Colonial Forces

The Colonial Forces is the collective military force of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Comprised of two primary branches, the Colonial Fleet, and the Marine Corps, with a number of smaller reserve and supporting services. Colonial Forces were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence prior to the fall of the Twelve Colonies.

The various branches worked very closely together, to the extent that they may have operated as a combined arms force, if not in theory then in practice. There were numinous forms of protocol and rule covering the interaction of the differing branches, including the significant "Rule of Prejudice" which gave members of the Fleet seniority over equivalently ranked personal from another branch to resolve the merging of commands.

History

Formation and Cylon War

The Colonial fleet can trace its routes back to the years leading up to the Cylon War and the intitial development and construction of the three Ares Class Battlestars. The Fleet was created as a joint effort between the colonies as a peace keeping force. It also serviced the purpose of symbolising unity between humanity and the Cylons, but with the extra intention that it would form the back bone of the human resistance in the event of a Cylon uprising.

When the Cylons did rise up the fleet instantly became the heart around which the rest of the (now uniting) colonial fleets rallied and thus the Colonial fleet, in it's modern form, was born. The fleet was instrumental in preventing the Cylons from winning the first war. It's famous Battlestars, particualry the Jupiter Class (including the Galactica and former flagship of the fleet the Prometheus, both of which fought in the Battle of Caprica, a major turning point in the war) became symbols of human military power in the popular image and would form the face of the future fleet.

Known Ships of the period;

• Ares
• Aries
• Battlestar Athena
• Atlantia
• Bellerephon
• Battlestar Columbia
• Daedelus
• Galactica
• Jupiter
• Battlestar Olduvai
• Olympus
• Phoenix
• Battlestar Prometheus
• Rycon
• Valkyrie

Inter war period and Cylon Attack

In the 40 years since the end of the First Cylon War the Fleet had grown ten fold to the point that it was comprised of roughly 120 Battlestars as well as hundreds of Gunstars and thousands of smaller craft.

By this time the fleet also operated a number of modified civilian craft for scientific and utility purposes (though these assets may have been operated by a civilian auxiliary service). This included modified space park craft and "flattop" salvage and repair craft.

Colonial Fleet

The Colonial Fleet is the primary armed service branch of the Colonial Forces. Considered the most important service (as reflected in military protocol), it is extremely powerful, to the extend that even the Cylons considered it a decisively superior force to themselves (thus the use of sabotage).

Along side it's front line units the fleet also operated a number of modified civilian craft for scientific and utility purposes (though these assets may have been operated by a civilian auxiliary service). This included modified space park craft and "flattop" salvage and repair craft.

Colonial Marine Corps

The Marines of the Colonial Fleet have one primary task: Security. Their job on board Navy vessels is to ensure that peace is kept. They do this in a few ways. First, they patrol the ship. Second, they maintain the weapons lockers and firing range. Third, they control the brig. However these directives and responsibilities are burdened with further actions during wartime. During these periods, the Marines on board will conduct counter-boarding operations as well as stand guard in various postings around that ship that during peacetime wouldn't normally require it. The Marines also conduct landing operations, their own boarding operations, and any major military engagements that don't involve shipboard weapons systems or the Air Wing. The Marines on board the Kharon have only two officers: The Marine CO and XO. The former is a Captain (or full Lieutenant) and the latter is a Lieutenant. The XO (full or Jig LT) pulls double-duty as the Marine S2 as well as the platoon leader. The platoon is understrength due to berthings and only contains two squads.

Available Positions: ◾ Marine Officer - There are only two Marine officers on the Kharon. The CO and the XO. The XO pulls double-duty as the intelligence officer and platoon leader. The CO is the overall commander and the Department Head.

◾ Master-at-Arms (MaA) - This is the senior enlisted MP on board and is also in charge of the brig as well as the small arms lockers. The MP's report directly to the MaA who is the senior 'law enforcement officer' on board.

◾ Military Police - A Marine who works directly for the Master-at-Arms normally conducting regular patrols and safeguarding the ship. These are typically Marines who's primary function on board is more police-like. Other Marines assist the MP's in their tasks, but only MP's can perform arrests.

◾ Riflemen - A basic Marine grunt who handles security and combat operations. Secondary abilities may lie with being radio operators, assistant Medics, or any number of other tasks.

◾ Combat Medic - Often referred to as "Corpsman," these are members of the Marines who have medical training in first-aid and dressing battle wounds. However, they are still proficient riflemen.

◾ Machine Gunner - A Marine who operates the larger ‘squad automatic weapons.’ These Marines also know most firearms and typically operate as techs when it comes to their repairs within the platoon.

◾ Heavy Weapons - These Marines deal with the heavier aspects of combat. They can specialize in any number of areas including explosives, anti-tank weapons, surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems or grenade launchers.

◾ Marksman - The Marksmen of the Marines are the top shots but their duties don’t always entail shooting. Much of their time in the field of combat has to do with covert reconnaissance and not killing – as most would expect. Many will refer to them as ‘snipers,’ though that term isn’t an official title. Proficient at not only shooting, they should know camouflage, survival skills, spotting, recon and other related abilities. These positions will be severely limited.

Thematic Information

The Colonial Marine Corps (CMC) is a branch of the military, separate from the Colonial Fleet, responsible for ground warfare and naval security. Elements of the CMC were found across all Fleet vessels and stationed on all Colonial worlds, serving as a rapid response force to maintain civil order and national security.

Other Services

There were a number of separate, and sub services attacked to the main ones. These included;

• The Colonial Fleet Reserve (CFR). The reserve fleet was a volunteer organisation intended to support the Fleet proper in a time of war. It operated ships retired form the main fleet but still in a serviceable condition, to be quickly brought into the fight in a time of war. The CFR also followed the same rank structure as the Fleet, and it's officers and enlisted crewmembers were considered just as much a part of the fleet as any in active service (Lee Adama was a member of this service), and regularly took positions within it. Indeed, the lines between the Fleet and Reserve were blurry. The Battlestar Olduvai was opperated by this force.

• Colonial Special Operations Corps (CSOC). Knwon as "Black Berets" the men and women assigned to this special service were selected from the most highly skilled and ruthless officer and enlisted soldiers of the Colonial Defense Forces. The Black Beret selection process had an 87% fail/dropout rate.Once selected, soldiers undertook two years of special training in weapons, diplomacy, infiltration, espionage and assination. This course too had a high failure rate ensuring that only the top individuals were selected for the corps. Once training was complete Black Berets were comitted to a five year tour in CSOC after which they could opt to stay or to transfer back to regular fleet or marine units. However, Black Berets have a contingency activation clause in their contract which means that they can be called back to active duty within the CSOC at any time.

• Colonial Marine Reserve