Repzork Star Marines

The Star Marines, commonly known simply as the Marines, is the naval land force branch of the Repzork Armed Forces. It conducts expeditionary warfare and boarding operations, and as a result works in close conjunction with both the Star Navy and Army. Though substantially smaller than its counterparts, the Star Marine is composed almost exclusively of highly-trained infantry equipped with the most sophisticated gear the AFRE can offer. Often the first to engage enemy ground forces during an invasion, the Marines have earned a reputation as the empire's shock troops.

The Star Marine can trace its origins to the Marines of the pre-exodus Telkevan Union, which operated in close conjunction with the ocean-faring navy. It was not until Tagara's reforms and the subsequent rearmament program that the Marines were repurposed to support the new Star Navy while the ocean fleets were merged with the Army. Even before these reforms, the Marines had maintained a reputation as quality infantry and maintained a rivalry with the Army over prestige, a rivalry that continues even into the modern era.

The Army is administered by the High Marshal of the Army, who holds a seat on the High Chamber. The current High Marshal is Nuoh Gersalv.

Founding
The first iteration of the Marines was established in 553BE. At this point, the Telkevon had yet to develop space-travel technology; as a result, the Marines worked with the ocean navy. This remained the case as the space race began and the Star Navy was created, with the Marshal's Council making a tiny, specialized infantry corps for the new branch. As a result, by the time of the Wars of Unification, the Marines played a minimal role in the conflict, often fighting alongside the Army.

When Grand Marshal Tagara reformed the military, she radically altered the Marines, transitioning from the ocean fleets, which had been merged with the Army, to the Star Fleets, merging with the old infantry corps in the process. Tagara had done this partly because of the Marine's ingrained culture of excellence and aggression, which she believed would be better served abroad rather than as a partner to the ocean fleets, which at the time did not exist in any capacity as the ships had been left behind during the Exodus. They henceforth became the 'Star Marines' so as to separate them from their origins. They also received priority during reconstruction alongside the Navy, helping them to quickly regain their strength. As part of these reforms, Tagara introduced new doctrines to the branch, including orbital insertion. The Star Marines got their first trial by fire during the Delusar conflict, during which, though they suffered initial setbacks due to inexperience, they achieved great success by the end of the war.

Nepharian Cold War
In 3468, Nuoh Gersalv was appointed to High Marshal of the Marines after its previous High Marshal, Tarsovis Visaria, was appointed to grand marshal. Nuoh had by this point been a close associate of Tarsovis for many years and shared his vision for the empire's future and the military. He soon befriended High Marshal Ilivaris Kindasi of the Star Navy, with whom he began to work on new innovations for the Marines, including what would eventually become the Selshezak supersoldier program. As tensions escalated between the Repzork and Holy Nepharian Empire, Nuoh, along with the rest of the High Chamber, deployed several armadas near the contested-zone in the event of sudden Nepharian aggression.

Air Commissioned Officer Ranks
The Star Marines have their own air corps separate from that of the Star Navy. They are organized in much the same way, but answer only to Marine command under normal circumstances.

Doctrine & Equipment
Main page: Repzork Battle Doctrine, Repzork Military Arsenal

Modern Marine doctrine is in many ways inspired by the doctrine of the Star Navy, emphasizing shock & awe tactics to disorient and break an enemy. On the ground, Marines are often the first troops to engage the enemy and are tasked with weakening vital areas of the enemy's defenses and thus pave the way for the Army's arrival. The Marines therefore aim to get as close to the enemy as possible, if not directly on top of them, and deploy via orbital insertion, in which troops and vehicles are dropped to the surface in pods, or are ferried by fast-moving transports such as the FS-30 Sethet dropship. Troops are equipped with heavy weapons such as machine guns and launchers as well as a large number of grenades to cause as much damage as physically possible in a short span of time. Once the Army has firmly established itself, the Marines will advance ahead of the Army to act as a vanguard.

The Marines are also tasked with both boarding enemy vessels and protecting naval ships from enemy boarders. In this capacity they are often equipped with close-quarters weapons such as shotguns and melee weapons, though armament can depend on the size and type of ship they are operating within. Explosive weapons are generally eschewed due to the risk of potentially causing a rupture. Certain vehicles are used in this capacity, but are found only on larger vessels. Boarding operations do not commence until after the enemy ship has been rendered immobile and unable to retaliate, with the ultimate goal being to acquire data, capture officers, and sometimes to capture the vessel itself for study.

Due to both the importance and incredibly dangers of their work, the Marines receive a substantial degree of funding for training, equipment, and research. Marines are trained to vastly higher standards than the average Army trooper and is equipped with top-of-the-line equipment, including sometimes experimental weaponry. Due to the branch's small size, it is far easier to equip the Marines with new equipment and doctrines than it is with the Army. As a result, the Marines are often used as a test-bed for new weapons and tactics; if they prove successful, they will then be passed down to the Army.