Colonial Fleet (TRS)/old

This article discusses the military defense ships of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol in the Re-imagined Series prior to their destruction. For information on the civilian ships that comprise the remains of humanity, see The Fleet (TRS).

The Colonial Fleet is the primary armed service branch of the Colonial Forces^[1] under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol prior to the fall of the Colonies.

The Colonial Fleet operates in tandem with other branches of the Colonial Forces, like the Colonial Marine Corps, and is augmented by a reserve, of which Lee Adama (CFR) is a member (TRS: "Final Cut"). A government military academy^[2] appears to be the primary training faculty and commission source for the fleet's officers. Many characters, including Saul Tigh, Kara Thrace, and Sharon Valerii attended (or claim to have attended) this academy. Moreover, a War College existed for more extensive education, which Lee Adama attended. The training of new recruits was under the Colonial Forces Training Command ^[3].

Other identified Fleet installations include the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards, the Caprican Colonial Forces Veteran's Hospital, Ragnar Anchorage, and Armistice Station. The Colonial Fleet was based at Picon Fleet Headquarters.

Fleet Status

At the time of the Cylon holocaust, the Colonial Fleet includes approximately 120 battlestars^[4], thousands of smaller vessels^[5], numerous squadrons of Vipers and Raptors assigned to each, and various support ships ^[6]. The Colonial Fleet also included modified Space Park vessels (although the single Space Park liner in Galactica's civilian Fleet is very likely a civilian liner) ^[7].

The Colonial Fleet was regarded by the Cylons to be a decisively superior force in a direct engagement. Therefore, the Cylons returned to a variation of their Cylon War tactics by undermining the Colonial Fleet's CNP to attack ships equipped with the software from within (TRS: "Downloaded").

Battlestars mentioned destroyed in the Cylon attack include Triton, Solaria, Columbia, and Atlantia (Admiral Nagala's flagship). Upon Nagala's death, Commander William Adama of Galactica assumes command of the remains of the Colonial Fleet, ordering them to regroup at Ragnar Anchorage for a counter-attack. However, virtually all capital ships of the Colonial Fleet are destroyed, leaving Commander Adama (after consultation with new President Laura Roslin) to choose retreat from the Cylons, opting instead to protect the surviving members of humanity.

Approximately a year after the Cylon destruction of the Twelve Colonies, the remnants of mankind colonize the world of New Caprica on orders of new President Gaius Baltar. The two remaining battlestars of the Colonial Fleet, Galactica and Pegasus (both manned by skeleton crews), orbit the planet and monitor for Cylon activity. A year after colonization, a Cylon fleet comprised of dozens of basestars finds the settlement. Unable to fight off an invasion of such magnitude, Galactica and Pegasus retreat to safety, leaving most of the civilian fleet under Cylon occupation on the surface of New Caprica (TRS: "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II").

In the Battle of New Caprica four months later, Galactica is severely damaged while escaping with the liberated civilians. Pegasus, however, is destroyed after taking significant damage and ramming a basestar (TRS: "Exodus, Part II"). Galactica constitutes the only surviving vessel within the Colonial Fleet until it is destroyed (TRS: "Daybreak, Part II").

Limits of Authority

The Colonial Fleet is aware that they are a military force, not a police force. Commander William Adama warns new President Laura Roslin that mixing the two roles can turn the military against its own citizens. Acting commander Saul Tigh ignores this principle when attempting to stop an supply boycott in the civilian Fleet, leading to the deaths of four civilians aboard the Gideon (TRS: "Resistance").

Biological warfare is restricted in the Twelve Colonies, requiring presidential authorization (TRS: "A Measure of Salvation"). However, battlestar commanders have battlefield authority to use nuclear weapons (TRS: "The Eye of Jupiter").

Ships of the Colonial Fleet

References

↑ In the episodes "Maelstrom" and "The Son Also Rises", official documents written for Socrata Thrace and Kara Thrace, respectively, also name the armed services of the Colonies as the Colonial Forces.
↑ The military academy was probably similar to Annapolis or the Royal Naval College.
↑ The letterheads in Kara Thrace's personnel file in "The Son Also Rises" show two documents issued by this command, each while she was in training status.
↑ In the Miniseries, William Adama tells Lieutenant Kara Thrace when she's released from the brig, "We lost 30 battlestars in the opening attack." She responds, "That's a quarter of the fleet." This establishes that there were approximately 120 active battlestars in the Colonial Fleet at the time of the attack.
↑ The A to Z of Battlestar Galactica, "Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine," June/July 2006, page 51.
↑ According to Admiral Cain, two unnamed battlestars and three other ships (type unknown, but presumed military vessels) were destroyed at the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards (TRS: "Pegasus"). This establishes the existence of non-battlestar support ships that would likely be assigned to a battlestar group. The support ships' roles can be presumed to be similar to those in an aircraft carrier battle group. The episode "Razor" shows one such ship, but its exact role is unknown.
↑ Information formerly available on the SciFi Channel Battlestar Galactica web site. Some information on the official site has conflicted with aired content, so readers are warned that inconsistencies can occur.

See Also
- Military Ranks (RDM)|Colonial Fleet Ranks
- Uniforms (RDM)|Colonial Fleet Uniforms
- Insignia (RDM)|Colonial Fleet Insignia & Patches
- List of terms (RDM)#Military|Colonial Fleet Terminology
- Military - Government relations|Military—Government Relations
The Original Series
- Colonial Fleet (TOS)|Colonial Fleet
- Colonial Warrior|Colonial Warriors

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[1] In the episodes "Maelstrom" and "The Son Also Rises", official documents written for Socrata Thrace and Kara Thrace, respectively, also name the armed services of the Colonies as the Colonial Forces.

[2] The military academy was probably similar to Annapolis or the Royal Naval College.

[3] The letterheads in Kara Thrace's personnel file in "The Son Also Rises" show two documents issued by this command, each while she was in training status.

[4] In the Miniseries, William Adama tells Lieutenant Kara Thrace when she's released from the brig, "We lost 30 battlestars in the opening attack." She responds, "That's a quarter of the fleet." This establishes that there were approximately 120 active battlestars in the Colonial Fleet at the time of the attack.

[5] The A to Z of Battlestar Galactica, "Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine," June/July 2006, page 51.

[6] According to Admiral Cain, two unnamed battlestars and three other ships (type unknown, but presumed military vessels) were destroyed at the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards (TRS: "Pegasus"). This establishes the existence of non-battlestar support ships that would likely be assigned to a battlestar group. The support ships' roles can be presumed to be similar to those in an aircraft carrier battle group. The episode "Razor" shows one such ship, but its exact role is unknown.

[7] Information formerly available on the SciFi Channel Battlestar Galactica web site. Some information on the official site has conflicted with aired content, so readers are warned that inconsistencies can occur.

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