USMC Space Marines
Crotalus
Join Date: 2003-12-02 Member: 23871Members
Join Date: 2003-12-02 Member: 23871Members
in Discussions
<div class="IPBDescription">God, this wasn't supposed to happen for another 1000 years...</div><b>Most recent issue of Popular Science has a front page article on this:</b>
<a href="http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001815.html" target="_blank">http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001815.html</a>
This is absolutely ridiculous, and it's only become known to the general public recently. It seems like someone over there read "Starship Troopers" and decided to duplicate the insertion process. The USMC wants to have a small fleet of space ships and fly their "Space Marines" around the world. I don't know much about this program, but it seems like it would be a huge money pit. They have to get funding for it. They still need to design a space craft that will need to be used numerous times. Then, they need to recruit people so suicidally crazy that they are willing to perform an insanely rough and fast "space to Earth" combat landing on a patch of hostile territory. Essentially, they will have three main benefits:
<b>1. Insertion into any where on the world in under 2 hours. This is extremely fast deployment, 2 hours to get anywhere on the planet!
2. Complete bypass of flying over non-allied countries. This way, they don't need to waste days to get permission to cross over somebody's airspace. They will simply fly over it.
3. For the first time ever, the Earth will be able to defend itself from Kharaa, Xenomorphs, Hellspawn, Tyranids...etc</b>
...At least the soldiers will be able to be like, "Oh yeah, well you know, I'm a Space Marine."
(I read somewhere that we would've caught Osama at an airbase, but we couldn't get some country to allow us to fly over their land until it was too late.)
<a href="http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001815.html" target="_blank">http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001815.html</a>
This is absolutely ridiculous, and it's only become known to the general public recently. It seems like someone over there read "Starship Troopers" and decided to duplicate the insertion process. The USMC wants to have a small fleet of space ships and fly their "Space Marines" around the world. I don't know much about this program, but it seems like it would be a huge money pit. They have to get funding for it. They still need to design a space craft that will need to be used numerous times. Then, they need to recruit people so suicidally crazy that they are willing to perform an insanely rough and fast "space to Earth" combat landing on a patch of hostile territory. Essentially, they will have three main benefits:
<b>1. Insertion into any where on the world in under 2 hours. This is extremely fast deployment, 2 hours to get anywhere on the planet!
2. Complete bypass of flying over non-allied countries. This way, they don't need to waste days to get permission to cross over somebody's airspace. They will simply fly over it.
3. For the first time ever, the Earth will be able to defend itself from Kharaa, Xenomorphs, Hellspawn, Tyranids...etc</b>
...At least the soldiers will be able to be like, "Oh yeah, well you know, I'm a Space Marine."
(I read somewhere that we would've caught Osama at an airbase, but we couldn't get some country to allow us to fly over their land until it was too late.)
Comments
Our military has increasingly been moving towards small, well trained and equipped, mobile units, with the mandate of deploying any where in the word in a matter of 48 hours or less. It's no surprise that we want to push that to 2 hours using space technology.
The military has been looking at viable space vehicles for years - they have an entire group of symbols set aside for space based entities in their set of symbols in the Mil-Std-2525b specifications, which they use for sand table battle space representation. (You know in the old movies when a guy would use a long stick and move around pieces on something that looked like a Risk board?)
I'm actually pretty excited about this. 1000 years? Psh. You think the military would let a civilian effort research a plane that would exit the Earth's atmosphere to bring passengers to their destinations faster without exploiting the technology for their own ends?
Well, to be serious, the ramifications of deployment haven't changed. One of the battle cries of the Marines has always been "We go in first."<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's not how it goes lol. We're the "first to fight".
Sure you don't bother asking for clearance of airspace anymore, but that's not going to stop the countries that are monitoring every one of our upper-atmosphere launches. But still imagine the capability to get reinforcements somewhere within 2 hours (or the first ground forces, if you've got any still necessary clearance). Maybe they should just invest in an orbiting military base where the marines can just shoot down on a whim and land anywhere on the planet, that'd probably be more viable than a potentially non-reusable craft that gets launched up and comes back down (albeit more expensive) - it cuts out the middle man too, and then you could conceivably have an even shorter response time. The only problem is keeping the soldiers on their game in the space station (target practice and exercise are a bit harder).
I'm more excited about the announcement from NASA that apparently popped up in September of '05, announcing a return to the moon by 2018.
That's not how it goes lol. We're the "first to fight".
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Sorry, I was rather drunk as I typed that... :\
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The rest of the world is going to love this. The thought of having U.S. soldiers on their soil within two hours of the decision being made will be absolutely thrilling.
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Might serve as a strong deterrant, since that seems to be our policy everywhere in the world right now. Everyone can go ahead and hate us as long as they really do see us as a mighty police force, I guess.
Police force? Who gave the U.S. jurisdiction over the rest of the world again?
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Apparently, we did. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
i like there fly a huge plane as high up as they can then drop a space ship out the back of it idea
hum why have it white tho, also some sort of reusable mother ship and many many drop pods begin shot back to earth would be a great idea - gg quake
I agree that far. But maybe do not is the better idea sometimes?
The ABM treaty came to pass for the same reason. Of course, developing an anti-ballistic missile system would have strengthened either side, but it would also have upset the delicate power balance and increased the risk of armed conflict.
This move has the potential to only strengthen fear and suspicion of the U.S. This may not mean much in terms of national security, but could have disastrous consequences for the already weakened U.S. economy. One of the key reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union was how the western world saw them as a menace, something that severely impacted their trade with the rest of the world, crippling their economy.
I think it's a bad idea.
"There is no try, only do or do not."
I agree that far. But maybe do not is the better idea sometimes?
The ABM treaty came to pass for the same reason. Of course, developing an anti-ballistic missile system would have strengthened either side, but it would also have upset the delicate power balance and increased the risk of armed conflict.
This move has the potential to only strengthen fear and suspicion of the U.S. This may not mean much in terms of national security, but could have disastrous consequences for the already weakened U.S. economy. One of the key reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union was how the western world saw them as a menace, something that severely impacted their trade with the rest of the world, crippling their economy.
I think it's a bad idea.
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If this, or something like it, is our great mistake, then let's make it and get it over with. Even though I happen to agree with it, I don't see anyone with the bearing and conviction necessary to alter the course.
If we're not good enough for history, then she should push us aside.
Your right about turning the old military into a smaller and super specilized fighting units. This could possibly be the next step for the military. With a smaller force to manage, it might become feasible, as well as the added benefit of rapid deployment of elite units. Currently, the plan is to have space shuttle like vehicles (albeit MUCH stronger) launch from the US, fly around in space, then land on someone's highway and deploy a squad of 13 Marines.
You guys are going a little too far with stuff like drop pods and space fortresses. Imagine the utter ridiculousness of a USMC Space Command Center, which shoots Space Marine assault pods onto the Earth "for the glory of the Emperor." What we REALLY need next is "Power Armour." That way, we could turn our Marines into one-man MBTs that can, like, fire four .50 cal machine guns, 2 tank cannons, and a MLRS in tandem, all in the comfort of one inch thick movement reactive armour. Maybe drop in some sort of orbital to surface system too. Or a jetpack.
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/Tsaiyao/SpaceMarineCostume.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />
(Actual Space Marine Costume)