Fleet Expeditionary (Tiperyn)

The Fleet Marine Corps (Tipsprek: 𐍆𐌻𐍉𐌰𐍄𐌼𐌰𐍂𐌹𐌽𐌹𐌴𐍂𐍃𐌺𐍉𐍂𐍀𐍃, tr. Floatmarinierskorps), also known as the Tiperyn Marines, is a corps of the Realm Armada and the primary and  arm of the Tiperyn Realm Defence.

Although the Fleet Marine Corps is the junior and smaller of Tiperyn's two branches after the Realm Guard, it has been considered Tiperyn's principle expeditionary land force since the Great Kesh War. This has been due to its ability to deploy battalion- and brigade-size formations independently of the other branches, as an arm of the Realm Armada. In addition, the Fleet Marine Corps is considered to be a federal force under the command of the Admiralty Board, whose leader—Cardinal of the Fleet—is a cabinet-level position. Meanwhile, the Realm Guard's regiments are under the administration of Tiperyn's duchies and principalities, introducing political challenges and rivalries to the branch. Thus, the development of the Fleet Marine Corps' doctrine and force structure has been faster than the Realm Guard, and its logistics and manning is more consistent throughout the branch.

The Fleet Marine Corps is a combined arms force, manning its own infantry, armor, artillery, cyber, and support units. The cores of the Fleet Marine Corps is its Marine Strike Brigades, which are able to rapidly deploy a reinforced battalion within 18 hours amphibiously anywhere in the world and the remainder of the brigade via air within 36 hours. It is the largest land formation within the Realm Defence under the corps-level, as the next largest formation is the regiment, which the remainder of the Fleet Marine Corps and Realm Guard are organized into.

The lineage of the Fleet Marine Corps harks back to the Realm Armada's use of dedicated sailors as, , and makeshift landing forces dating back to its 1345 formation. The branch was formally founded on 20 February 1882 as a subdivision of the Realm Armada, and given its own representative on the Admiralty Board—now the Chief of Expeditionary Operations). The Fleet Marine Corps has fought in every war Tiperyn has been engaged in since its formation, with the most recent being the Naseri Civil War that began shortly after the Great Kesh War.

Leadership
The Fleet Marine Corps is completely subordinate to the Realm Armada in terms of organization. However, the Chief of Expeditionary Operations is considered to be the senior officer of the Fleet Marine Corps and is typically filled by a Vice Admiral as one of the Realm Armada's limited number of service branch Vice Admirals. The Chief of Expeditionary Operations, a Major Admiral billet colloquially referred to as the Captain General, originating during the Grand Campaigns when the Chief of Expeditionary Operations first operated in a tactical and operational capacity equivalent to that of a Realm Guard corps commander.

The Captain General is the highest ranking officer in the Fleet Marine Corps. Although Fleet Marine Corps Vice Admirals are eligible to be appointed to serve as the Cardinal of the Fleet—the highest ranking officer in the Realm Armada and the naval branches' only Admiral billet—by the Empress, this has never occurred in the Realm Armada's history. In such a scenario, the Captain General would remain the ranking marine officer, as Fleet Cardinals forfeit their original branch affiliation during their service as Cardinal.

The Captain General maintains their own command staff, which includes the Vice Chief of Expeditionary Operations (colloquially referred to as the Captain Lieutenant) and the Chief Warrant Officer of the Fleet Marine Corps (the branch's senior enlisted man). This staff heads the remainder of the Fleet Marine Corps headquarters, which includes several dozen subordinate offices. Examples include the Offices of Logistics, Manpower, Intelligence, Operations, and Public Affairs.

The current Captain General is Vice Admiral Jakob Richter aided by Captain Lieutenant Major Admiral Gerit Dokkum and Chief Warrant Officer Jesca Tresoar. The Captain General reports to Cardinal of the Fleet Admiral Katherine Rijnder.

Rank structure
The rank structure of the Fleet Marine Corps is identical to the Realm Armada, although enlisted marines and non-commissioned officers receive additional ratings distinctive from the rest of the Realm Armada. These ratings are more similar to the Realm Guard's rank titles due to influences from the service during the Grand Campaigns and Great Kesh War. An example of the dual rank and rating structure would be that a marine with the rank of Senior Petty Officer would have a rating of Colour Sergeant 2nd Class. This applies to the other Realm Armada service branches. For example, a sailor with the rank of Petty Officer and in the Fleet Air Service would have a rating of Petty Officer of Aviation.

Large unit organization
The Fleet Marine Corps' operational maneuver units are typically under the command and control of one of the Realm Armada's Expeditionary Corps. Each of the High Seas Fleet's two sea and two ocean divisions contains an Expeditionary Corps responsible for the employment of marine forces and the coordination between them and naval sea and air assets. Each Expeditionary Corps is under the command of a Major Admiral who reports to the Vice Admiral in command of the sea or ocean division. However, one of the service's Strike Brigades is under the direct authority of the Captain General and his headquarters independent of the expeditionary corps and navy divisional structure.

The two largest tactical units in the Fleet Marine Corps are the brigade and regiment. Each of the branch's regiments fall under one of three types: combat arms, combat support, and special action. There is no distinction between active and reserve regiments in this regard, although reserve units are typically under the administration of the Fleet Marine Reserve Corps rather than an Expeditionary Corps.

Combat arms
Combat arms regiments are considered to be the offensive arm of the Fleet Marine Corps operating with the support of combat support units and the Realm Armada, and sometimes in conjunction with special action units.

Mechanicalized Strike Brigades
The Mechanicalized Strike Brigades constitute the of the Fleet Marine Corps and Realm Armada. Unlike regular combat arms regiments, which are organized around a specific arm — infantry, armor, or artillery detachments for example — Strike Brigades are combined arms formations down to the battalion level. As a result, they are able to operate more independently than other Fleet Marine Corps units. Marine Strike Brigades are the only permanent brigade in the Fleet Marines or Realm Guard and is the largest permanent tactical ground warfare unit in the Tiperyn Realm Defence.

As a service branch of the Realm Armada, commanders of Strike Brigades are Commodores. However, they receive the unique title of "Brigadier" which regimental commanders do not receive. Brigadiers are typically more senior Commodores, having had at least 4-5 years of experience commanding a Marine Regiment as a Captain or Commodore. In the context of an Amphibious Landing Squadron, which typically includes 5 amphibious assault ships, 4-6 escort warships, an attached naval aviation wing, and a portion of the brigade, the Strike Brigade commander will usually be co-equal with the commander of the warships, who is also usually a Commodore.

The subunit of the Strike Brigade that actually sails with Amphibious Landing Squadron crusies on a regular basis is the Shock Detachment, which is reformed out of the brigade's various units on a yearly basis. It contains the entire breadth of the brigade's combat power, service, and support, but in a battalion-sized element. At its core is the original Marine Detachment, which is a combined arms mechanized infantry and armoured unit. To create a Shock Detachment, a self-propelled artillery battery, two batteries worth of air defense units, a scout party (platoon-sized), drone party (unmanned reconnaissance aircraft), electronic warfare party, rescue & surgery party, and a reinforced support troop are added in support. This essentially creates a self-contained unit that can be deployed via a normal Amphibious Landing Squadron while still projecting the brigade's combat power. In addition to the Shock Battalion, a landing party will also usually include 2 additional support troops (company-sized), special action half-troop, an ABC (atomic, biological, chemical) decontamination platoon, and the Brigade Headquarters.

One shock battalion of a Marine Strike Brigade are able to be deployed anywhere in the world within 12 hours. The second marine battalion may be deployed within 24 hours. The third marine battalion and other brigade troops are generally deployable within 3-7 days depending on the location and size of the follow-on force. Typically, the shock battalion is at sea for 12 months before a new shock battalion is formed from one of the other two marine battalions. Typically only one artillery battery and a portion of the support group are at sea at any one time. The remainder stay in garrison on 48-hour notice in their Expeditionary Corps' garrison.

Six Strike Brigades are active within the Fleet Marine Corps — one per Expeditionary Corps and one under the direct authority of the Fleet Marine Corps headquarters. Each Strike Brigade acts as Tiperyn's rapid deployment force in each of the Realm Armada's distinct operational areas — the Eurybian Sea, Balearic Sea, West Tethys Ocean, East Tethys Ocean, and Iapetus Ocean. Strike Brigades are also the only Fleet Marine Corps unit to have the permanent attachment of rotary air support battalion subordinate to the brigade commander. Typically, such Fleet Air Service units are subordinate to the Sea Divisions or Fleet Carrier Squadron commander and cooperate with marine forces via the Expeditionary Corps command. This is to ensure that the Fleet Marine Corps can land a capable and self-sufficient force with aviation specifically dedicated to the marines' ground warfare mission. This capability is supplemental to the Realm Armada's fleet carrier capability. In the context of land warfare, the Strike Brigades act as forward detachments for corps-level operations, spearheading offensives as a more mobile and independent force ahead of the less mobile main force. During conventional conflict, assuming significant preparation time, the Strike Brigade can act as the vanguard for a division-sized Marine Force in conjunction with one or more Marine Regiments and attached support.

Rifleer Regiment
The Rifleer Regiment (Tipsprek: 𐤂𐌰𐌲𐌴𐍂𐌴𐌲𐌹𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍄, tr. Jageregimint) is the core and most numerous maneuver unit in the Fleet Marine Corps. The rifleer regiments consist of 3,972 personnel based in nine mechanized marine infantry troops supporting by three tank troops, with the additional support of one MLRS battery and one self-propelled gun battery, as well as a maintenance battalion, logistics battalion, and MANPADs platoon. The regiment is commanded by a Commodore.

The regiment's three marine battalions are its primary tactical maneuver elements. Doctrinally, each rifle troop operates in support or with the support of one tank platoon depending on the situation. Each battalion also have the support of an integral mechanized reconnaissance platoon that gives the commander a limited reconnaissance capability and provides the battalion with convoy security on the march. At the regiment level, supporting units - most often an artillery or air defense section or battery - are often attached to maneuver battalions during operations if not in support of the entire regiment.

Rifleer Regiments make up the bulk of Tiperyn maneuver units currently engaged in the Naseri Civil War. Although Rifleer Regiments are capable of amphibious assaults, they have rarely done so in practice since the end of the Great Kesh War. This has largely been due to the advent of the mass strategic airlift, as well as the existence of friendly ports and airfields in all countries the Fleet Marine Corps has fought in since the 1950s.

The Rifleer Regiment contains the following sub-units:

Tank Regiment
The Tank Regiment (Tipsprek: 𐍀𐌰𐌽𐍃𐌴𐍂𐌴𐌲𐌹𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍄, tr. Pânseregimint) is the Fleet Marine Corps' primary type of armored unit. The tank regiments consist of 4,030 personnel based in nine tank troops supported by three mechanized marine infantry troops with the additional support of one MLRS battery and one self-propelled gun battery, as well as a maintenance battalion, logistics battalion, and MANPADs platoon. The regiment is commanded by a Commodore.

The regiment's three tank battalions are its primary tactical maneuver elements.