Marines (Valhallan)
Marine Corps Organization
The Duchy Marines are an elite combined-arms planetary assault force. All aviation assets (including dropships) belong exclusively to the Navy. Each Duchy is expected to independently handle a single theater of operations and therefore maintains at least one full Marine Division.
Hierarchy
- Fire Team – 4 Marines + 1 Mastiff-class Mule
- Squad – 15 Marines + 3 Mastiffs (3 Fire Teams)
- Platoon – 50 Marines + 9 Mastiffs (3 Squads + Platoon HQ)
- Company – 243 Marines
- Battalion – 729 Marines
- Regiment – 2,187 Marines (+ Regimental HQ & Artillery Battery)
- Brigade – 6,561 Marines (3 Regiments + Brigade assets)
- Division – 13,122 Marines (2 Brigades + Division assets)
Rifle Platoon (50 Marines)
Platoon HQ
- Platoon Leader (Lieutenant)
- Platoon Sergeant (Staff Sergeant)
- Systems Operator
- 2× Navy Corpsman
3× Rifle Squads (15 Marines each)
Squad HQ
- Squad Leader (Sergeant)
- Assistant Squad Leader (Lance Corporal)
- Systems Operator
3× Fire Teams (4 Marines + 1 Mastiff each)
- Team Leader (Corporal)
- 3× Riflemen
- 1× Mastiff-class Mule (supply carrier, autonomous stretcher, comms/blue-force relay, twin 20 kJ dorsal lasers)
Weapons Platoon (66 Marines)
Platoon HQ
- Platoon Leader (Lieutenant)
- Platoon Sergeant (Staff Sergeant)
- Systems Operator
- 2× Navy Corpsman
= 4× Sections
Heavy Weapons Section (×2) – 15 Marines each
- Section Leader (Staff Sergeant) (Systems Operator)
- 2× Heavy Machine Gun Squads (7 Marines each)
- Squad Leader (Sergeant)
- 2× Machine Gun Teams (3 Marines each)
- Team Leader (Corporal) (also acts as rifleman)
- 2× Machine Gunners
- Weapon: 60 kJ heavy machine guns (20 mm Phalanx equivalent)
Mortar Section – 15 Marines
- Section Leader (Staff Sergeant) (Systems Operator)
- 2× Mortar Squads
- Squad Leader (Sergeant)
- 2× Mortar Teams (3 Marines each)
- Team Leader (Corporal)
- 2× Mortar Crew (each Marine carries a rifle + mortar)
- Weapon: Explosive mortars – 2 MJ warhead (30 m lethal radius, 4 km range)
Power Armor Assault Section – 16 Marines + 32 Mastiffs (See below for full details)
Power Armor Assault Section (16 Marines + 32 Mastiffs)
- Section Leader (Staff Sergeant) – Standard Suit + 2 Mastiffs
- Assistant Section Leader (Sergeant) – Standard Suit + 2 Mastiffs
- 2× Anti-Air Armor Marines (Section-level) – Anti-Air Variant + 2 Mastiffs each
3× Power Armor Assault Teams (4 Marines + 8 Mastiffs each)
Each Power Armor Assault Team
- Team Leader (Corporal) – Standard Assault Suit + 2 Mastiffs
- 2× Power Armor Marines – Standard Assault Suit + 2 Mastiffs each
- 1× Anti-Air Armor Marine – Anti-Air Variant + 2 Mastiffs
Standard Power Armor Assault Suit (8 ft tall, micro-fusion reactor, full NBC protection)
- 2× 120 kJ forearm-mounted dual-purpose lasers (ground-bias)
- 2× 20 kJ shoulder cannons (semi-autonomous anti-drone/personnel)
- 2× unarmed quadcopter drones
- Coordinates with 2× Mastiff-class Mules
Anti-Air Armor Variant
- 4× 60 kJ independently-targeting shoulder cannons (two per shoulder)
- 2× 20 kJ forearm cannons
- Periscoped sensor antenna
- Prioritizes aerial threats (drones, dropships, gunships) in mixed environments, but fully capable against ground targets
Ground Vehicles
Main Battle Tank (MBT)
- Crew: 4 (Commander, Gunner, Driver, Systems Operator)
- Main Gun: 9 MJ high-energy laser
- Secondary: Multiple 120 kJ dual-purpose CIWS / anti-personnel guns
- Drones: 2 armed recon drones (20 kJ)
- Role: Heavy breakthrough and anti-armor platform
Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV)
- Crew: 3 + 15 dismounted Rifle Marines (one full squad)
- Main Gun: 50mm laser – 1.0 MJ @ 2.5–2.8 shots per second
- Secondary: Pair of 120 kJ dual-purpose guns
- Drones: 2 armed recon drones (20 kJ)
- Role: Protected troop transport and mobile fire support
Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV)
- Crew: 3 + 2–4 scouts
- Main Gun: 50mm laser – 1.0 MJ
- Secondary: 4× 120 kJ dual-purpose guns
- Drones: 4 armed recon drones (20 kJ)
- Role: Reconnaissance, screening, and security operations
Mastiff-class Mule
- Quadrupedal support robot, size of a large English Mastiff
- Micro-fusion powered
- Armament: Twin 20 kJ dorsal lasers
- Roles:
- Carries fire team and power armor supplies (eliminates heavy backpacks)
- Autonomous medical stretcher (can carry one wounded Marine)
- Mobile communications and blue-force tracking relay
- Assigned: 1 per Fire Team; 2 per Power Armor Marine
Artillery
Regimental Artillery Battery
- Explosive artillery rounds – 40 MJ warhead (70 m lethal radius, 30 km range)
- Provides long-range fire support to the Regiment and attached Brigades.
- Designation: Duchy-class Assault Dropship / Gunship
- Role: Troop insertion (Air Cav) and Close Air Support (CAS)
- Capacity: One Rifle Platoon or multiple Power Armor elements + Mastiffs
Armament
- Chin-mounted 540 kJ turret (30 mm Bushmaster equivalent) – primary CAS/strafing gun
- Dorsal and Ventral 60 kJ semi-autonomous turrets (25 mm equivalent) – anti-drone and anti-personnel defense
- One 120 kJ turret on each stubby wing – heavy ground attack during CAS runs
All aviation assets are operated by the Navy. Dropships are heavily armed to survive and fight effectively in contested airspace.
Regimental Headquarters & Support
A Regiment includes a dedicated Regimental HQ element sized to command and control its three Battalions plus the attached Regimental Artillery Battery. This HQ provides:
- Regimental Commander (Colonel)
- Executive Officer (Lieutenant Colonel)
- Operations Officer (Major)
- Intelligence Officer (Major)
- Logistics Officer (Major)
- Communications / Systems Officer
- Senior Systems Operators
- Fire Support Coordination Cell (to manage artillery and Navy dropship CAS)
- Additional Navy Corpsmen, maintenance, and administrative personnel
Total Regimental HQ strength is approximately 80–100 Marines, bringing the full Regiment strength to roughly **2,300–2,300 Marines** (including the Artillery Battery).
Strategic Role
Each Duchy maintains at least one full Marine Division (13,122 Marines) to independently handle a single theater of operations.
- A Brigade (6,561 Marines) is the primary combined-arms maneuver formation, consisting of 3 Regiments plus Brigade-level armored, reconnaissance, engineer, and logistics assets.
- A Division consists of 2 Brigades plus Division-level command, support, and sustainment elements.