Happy Saturday, Icarus fans. Welcome to the first blog post on our shiny new website! Today we’re going to be looking at the Galactic Marines, some of the most skilled warriors in the galaxy.

Galactic Marines

The Galactic Marines are the elite warriors of the Alliance Army. They are among the best soldiers in the galaxy and are rightly feared throughout known space.

History

Formed by humanity in 2406 following the first Nexus war, the Galactic Marine Corps was created as a way to have a highly trained, elite force of soldiers that could be deployed to the harshest warzones.

There’s still much controversy over the recruitment age of the marines. Standard enlistment age is 18 for all other services. Almost every year the topic of marine recruitment age is discussed in the galactic council. So far, however, the outstanding success rate of the marines has kept the voters on their side.

Training

Prospective Marines begin their training at age 15. Recruits are formed into 5-man fire teams based on the results of a series of personality tests. Fire teams are designed to include a range of personality types to keep the squad balanced.

The training process for Galactic Marines is particularly brutal, and every year Alliance Command commissions an independent body to conduct tests to make sure the training doesn’t get out of hand.

Only 9% of recruits end up graduating to become full marines; the rest give up during the various stages of the recruitment.

The first trial a newly formed fire team will go through is to be dropped into a remote region, along with 4 criminals convicted of violent offences. The criminals are told if they can capture the children, they can go free. This is a lie, of course, but each year there are still hundreds of criminal volunteers.

The first trial is designed to force the recruits together, and if possible, help identify a natural leader in the group.

Though the criminals are never given weapons, there have been dozens of cases where they have managed to seriously injure or kill a candidate while attempting to capture them.

Recruits can choose to leave at any point during recruitment. Voluntary withdrawal is the cause of the majority of Marine dropouts.

The second stage of the recruitment process is training. Here, recruits learn the basics of war; weapon handling, movements, how to navigate etc. This process lasts for a period of 12 months, with each recruit being given training in demolitions, battlefield medicine, and piloting.

This piece is was done by Hokunin, who was responsible for the Gunslinger, and Alliance Trooper sketches that we have shown previously. I love the special forces look of the piece. The main equipment is the same as the troopers, but the additional amour, helmet, and darker palette gives the marine a much more specialised feeling.

If you’d like to learn more about the Galactic Marines, be sure to check out our latest blog post.

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Until Next time.

Happy Wargaming!