United States Colonial Marines

The United States Colonial Marines Corp (USCM) was a branch of the United States armed services responsible for providing interstellar defense and tactical support to Earth's off world colonies. Prominent in the latter half of the 22nd century, the USCM operated as the most effective search and rescue division of the United Americas Allied Command.

The USCM were divided into four divisions, four aerospace wings and numerous support groups. The USMC also maintained a reserve division and aerospace wing with an additional manpower of more 50,000 marines.

The fighting groups were organized into three Marine Space Forces, each with primary responsibility for security in their areas. A Marine Space Force consisted of one or two Colonial Marine Divisions and a Colonial Marine Aerospace Wing, for ground and air/space combat respectively. They were:


 * Sol (two divisions), Headquartered at O'Neil Station, L-4 Earth-Lunar system.
 * Eridani (one division), Headquartered at Happy Days, Helene 215.
 * Herculis (one division), Headquartered at Chinook 91 GSO station, Georgia 525.

Following the Tientsin campaign, the U.S. Colonial Marine Corps had over 240,000 personnel, with 165,000 as enlisted soldiers.

For missions involving deep space travel, each USCM troop carrier ship was equipped with cryosleep pods, which places personnel into a state of suspended animation during long voyages. A timed program in the ship's computer terminal automatically activated resuscitation of the pods upon reaching their destination. In case of computer failure, most ships were also serviced by a 341-B android, that could manually awaken its crew if needed. It was not uncommon for androids to also hold a military rank, often serving as executive officers on particular missions.

Planetside missions were conducted through the use of UD4L Dropships and M577 APCs (Armored Personnel Carriers). Standard issue weaponry for marines included a M41A pulse rifle, a M56 smart gun and an M4A3 service revolver. For special missions, soldiers were also outfitted with M240 flamethrowers and UA-571C light sentry guns.

In the year 2179, the 2nd Battalion 9th Regiment of the USCM was put together in response to a loss of contact with the Hadley's Hope colony on the planet LV-426 (also known as Acheron). The mission was led by Lt. S. Gorman and his second in command Sgt. Apone. Assisting the unit was a civilian named Ellen Ripley. Some fifty-seven years prior, Ripley's ore transport crew landed on LV-426 where they inadvertently brought a Xenomorph embryo back onto their ship the Nostromo. When the alien matured, it massacred her crew, and Ripley barely escaped with her life. After an abnormally long hypersleep, Ripley was assigned to the USCM unit as a consultant and warned them of the imminent threat level should they discover more Xenomorphs on LV-426.

When the marines reached Hadley's Hope, they discovered that the colony was deserted. They found one survivor, a young girl named Rebecca Jordan, aka Newt. Newt warned them of the creatures that had infested the colony and how they had either killed or harvested the other colonists in the dead of night. As the marines inspected the colony, they encountered the aliens and a brutal battle ensued. The only people to survive the massacre were USCM Corporal Dwayne Hicks, the 341-B android Bishop, Newt and Ripley. Evacuating the planet, they nuked the sight from orbit, insuring that all of the Xenomorphs at Hadley's Hope had been destroyed.

Many years later, Corporal Hicks returned to active service when an officer named Colonel Stephens revealed that the USCM had located the Xenomorph homeworld.

Another mission led by Lt. Joseph Henry investigated a Xenomorph infestation on Sungun Station. Overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of enemy combatants, Henry ordered his unit to retreat back to their carrier ship the Melville via the stations toxic waste basin.

Henry also led a mission to Bracken's World where they discovered a mutated variant of Xenomorph possessing aquatic physical characteristics. Henry's unit fought against the aliens as well Bracken's World mutant caretakers. Private Cerrano was one of several casualties lost on this mission.

Notes & Trivia
Dark Horse Comics treats the first three Alien(s) films as part of its official canon. The events from the 1992 feature film Alien³ contradicts information provided in the first Aliens limited series, thus rendering the series apocryphal. The most pointed discrepancy between the two is that Alien³ reveals that both Hicks and Newt die in hypersleep shortly after the LV-426 mission. Aliens #1, which takes place several years later, shows that Hicks is still a member of the USCM and Newt is now an adult.