black long sleeved top is worn. The uniform has a phaser dampening effect and allows the wearer to withstand phaser fire upto setting 5 also includes several survival tools including a modified Klingon dagger

Correct Address of Marine Officers' and NCO's:

Flag Officer's :

Fleet Malrshalls should be addressed as Marshall, not to be confused with field Marshalls which should be addressed to at all times as "Field Marshall". General's, regardless of their rank are address as "General", and not "Brigadier General", "Lt. General" etc.

Senior Officer's
Full Colonel's are address as "Colonel". A Lt. Colonel is addressed as "Colonel". Officer's ranking Major  should be addressed as "Major".

Junior Officer's :
A Marine Captain should be addressed as "Captain", however this should not be mixed up with the Naval address of Captain. 1st Lt, and 2 Lt should be address as Lt. regardless of rank.

Warrant Officers:
Warrant Officer's are addressed as "Mister/Ms. Smith" regardless of their rate

NCO's Sergeants:
Regardless of rate all are addressed to as Sergeant.

NCO's - Corporal:
Regardless of rate all are addressed as Corporal.

NCO's - Privates:
Regardless of rate all are addressed as Private.

Cadets:
Regardless of rate all are addressed as Cadet.

MARINE STRUCTURE OF COMMAND

The is arranged into a number of Unit's, under the Control of the Chief, Vice Chief and Asst. Vice Chief of the Marine Corps. Each unit comprises of a command structure to keep in order the men and women under it's control. The largest unit is the Division, of which there are 4.

Division - HQ's are located on Earth, and are in general a non Mobil unit, dire circumstance would require the formation of an entire Division, and require much time to collect the Units under it's control to a desired location. The Command Staff of the Division are thus part of the Military Staff Committee of Starfleet, along with the Chief, Vice Chief and Asst. Vice Chief of the Marine Corps. The four Divisions are responsible for supplying all necessary equipment, and organizational deployment of the Marine Units under there direct control. This means that a number of crossovers can occur where a Fleet may have Marine Units from all 4 Division's, in which case group supplies are allocated, and distributed evenly to the fleet.

Each Division is responsible for the Brigade's Under it's control, usually 4 .

Brigade - control the (Main) Departmental Corps, located throughout the Federation, as supplies and people distribution points. Brigade's are responsible for a number of Regiments, numbering from 2+. Apollo Fleet is one such Brigade. Brigade's are not mobilized easily due to the split up of it's unit's to Regiments (and thus smaller Unit), which are then sent to other locations and like the Divisions act more of as a Command and Distribution Centre, however they can be mobilized with time (when required) for large scale assaults.

Regiment's - are again a link in the Command and Distribution network of the Marine Corps. Whilst possible to mobilize, the recovery of Unit split and distributed too different locations is time consuming, but if required can and will be achieved. Under normal conditions a Regiment is located on Planet's and Starbase's, commanding a (Medium) Department Corps. Each regiment is formed from several Battalion's.

Battalion's - are the largest Unit that may be mobilized (relatively) quickly for Combat, pulling in all Units under it's control for a large scaled assaults. Under normal conditions Battalion's are located on Starbase's, providing another branch in the Command and distribution network as (Small) Departmental Corps. Each Battalion is formed from a number of Company's, from 2+.

Company's - are the largest Unit that can be easily (if small) mobilized, and are usually assigned to a Planet/orbital Facilities, however small Company's do form on Ship's where two different Platoon types exist (i.e. Infantry and Fighter Wing), or large numbers of Marines are assigned. Comprising of a number of Platoon's ranging from 2-10. A Company can be formed from a number of mixed Platoon types, i.e. a Infantry and Fighter Wing, or a single Platoon type, i.e. just infantry

Platoon's - are responsible for a set number of squad's, to a maximum of 10 squad's. A new Platoon should from if there are more than 10 squads. Platoon's are the Unit usually assigned to a Starship (not including Artillery and Mechanized Platoon's, who are stationed at planet and Starbase facilities), taking on a position similar to the other Departments (Medical, Science etc), where the Platoon Commander become the Department Head. A Platoon must be made up from Squad's who are the same type i.e. all Infantry.

There are 4 types of Marine Platoon's, Infantry, Fighter Wing, Artillery, and Mechanized. The Command Structure of a Platoon Consists of a Platoon Commanding Officer (Platoon Commander), the Platoon Asst. Commanding Officer, (Asst. Platoon Commander), and one NCO Aide, the Aide-de-Camp (traditionally an Officer position, but now a dedicated high rated NCO spot).
Note: A Fighter Wing Platoon is called a Wing thus the names of the Command positions is changed accordingly i.e. Wing Commander

Squads - are the Unit's that make up the Platoons, and the smallest Unit in the Marines, which contains 6-10 individuals. The Squad is lead by a Squad Leader, who may be an Officer or a High rated NCO, and a Asst. Squad Leader, whom is a NCO.
Note: A Fighter Wing Squad is called a Squadron, thus the title of the command position is changed accordingly, i.e. Squadron Leader.

Platoon Commander:
The Platoon Commander is responsible for the Marine Detachment and all personnel within, who have been assigned to that specific Federation Post. He/she is in required to take command of any ground security in liaison with Ship security, and act in team efforts for ship security. The Marine Platoon Commander is like any Department Head, and works as such in this specific role.

Assistant Platoon Commander:
The Assistant, or more simply the second in command, works like any Asst. Department head. Taking on the role of Platoon Commander should the need arise. He/she overseas the regular duties of the Marines, from regular drills to equipment training, from assignment to equipment purchase.

Platoon Aide-de-Camp (NCO):
Traditionally an Officer position, this post in now held by the highest rated NCO in the marine detachment. Assigned with coordinating the training and supervising that takes place in each Squad, with additional training supplied for NCO's who wish to hold Command positions. Maintains communications between the Chief of the Boat (or Quartermaster is on a Starbase), and ensures that all Officer and Marines in the Squads perform to proper Starfleet protocol. Reports directly to the Asst. Commander of the Marine Detachment. Must have had experience commanding a Squad, and achieved the minimal rate of Gunnery Sergeant to hold this position.

Squad Leader (Officer and NCO):
Responsible for the welfare for all Marines NCO's under his/her command in that Squad. Required to lead and command the Squad in and out of Combat. Provide training for the Squad both physically and mentally. Maintain order and discipline. Reports to Aide-de-Camp, and Asst. Commander of the Marine Detachment. Position requires a minimum NCO rate of Sergeant but more commonly Newly commissioned 2nd Lt's.

Asst. Squad Leader (NCO):
Asst. to the Squad leader, responsible for overseeing the implementing of orders from the Squad Leader. Position requires a minimum NCO rate of Sergeant.

Marine Infantryman (NCO):
Sometimes referred to as the grunt. The backbone of the Marines, the field troops. Required to follow orders, and think oh his/her feet if needed.

Additional Infantryman Positions:

Marine - Munitions Expert (NCO):
A Marine who has undergone additional training to specialized in a specific area. Explosives and hand weapons are the working tools of the Marines. The Munitions Expert is the person to ask when specialized applications are needed, in both identifying, and providing information on this subject. One per Platoon.

Marine - Communication's Expert (NCO):
In combat, or any form of away mission requiring a split up in the team, the Communications Expert must co-ordinate and maintain an accurate position reference for the Commanding Officer of the party. This individual is also responsible for passing out orders and commands to the party. One per Platoon

Marine - Sniper/Assassin (Officer and NCO):
A Marine who has undergone additional training in stealth and concealment, specializing in specific areas of  explosives and hand weapons which are the working tools of the Marines. The sniper/assassin is the person to ask when Enemy Agents or Personnel are needed to be "Retired", One per Platoon.

A simple summary of the Marine Unit Structure can be shown as thus:-
Note: The Unit Command rank/rate is not set in stone and Marines of a lower or greater rank/rate, may hold a command position other than indicated.

Every organization needs some from of structure under it to perform all the tasks that allow the system to work. The Operation section of the Marines is this, and all Starfleet Departments have them.

A simple summary of the Marine Operations Structure can be shown as thus:-

Starfleet Marine Corps HQ, Starfleet Command: Charted with providing supplies for all Marines, coordinating research and development between other Starfleet Departments, and providing academic training at Starfleet Academy, and other Starfleet Academy outpost's.

Starfleet Marine HQ is commanded by a Council, consisting of the Chief, Vice Chief and Asst. Vice Chief of the Marine Corps, and the Division Commanding Officer's and the Division Asst. Commanding Officer's, and a number of other administration positions.

Departmental Corps: There are generally 3 classes of Departmental Corps, Main, Medium, and Small, depending on there location, the number of units they supply and current strategically importance. The Main Departmental Corps are located at key Starbase's and facilities around the Federation, as well as Fleet HQ's, such as Apollo Fleet. The Departmental Corps' serve as the distribution network of the Marines, sending supplies and men/women to there required location (ship or transfer to further field locations) as well as acting as a Command post for operations.

The Medium and Small Departmental Corps do generally the same operations as there larger counterpart, all be it they provide for less Units and thus do not need as large a Unit to control this operation. They also act as a Command post for smaller operations.

Facilities: There are a number of smaller facilities located around the Federation, which whilst not large enough to locate the Departmental Corps, non the less requires a Marine presence. These facilities are the outermost out post of the Marines, and in the future may be upgraded as expansion takes place. In general a Company or a large Platoon will be stationed at these points.. "Frontier Work" as many Marines have come to know it.

Ships: In times of peace generally Marines numbers on ships are small, acting as a ever present crack squad, and highly trained Security Force, working hand in hand with Security Forces already present on the ship. In wartime this takes on a more pressing note, and numbers swell, as do ships carrying Marine detachment's, even if small. They provide an additional highly skilled fighting force, who could be called the 24th century equivalent of the Commandos, SAS or Navy Seals

MARINE RANKS

Starfleet follows a simple system. All departments are equal in authority.. and the only characteristic difference is the Rank of the individuals in each department, even if those Ranks are named differently. (see link at bottom of page)

Medical, Engineering, Science, Diplomatic, and Command, inherited the use of the original Earth Naval Rank system, where as the Marines have adopted the old Earth Army Ranks. But needless to say, the Marine Ranks, whilst different in name and design, hold the same weight as there corresponding Naval Rank.

e.g. A Naval Cdr. has the same authority as the corresponding Marine Rank, in this case Lt. Colonel. As such a Naval Cdr. can give orders to a Marine Major, because the Naval rank of Cdr. is higher than the Marine Rank of Major. This system works both ways, a Marine Lt. Colonel can give orders to a Naval Lt. Cdr.

This is a good point to note that Naval ranks are used in all of the following departments;
Command
Medical
Engineering
Diplomatic
Security/Tactical
Science

Personnel who join the Intelligence section of Starfleet may do so only after they have graduated the Academy in one of the above fields. As a result that individual joins the intelligence service as experts in there chosen field, The new uniform color worn would then be Black with a Divisional stripe i.e. black/blue for medical or black/red for Command thus differentiating each others area of specialty.

RANK COMPARISON CHART

* NOTE* Warrant officer are the same in Navy and Marine Corps and carry all ranks and privileges in accordance to their rank.

DRESS UNIFORM RANK PINS

MARINE WEAPONRY

And various Other Mission Specific Equipment available when necessary