Colonial Marine Corps

A Marine Non-Comissioned Officer flanked by two Marines in standard uniform (Litmus).

The Colonial Marine Corps are the ground soldiers of the Twelve Colonies, a different branch of the military than the Colonial Fleet. Battlestar Galactica has about thirty of them left, although there are no snipers among them (Bastille Day).

A Marine's duties include guarding the CIC and brig (Miniseries) and assisting the Master-at-Arms (Litmus). They have been used several times on Raptors for boarding parties (Bastille Day, Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II, Resistance, Pegasus). They are also responsible for repelling enemy boarding actions (Valley of Darkness).

Sergeant Hadrian is a Marine, but no officers (if there were any) appear to be stationed on Galactica; when they are shown on missions, Fleet officers command the Marine units.

Known Marines

• Lieutenant Terry Burrell
• Sergeant Hadrian
• Sergeant Fischer
• Corporal Venner
• Private First Class Scott Kelso
• Hollis
• Wenzler
• Bonnington
• Twinam
• Collishaw

Notes

Their battle uniforms appear to be based on those of the U.S. Army's Delta Force or the counter-terrorist branch of the British Army's Special Air Service Regiment. Besides their black combat uniforms, the weapons and personal combat equipment of the Marines are similar to what police SWAT teams and anti-terrorist special forces units utilize.

A Colonial Marine stands watch in Galactica's CIC

To date, the Marines have appeared in either an all-black BDU (aboard ship) or an olive-drab/green BDU (planetside, as in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I").

To outfit the Marines, the show's costume department appears to use the following real-world items:

• Helmet
  • Giro Bad Lieutenant snowboard/ski helmet, black — far less heavy and less expensive than the US/UN PASGT helmet
• Goggles
  • Paulson 510T Tactical Goggles — these, or...
  • Paulson 510TF ATAC "Frag" Goggles — these... it depends on what the costume department was budgetted for, or got them for. The closures, hinges, and "face gasket" are the giveaways.
• Sub-machine guns
  • Heckler-Koch MP5 (multiple variants)
  • Fabrique Nationale P90 (with silencer)
• Shotgun
  • Protecta
• Carbine
  • Beretta CX4 Storm (with short barrel, flash hider and Picatinny Rails)
• Rifle
  • Heckler & Koch G36k
• Sidearm
  • Fabrique Nationale Five-seveN (with added wood grips and explosive round launcher)
• Combat Vest
  • PBBA SPIDER — offered by a company called Point-Blank Body Armor, Inc., the vests appear to be one of these models, with a "modular grid attachment system" based around snaps (the telltale characteristic if you see a Colonial Marine's back) and velcro (a costumer's best friend!). This affords the costume department the option to attach whatever they want to the vests, regardless of compatability, since all they need to do is stitch on some velcro. As far as if it is the SPIDER specifically that's being used, or one of the following models, or a model offered from another manufacturer, has yet to be confirmed, but substantial research points towards this being the vest used in the series.
  • PBBA MRV+ SWAT — "heavier" vest variant
  • PBBA SWAT Cert+ — higher-collared variant
  • Pinnacle Armor Tactical Vest — It more than likely is this one in the "modular grid base" unit. It makes the most sense, since it would be most cost effective to get the unlined, unarmored modular vest, with the velcro and snaps, and just attach whatever is wanted to it.
• Knife
  • M7 bayonets (though they've never been drawn, bayonets carried by the Marines appear consistent with M7's sheath and handle)

Other weapons seen in Galactica's armoury include MAC-series submachine guns and M16-series rifles, though no Marines have been shown with them as of yet (shooting range scene, "Scar").

Galactica 1980 definition: Dillon is called both a terrorist and a chauvinist by Jamie Hamilton during their phone call from the police station; he asks Troy "what's a terrorist chauvinist?" ^{(1980: "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I")}

These are terms directly relating to Galactica 1980, some of which are based from the Original Series. For terms from that series, please refer to List of terms (TOS).

Re-imagined Series definition: nerve center or "bridge" of a battlestar, see: Combat Information Center