The Modern Soldier

The soldier of today has come a long way over the past few thousand years. New tactics, growing from multiple cultures, doctrines, and styles of fighting have created a very fierce battlefield for the modern trooper to adapt to, or die. Though, currently, aside from the Skerge of 5512, the last legitimate ground fighting was more than 2000 GSYs ago (3437 GSe3 [311 BCE]) during the Second Galactic War, there have been multiple minor conflicts and engagements that have broadened the solider's skills.

Typically, when a war moves to the ground, it has been excepted that winning the fight in orbit or in open space is hopeless, and so militaries will attempt to deploy Marines on hostile colonies and inner-worlds to deter further aggression. The job of the modern Marine varies greatly, from high-tempo urban warfare to the ever lethal jungle warfare. While the general mission of troops is to play "clean up" during ground occupation and to conduct a guerilla war during defensive operations, when invading heavily populated worlds, ground wars have the tendency to become an unquantifiably lethal ordeal.

Weaponry
Most weapons today are similar in appearance as the small (relative to the species of origin), compact carbines and battle rifles are used by almost all ground militaries. Railgauss technology, a combination of railgun and coilgun ideas, is the mainstay in all battlefield weaponry. Using oppositely charged magnetic rails to suspend rounds in a free space while throwing downrange via electromagnetic coils, a simple, meter long assault carbine is capable of throwing kinetic slugs weighing only a gram at subluminal speeds (3.05km/s). These slugs can create kinetic impacts of roughly 4kJ (kilojoules) which is equivalent to an 80kg object traveling at 36km/h). Though kinetic dampeners can typically stop four or five rounds before overloading, these rounds will punch neat holes through steal, brick, stone, and ablative plating with ease.

Shaped like blunt-tailed needles or nails, these rounds are rifled so that they can spiral toward their target accurately. Once they impact, all the force is transferred along the needle toward the tail so that once it enters a target it will "tumble" through causing the most damage to the lifeform it is striking. Magazines weighing half a kilogram can house up to 500 of these lethal rounds for a standard four kilogram battle rifle. Even more rounds can be placed into a light or medium machine gun for the purpose of hosing enemy positions.

Larger barrels can create larger kinetic impact forces and are capable of generating even higher yields for heavier slugs, the simple conversion coming out to 5.015km/s per meter. Some anti-armor weapons such as kinetic rod launchers or KRLs are simply two long barrels that fire two kilogram slugs from tripods, this can generate a kinetic force equivalent to a one tonne truck slamming into an object at over 8km/s. Recoil, is however, still a problem with these weapons and so extremely large weapons throwing heavy slugs require massive recoil dampening equipment. These dampeners can weigh almost as much as twice the gun itself making it highly inconvenient to place such large weapons on anything other than vehicles or mounts that can transfer the recoil to a grounded state, though recoil merely a third of the equivalent kinetic impact is still lethal to anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Fatigues
Typical fatigues consist of a simple undershirt, trousers, a jacket, matching parka, and boots. These can vary in color and material though the most common is a blend of cotton and nylon (or species-native alternatives). Government insignia, military insignia, and rank codes can be seen upon these very generic uniforms. Some interesting technology placed into these is the Intelligent Stitching, or "intellistitch",  that can easily tighten or loosen depending on the environment to create a warmer or cooler clothing for different weathers. Fatigues are the basic form of protection and representation during any kind of service, except aboard naval vessels, where one-piece coveralls are more common due to their tendency to not catch on sharp edges during times when gravity is lost.

Body Armor -- Level 1
Sometimes called "light armor"  or "scout gear" is a simple vest and headgear made of kinetic padding. Capable of stopping a single round to the body or head, these are merely layers of dragon-scaled, interlocking sheets of KEVLAR and other kinetic-absorption materials. Covering the torso, head, and arm/leg joints, these are worn in hot environments and when there is no atmospheric/heat/pressure dangers.

Body Armor -- Level 2
The next step up from "light armor" this medium protection, sometimes called "urban gear" is light enough to afford easy movement without generating fatigue to the wearer. Covering all vital areas including calves, thighs, forearms, upper-arms, neck, hand, and feet with more kinetic padding and only leaving gaps in areas to keep the utmost maneuverability, this gear can help protect from more indirect fire that comes from an urban environment. Troops wearing this, however, are in areas that are not hostile to their bodies.

Body Armor -- Level 3
Heavy armor, plain and simple, is taking medium protection and adding the next logical step, ablative plating (which prevents damage by instead being destroyed itself through the process of ablation) made of ceramics and super-strong plastics, these plates can lower maneuverability but also are capable of hard-sealing against hostile environments to create a minuscule atmosphere of its own for the user, regardless of the outside conditions. A hard-seal helmet with clear or opaque visor also holds a massive suite of communications technology, life support systems, HUDs, and up-to-the-second battlefield data on an extranet stream known to many as the BUDS (Battlefield UpDate System).

Kinetic Dampeners
Kinetic dampeners are a very light equipment used by most troops in scouting gear or heavier. A butt-pack the size of a small canteen, these projectors use a pulsating energy field to stop massive kinetic impacts. Ran by a single hydrogen rod, small in size, they can withstand five impacts of 4kJ (up to 20kJ) before "overloading" at which point the rod loses power and must be replaced before any form of "shielding" can be returned to the user.

Invasion
The invasion of a planet is a slow, delicate process. Landing troops en mass on a hostile world's planet can sometimes take weeks, and so, it is immediately needed for a naval force in orbit to dominate the skies and the space surrounding the planet before beginning a landing operation. Once lower orbit is controlled and frigates/light cruisers have shelled ground-based anti-air weapons, anti-orbital cannons, and infrastructure that could pose a threat, heavy cruisers will escort carriers into the planet's lower orbit where they will set up Orbital Strike Posts (OSPs) from which troops can, at a later point, acquire kinetic satellite strikes (OKS pronounced "Oxeses"). Carriers begin landing preliminary forces which can secure a "Green Zone" where heavy lifters will later land troops in large numbers and run fighter-screening to seize regional air superiority.

Once a five kilometer green zone is under control, Troop Transports proceed to send heavy lifters with 130,000 troops each (five deck HLs stretching 600m long and 100m wide can carry 130,000 troops to a hostile environment with ease) will begin landing proceedures and allied Marines will push out in Company-sized groups to expand the area of control. This is typically done in areas of low population, though sometimes this is impossible. Some invasions can be made by only five heavy lifters (an Army Group of 650,000 marines) while larger population centers could take entire an Fleet of Marines (26,000,000 troops). After positions of allied forces create a solid bubble of 100km in radius, heavy lifters will typically insert Conscripted Defense Forces over volunteer, career Marines to defend their rear as they secure more and more territory. OKS are the most vital part of a Marine Invasion as the force with orbital control can typically control the speed of the combat by shelling enemies with percision rods or skattered artillery depending on the scenario.

Planetary Defense
Depending on the planet, the defense of a ground force from orbital hostiles can be extremely difficult. Typically, a defending force will hold key locations on the planet that are easily defendable against ground assaults and place heavy Railgauss cannons on high altitude locations. These Ground-to-Orbit Cannons (GOCs pronounced "Jocks") are almost always four hundred meters in length and can easily send ten kilogram slugs into orbit to bring down heavy cruisers with their 20 terajoules of kinetic force (a third of a Hiroshima bomb). The first step in protecting a planet is to secure orbit. If an enemy can solidly control the lower orbit of a planet, then the occupying force will be fighting a losing battle from the beginning.

GOCs are used for what are called "Screening Campaigns" where ground forces will attempt to punch holes in the invading force's cruiser cover which can provide their Carrier-Troops landing cover. If this is successful, ground-based AA weaponry can drop a few troopships before they land to effectively lower the enemy troop count. While two carriers can typically only land roughly a battalion of troops (~1,300 Marines), a strong screening campaign can easily drop that number to a few concentrated platoons or a single company of ~260 troops. It would be the ground's job to protect defending troops from air strikes, though it is not easy if orbit has been lost long before the enemy begins landing troops. Weakening a landing zone with orbital fire will normally render any local defenses useless and a war will move to a ground.

It is not if a major conflict will move onto the surface of a planet, but when.

Urban Warfare
Urban warfare on heavily developed worlds is inevitable, and also the most deadly of any form of combat. Modern militaries typically dread sending troops into a city due to its easy defendability. Heavy entrenchments, metropolitan defenses, gun placements, and armored vehicles can make fighting in a major city or town something that could bog down into weeks of fighting to take a single block. Exchanging pot-shots from different buildings, fighting in sky-scrapers, and clearing allies, drains, pipes, sewers, tunnels, and high-rises can slow forces down to a near stand-still causing a pitched battle of slugging matches where attrition rates can be off the charts.

Assault
Offensive forces will typically play a game of cat and mouse with a larger defending force. Improvised explosives, three hundred sixty degree ambushes, civilian militias, and multiple stories of fighting can lead to a troublesome campaign. Commanding Officers will seek to split their troops into very surgical groups, dedicating specific companies from their Groups into a "street division" and using heavy armored vehicles (i.e. tanks, APCs, IFVs, gun trucks) to push forward. Air cover is limited in highly-developed zones due to the tight spaces, and so, troops are forced to fight the hard way. High mobility and a constant pitch of assault-retreat actions, offenses into urban environments can lead to guerrilla wars that stretch out for months.

Sewers and metro-tunnels are key targets for control as they offer easily-defensible zones to set up Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) away from air strikes. High-rise buildings offer tactical problems because enemies can (and will) fight for the building floor-by-floor. Sometimes offensive forces will land troops on the rooftops and send more in through the ground or basement to slowly constrict hostiles. Indirect orbital artillery is traded for precision rod-strikes from frigates within the atmosphere due to their accuracy and tanks can play huge roles in defending captured ground.

Defense
The upper-hand is with the defenders when it comes to urban warfare. Ambushes can become a fighter's best tool and strategy in these situations as a battle of attrition is the main strategy. Supply lines into the city become key targets and high-rise buildings are utilized as vantage points from which to funnel enemies into designated killing fields. Lightly armored but devastating anti-tank vehicles are also very useful for defending forces because they can stop the intimidating presence of enemy tanks and IFVs. Kinetic mortars, rocket pods, improvised explosives, guerrilla fighting, and brute wave assaults can be used to wear down the smaller offensive forces. Cutting the numbers of the enemy troops as low as possible gives the defenders an even greater advantage, especially if the overall war is asymmetric in their favor.

This can lead to brutal cuts in enemy lines, whole platoons at a time. It is typically understood that to wear an enemy down even more and begin to inspire fear in their hearts is to continue relentless attacks, nonstop, for days. This fighting can drastically cut their supplies, and if logistic support has been severed, troops will be trapped in the field with no resupplies, making them easy targets for the defending forces.