Regular Groups
The Regulars Marine Groups (also referred to as the Star Fleet Regulars) provide direct ground combat capability for heavier combat situations, such as planet-wide campaigns. They serve as a ready defense force that may be deployed to a Federation member world in anticipation of hostilities or land post-invasion to secure a world from an aggressor. The commanders of a regulars group report directly to the Commandant of the Star Fleet Marine Corps, so there is no Regulars headquarters element between them.
A Regulars group will be comprised of up two Regulars divisions but oftentimes will deploy without the entire organization, as the situation merits. Similarly, if the situation requires a significant expansion of the Corps, any (or all) group(s) may control many divisions in order to accomplish the requirements of whatever front on which they are responsible. In peacetime, a group command element (headquarters) may be located on a sector capital, with its component divisions located on other planets (usually within the same or neighboring sectors).
Regulars Groups are commanded by a Lieutenant General, with a Major General as the executive officer.
A Regulars Group (Echelon III) is broken down into the following hierarchy (2 divisions):
- Regulars Division (Echelon IV)
- 2 Regulars brigades:
- 18 Regulars battalions (18,000 heavy infantry)
- 8 Regulars Artillery battalions (40 batteries of 6—standard—guns each & 1,200 total artillery crew)
- 2 Armored Regulars battalions (120 heavy tanks & 480 troops)
- 2 Combat Engineer battalions (1,200 Seabees)
- 2 Mechanized Regulars battalions (120 IFVs / light tanks & 360 mechanized crew)
- 1 Regulars Heavy Artillery battalion (5 batteries of 6 guns each & 150 total artillery crew)
- 1 division Command element, 2 brigade Command elements, and 6 regimental Command elements
- 2 Regulars brigades:
- The components of a Regulars division may be separated between member planets within a sector or co-located on the same planet (usually, in this case, the sector capital). They are commanded by Major Generals.
- Regulars Brigade (Echelon V)
- 3 Regulars regiments:
- 9 Regulars battalions (9,000 heavy infantry)
- 3 + 1 Regulars Artillery battalions (20 batteries of 6 guns each & 600 total artillery crew)
- 1 Armored Regulars battalion (60 heavy tanks & 240 troops)
- 1 Combat Engineer battalion (600 Seabees)
- 1 brigade Command element and 3 regimental Command elements
- 3 Regulars regiments:
- The Regulars brigade's components are often co-located on the same garrison planet, but separated (when possible) around its surface at differing camps. Each brigade is command by a Brigadier General.
- Regulars Regiment (Echelon VI)
- 3 Regulars battalions (3,000 heavy infantry)
- 1 Regulars Artillery battalion (5 batteries of 6 guns each & 150 total artillery crew)
- 1 regimental Command element
- The regiment is intended to be the smallest deployed unit to a war zone/planet. However, they may be deployed in battalion strength (or even smaller units), if the situation does not warrant (or even prevents) larger deployments. Regiments are garrisoned as a unit within one camp or a series of co-located camps and are commanded by a Colonel.
A Regulars group will also be assigned an air combat element of an appropriate size, deployed by Aerospace Operations, and usually comprised of a mobility unit commensurate to the size of the force, plus a fighter unit (usually from the Air Combat Branch).
While Regulars units may have informal names (after their garrison planets, symbolic terms and totems or battles), their official names are regimented and logical. Regulars Groups are numbered sequentially in (nominally) single digits (ex: 1st Regulars Group). Regulars Divisions are numbered with 2 digits, also sequentially, starting with the 10th Regulars Division. As whole divisions are moved between forces, their subordinate commands will not change and are numbered according to their parent division. Regulars Brigades are numbered with 3 digits, the first 2 comprised of their division's number (ex: 101st Regulars Brigade), while Regulars Regiments are numbered with 4 digits, the first 3 comprised of their brigade (ex: 1011th Regulars Regiment). Battalions assume the name of their regiment, followed by a Greek letter (alpha, beta, gamma) designation (ex: 1011th Alpha Battalion).
- Note: Regulars Group commanders are named NPCs (as they may go on to be the Commandant) or higher offices. The group executive officers and all subordinate commanders are unnamed NPCs.