VBAM Games Forums

In the Honor Harrington Series, it is reported that Midshipment spend 3.5 years on the campus, then a 6 mounth "snotty cruise", which depending on what they did results in a Line Commission, a staff commision or your diploma with a statement that the Navy realy doesn't need you after all.

That's fine, but what about that small persentage that want to be Marines?
Do they do thier "cruise" as midshipmen?, NCO's that only thier reviewing officer(s) know are officer canidates? or something that I haven't thought about yet?

What you think (especially from any retired or active Marines) would be apprecated

It's been a while since I read the series, so I can't remember if Weber ever mentioned it, but it's possible that Marines have their own Academy for training new officers.

I'd imagine they would have to come through a different training regime. IIRC the marines serve as damage control and gun crew on ships, but the bulk of their duties are going to require an entirely different set of skills from those a naval officer would need.

We know there is both a Manticorian Army and Marines. I would imagine the marines would train with the army for the main, though maybe with a semester or two at the naval academy perhaps, for cross training in shipboard skills.

HairyHeretic wrote:I'd imagine they would have to come through a different training regime. IIRC the marines serve as damage control and gun crew on ships, but the bulk of their duties are going to require an entirely different set of skills from those a naval officer would need.

We know there is both a Manticorian Army and Marines. I would imagine the marines would train with the army for the main, though maybe with a semester or two at the naval academy perhaps, for cross training in shipboard skills.

Hmmmm or maybe the "Academy" Marines share some facilities with the Navy (Barracks/dorms messing ect) while spreading the overlaping shipboard training in between throughout the course. Example while the Navy Middies are aboard a traing ship for shiphandling time, the Marine Middies are in the field. Both sets are aboard a training ship during Damage Control training, and if the Navy continues the tradition of Marines manning some of the weapon mounts, live fire or on mount simulations.

The Marine training staff on Campus would be a mix of Marine and Army instructors (maybe Army would handle Armor and Artillery related because the have so much more of it)

A Marine midshipman would still have a "snotty cruise" as a midshipman and could be assigned to any Marine unit he was qualified for (i.e. don't send the person who did poorly on the small craft unit to the equivalent to a Marine Air wing), but they could be part of a ships Marine Detachment.

Thanks for the response