The Colonial Marine Corps are the ground soldiers of the Twelve Colonies, a different branch of the military than the Colonial Fleet. As with the CF the CMC has a Reserve Component (Final Cut). Battlestar Galactica initially had about thirty of them left, although there are no snipers among them (Bastille Day). This number increased with the addition of the battlestar Pegasus to the fleet. Although it was later destroyed, it can be assumed that a number of Marines were either on the surface of New Caprica or were able to evacuate Pegasus before its demise. During a briefing between Colonel Tigh and Admiral Adama, Tigh says "A hundred Marines too weak to work, two hundred more about to drop", which implies that there are now at least 300 of them, probably accounting for the Pegasus survivors (The Passage).
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).
Very few Marine officers appear to be stationed on Galactica; when they are shown on missions, usually Fleet officers command the Marine units. The only Marine officer shown was Lieutenant Terry Burrell.
Known Marines[edit]
Active[edit]
Deceased[edit]
Status Unknown[edit]
Notes[edit]
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.
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"). There is evidence that the Colonial Marine Corps do utilise digital camouflage uniforms like the real-life United States Marine Corps with their MARPAT digital camouflage uniforms, but it appears that the wearing of digital camouflage uniforms are restricted to regular Colonial Marine Corps forces while the Marines serving as security personnel onboard the Battlestars and warships of the Colonial Fleet are issued solid-colour combat uniforms in black, khaki, and olive-drab. One piece of evidence that the Colonial Marine Corps do utilise digital camouflage uniforms can be seen the in the Season 2 episodes Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I and Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II with the Colonial Marine rescue team that was deployed to the planet Caprica had "woodland" digital camouflage backpacks on their backs.
If the Colonial Marine Corps do issue digital camouflage uniforms, they would issue these uniforms in different camouflage colour patterns with the Colonial Marine Corps making use of "woodland", "desert", and "urban" digital camouflage pattern uniforms.
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.
- Small Arms
- 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").
In addition to their real world costuming, the Colonial Marines are also called "jarheads" (Final Cut).