Marines

[Lt Cmdr Matt]

This is not a recruitment post but an opinionm for a new game idea.

Would you play in a marine game? Why or why not?

[Perrryyy]

Unable to make a decision until I know more about the game (ie. what do you mean by "Marine", Merchant Marine?)

You might want to clarify

[Lt Cmdr Matt]

oops, I meant a starfleet Marine. Like in the Dominion War

[calguard66]

I've always included Marines in my Starfleet...

[Perrryyy]

Originally posted by calguard66
I've always included Marines in my Starfleet...

I always treated the 2 as being synonymous with each other, but to each their own

[Silverthorne]

would depend on if I had to play a marine or if i could just play a guy that gave them hll..

[Ineti]

The concept of Marines in Starfleet never worked for me. I didn't get a sense from that DS9 episode ("Nor the Battle to the Strong," right?) that there was a separate branch of Marines... May have to watch it again.

Though the thought of R. Lee Ermey as a Starfleet Academy DI has its appeal.

[Capt Daniel Hunter]

Well going by Nor the Battle to the Strong, and Aiege of AR558, I would say that Starfleet does have ground forces branch. That branch pretty clearly uses Starfleet naval ranks though, and not military ranks.

Are they marines? I'd say in name, no. In duties, probably.

[Ineti]

Wouldn't that just make them Security officers, though, assigned to something other than shipboard duties?

[calguard66]

AAANND... they're off!

Originally posted by Ineti
Wouldn't that just make them Security officers, though, assigned to something other than shipboard duties?

[Ineti]

Ah, sorry about that. I don't recall any of the other conversations about Starfleet Marines. I've heard about them while on the boards, though. Mine was an innocent question.

I'll happily retract it though, in the spirit of avoiding another debate.

[Capt Daniel Hunter]

Originally posted by Ineti
Wouldn't that just make them Security officers, though, assigned to something other than shipboard duties?

maybe. Maybe not, depends on what sort of training they have.

OK, time to duck and run before I get hit

[Silverthorne]

I prefer the Honor Harrinton reference to Marines on starships.. I do incorporate some other ideas into my games..

[AslanC]

Hey guys, to get back on topic to the question at hand...

I would play... sure it would be fun. One of the main reasons I like Prime Directive is the whole away team combat squad aspect of it. Not that I like military games, jsut something about specialisit teams appeals to me...

[COLWebb]

Speaking as someone who is a member of a Starfleet Marines fan organization...

Marines are more than security personnel assigned to ground duties. I don't want to see this can of worms re-opened, but here's the thing:

Would you assign the LAPD to hit the beach at Iwo Jima? Of course not. Security are trained for arrest and restraint, not assault. Having a phaser rifle does not make one a trained rifleman. Security officers are professionals at what they are trained to do, however they are not trained for the kind of operations that would be required, say, on AR-558.

In 'my' Trek universe, the Marines are indeed a seperate branch, and most starships have a small detachment, mostly for honor guard purposes during peace time, but used in boarding actions and ground combat in wartime.

Check out www.sfi-sfmc.org for a little more info...