Weltraummarinekorps

"'First to drop; first to win; first to die.' — unofficial motto" The Weltraummarinekorps (Galactic Standard: Space Navy Corps) is the standing naval infantry component of the Weltraummarine, the space navy component of the Staatswehr military force. Able to deploy on Weltraummarine assets across the galaxy, the Weltraummarinesoldaten that serve in the corps often are used for expeditionary warfare and the boarding of enemy spatial infrastructure in addition to the defense of vital spatial assets and the garrisoning of starships. The Weltraummarinekorps also deploys with its own dedicated formations of armor, air, and artillery during dedicated planetary invasions as a representation of the Weltraummarine in terrestrial warfare.

The origins of the Weltraummarinekorps lie with the space marine formations that existed in the space navy of the Veran Star Confederation, the Konföderierte Marine. With the formation of the Menschlicher Sternenstaat and the commencement of a plethora of military operations throughout the new nation's history, the then-infant Weltraummarinekorps blossomed into a fierce fighting force with elite formations and high-quality equipment. However, the corps has always been folded under the command structure of the Weltraummarine proper, and relies on the parent branch's starships to ferry its troops, vehicles, and logistics. Being a highly decentralized sub-branch due to the deployment of its personnel across all major starships and stellar infrastructure of the Sternenstaat, the highest rank that Weltraummarinesoldaten commanders can obtain while having distinct control over their own troops is usually the designation of Oberst.

Functioning as the Weltraummarine's infantry component, the Weltraummarinekorps sees service all across the galaxy in the manning of major capital-grade warships for its parent branch. Weltraummarinesoldaten assigned to these vessels are primarily tasked with the defense of the ship against both enemy boarding parties and mutinies, and also have the functionality of guarding prisoners in brigs or dedicated prison-ships. During times of war, the Weltraummarinekorps offers itself as the primary candidate for landing troops on enemy worlds as spearheads for later Kampf-Staatsschutz or Sturmheer deployments, and also has directives to board enemy starships or spatial infrastructure such as space elevators or stations. These various functionalities have created a multi-role force that demands high levels of aptitude — only rivalled by the Sturmheer's orbitaljäger or the K-SS's own adopted SS-Orbitaljäger and SS-Weltraummarinesoldaten formations.