Closer comes the screaming knife
This beautiful creature must die
This beautiful creature must die
A death for no reason
And death for no reason is MURDER.
- Meat Is Murder, The Smiths.
"Yeah. Meat is murder. So what are you waiting for?!"
- Corporal Stephen "Moz" Morris, "Meat is Murder" squad, 80th JEA "Yumiko" Division, Battle of Hills 881 and 861, Indochina Sub-Sector Campaign.
A (mis) interpretation:
The Joint Expeditionary Army (JEA) Marine Corps is a branch of the Terra Coalition Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea and space, using the mobility of the Terra United Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. The mission of the Marine Corps has evolved with changing military doctrine and Terra foreign policy. The Marine Corps has served in every Terra armed conflict and attained prominence in the 20th century when its theories and practises of amphibious warfare proved prescient and ultimately formed the cornerstone of the Pacific campaign during the Great War on Terra. The Marine Corps had become a major theorist and practitioner of amphibious warfare. Its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of Terra foreign policy. As a force it can rapidly deploy a combined-arms task force to almost anywhere on Terra within hours and across the Sol System within days. The JEA Marine Corps fulfils a vital role in national security as an amphibious, expeditionary, space-air-ground combined arms task force, capable of forcible entry from the space, air, land, and sea. It is capable of asymmetric warfare with conventional, irregular, and hybrid forces. The basic structure for all deployed units is a Marine Space-Air-Ground Task Force that integrates a ground combat element, an aviation combat element and a logistics combat element under a common command element. The close integration of disparate Marine units stems from an organisational culture centred around the infantry. Every other Marine capability exists to support and emphasises the combat abilities of the infantry. As a result, a large degree of initiative and autonomy is expected of all Marines, as compared with many other military organisations. The JEA Marine Corps emphasises authority and responsibility downward to a greater degree than the other military services. Flexibility of execution is implemented via an emphasis on "commander's intent" as a guiding principle for carrying out orders; specifying the end state but leaving open the method of execution. The Marines are credited with the development of sub-flight warbots insertion doctrine and were the earliest in the Terra military to widely adopt manoeuvre-warfare principles which emphasise low-level initiative and flexible execution. The JEA Marine Corps relies on the Navy for sealift and orbital drops to provide its rapid deployment capabilities. The JEA Marine Expeditionary Units are typically stationed at mobile sea fortresses and space stations. To aid rapid deployment, the Maritime Pre-Positioning System was developed: fleets of container ships are positioned throughout Terra and orbits with enough equipment and supplies for a Marine Expeditionary Force to deploy for 30 days.
During the Great War, veteran Marines from the United Americana Borders War campaign served a central role in their late entry into the conflict between Terra and the Archduchy of Mars. The Marine Corps had a deep pool of officers and NCOs with battle experience, and experienced a small expansion. Here, the Marines fought their famed battle at Tartarus Montes, Elysium Plantitia, occurred during the Archduchy 1918 Spring Offensive, creating the Marines' reputation in the Great War. While its previous expeditionary experiences had not earned it much acclaim in Terra, the Marines' ferocity and toughness on Mars earned them the respect of the Archduchy Army, who rated them of stormtrooper quality.
After the assault of the Ecclesiarchy of Mars upon Terra, the illustrious Commandant of the Corps, Yumiko Saito, would presciently studied and developed amphibious techniques that would be of great use in the Great War. She foresaw a war in Pacific against the Ecclesiarchy of Mars and undertook preparations for such a conflict. The Corps pushed urgently for joint amphibious exercises and acquired amphibious equipment that would prove of great use in the upcoming conflicts.
During the Great War, veteran Marines from the United Americana Borders War campaign served a central role in their late entry into the conflict between Terra and the Archduchy of Mars. The Marine Corps had a deep pool of officers and NCOs with battle experience, and experienced a small expansion. Here, the Marines fought their famed battle at Tartarus Montes, Elysium Plantitia, occurred during the Archduchy 1918 Spring Offensive, creating the Marines' reputation in the Great War. While its previous expeditionary experiences had not earned it much acclaim in Terra, the Marines' ferocity and toughness on Mars earned them the respect of the Archduchy Army, who rated them of stormtrooper quality.
After the assault of the Ecclesiarchy of Mars upon Terra, the illustrious Commandant of the Corps, Yumiko Saito, would presciently studied and developed amphibious techniques that would be of great use in the Great War. She foresaw a war in Pacific against the Ecclesiarchy of Mars and undertook preparations for such a conflict. The Corps pushed urgently for joint amphibious exercises and acquired amphibious equipment that would prove of great use in the upcoming conflicts.
The JEA Marines played a central role in the Pacific sector theatre. The battles of Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Tarawa, Guam, Tinian, Cape Gloucester, Saipan, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa saw fierce fighting between the Marines and the Frateris Militia of Mars. The five-week battle on Iwo Jima in 1945 comprised some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting during the Pacific Campaign of the Great War. The Reds Army had learnt from their defeats in the Marianas battles and Iwo Jima were heavily fortified, with a dense network of bunkers, hidden artillery positions, and 18 km of underground tunnels. The Frateris Militia defended their positions tenaciously with no thought of surrender. They put up fierce resistance and the mission was accomplished by the JEA Marine Corps at very high losses, with 260,000 JEA Marines casualties and 220,000 Reds Army. After the heavy losses incurred in the battle, the strategic value of the island became controversial. It was useless to the Army as a staging base and useless to the Navy as a fleet base nor space port. It was of limited use to the Coalition Army Space Forces only for emergency landings, and there were other, smaller islands that could have been used for that purpose. However, the campaign proved to be a turning point for the conflict as the Coalition Army succeed in breaching the Reds Army's Eastasian Link Defence Perimeter.
In the Goryeo Peninsular sector campaign of Eastasia in 1950, the Reds Army held Northern Goryeo sub-sector had enjoyed superiority in both manpower and equipment over Southern sub-sector's Coalition Army. The Frateris Militia continued to push south, until the establishment of the Pusan Perimeter. After the Great Naktong Offensive which caught Coalition Army by surprise and almost overwhelmed them, the JEA Marines execute a flanking manoeuvre, making an amphibious landing at Incheon behind the enemy line after initial orbital bombardment. The subsequent Battle of Incheon resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favour of the Coalition Army, particularly the capture of Kimpo space port. It led to the Second Battle of Sudogwon City two weeks later, which resulted in collapse of the Reds' supply lines in Southern Goryeo. In contrast to the quick victory at Incheon, the advance and recapture of Sudogwon was slow and bloody. The city was heavily fortified and casualties mounted as the JEA Marines engaged in house-to-house fighting. The Marines pursuit the Reds Army north near the Yalu River until sudden reinforcement from the Tannhäuser Gate I Legion into the battle. The Reds surrounded, surprised and overwhelmed the overextended and outnumbered Marines. The JEA Marines regrouped and inflicted heavy casualties during their fighting withdrawal to the coast, now known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Later, the Frateris Militia launched a massive campaign against three JEA Marines outposts. One was captured by the Reds but the Marines held the remaining two outposts through the remaining of the campaign and continue a battle of attrition around the 38th Parallel against the resurgent Reds Army.
In the Goryeo Peninsular sector campaign of Eastasia in 1950, the Reds Army held Northern Goryeo sub-sector had enjoyed superiority in both manpower and equipment over Southern sub-sector's Coalition Army. The Frateris Militia continued to push south, until the establishment of the Pusan Perimeter. After the Great Naktong Offensive which caught Coalition Army by surprise and almost overwhelmed them, the JEA Marines execute a flanking manoeuvre, making an amphibious landing at Incheon behind the enemy line after initial orbital bombardment. The subsequent Battle of Incheon resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favour of the Coalition Army, particularly the capture of Kimpo space port. It led to the Second Battle of Sudogwon City two weeks later, which resulted in collapse of the Reds' supply lines in Southern Goryeo. In contrast to the quick victory at Incheon, the advance and recapture of Sudogwon was slow and bloody. The city was heavily fortified and casualties mounted as the JEA Marines engaged in house-to-house fighting. The Marines pursuit the Reds Army north near the Yalu River until sudden reinforcement from the Tannhäuser Gate I Legion into the battle. The Reds surrounded, surprised and overwhelmed the overextended and outnumbered Marines. The JEA Marines regrouped and inflicted heavy casualties during their fighting withdrawal to the coast, now known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Later, the Frateris Militia launched a massive campaign against three JEA Marines outposts. One was captured by the Reds but the Marines held the remaining two outposts through the remaining of the campaign and continue a battle of attrition around the 38th Parallel against the resurgent Reds Army.
The Marines also served an important role alongside the WF "Jungler" Corps in the Indochina Sector Campaign of Oceania, particularly in Nam Viet, taking part in such battles as Da Nang, Hue City, Con Thien and Khe Sanh in the late 60s. It was one of the most brutal and deadliest battles between the JEA Marines and the Frateris Militia. The battles that erupted on the hill masses south and southeast of Nam Viet became some of the hardest-fought and bloodiest battles of the Great War, a prelude to the Ecclesiarch counter-offensive campaign throughout Terra, the Second Crusade. Unspeakable acts of attrition carried out by both forces also reached its horrific height in this battle theatre. The sub-sector was referred to by the Marine grunts as "Hamburger Hills" for "being chewed up like a hamburger", "Our Turn in The Barrel", "the Meat Grinder" and the DMZ stands for "Dead Marine Zone". The Indochina battles was the longest and hardest campaign for Marines. More JEA Marines were deployed for service during Indochina than the Pacific campaign. The JEA Marines were subsequently withdrawn, and returned briefly to evacuate Saigon and attempt a rescue of the crew of the Mayaguez mobile fortress from the MOD space pirate faction. It is the only known military engagement between the MOD and the Coalition Army on the surface of Terra.
While recovering from the Indochina campaign, the Corps hit a detrimental low point in its service history caused by courts-martial and non-judicial punishments related partially to increased unauthorized absences and desertions. Overhauling of the Corps began, discharging the most delinquent, and once quality of new recruits improved, the Corps focused on reforming the NCO Corps, a vital functioning part of its forces, which eventually evolved and formed into the United Sectors Marine Corps (USMC). The USMC would continue the expeditionary role of the JEA, as part of the AMC (Anti-Mars Coalition) of Terra against MARSA (Martian Advocates), ICG (Independent Countries Group) and the N.O.M. Legion (Nitor Obduro Macto).
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The "Meat is Murder (MIM)" superset arrived after nearly a year from order placement. Marketed as a JEA assault squad, it comprises a 1G Armstrong, a Dropcloth Mk 1, Square Mk 1 and 2, and a grunt. The first teaser/preview photo of this set was released way back, until strong requests from 3A fans "reminded" Ashley Wood of it and was promptly set into an official release. The original photo did not show a grunt, so it came as a surprise to me when it was highlighted together with the squad. Both the Armstrong and grunt had not been released in the JEA colourway before and is thus only available with the ordering of this set. It also served as an instant WWR crew. And if one were to collect only the JEA, I envy them for with this set, the JEA colourway serves as one of the nearly, most complete WWR 1/6th scale collection from 3A thus far. The MIM is an obvious reference to The Smiths' second album which features the album cover of a Vietnam War US Marine corporal, with the wording on his helmet changed from "Make War Not Love" to "Meat Is Murder". The original image was used for Emile de Antonio's 1968 documentary In the Year of the Pig. Fans of Morrissey would know how "militantly" vegetarian The Mozzer is. Anyway, this is my first JEA colourway collection. As all these figures have been released in one colourway or another, I won't delve into the details of articulation as it is as per 3A standard. Without saying, the moment the clamshells were opened, the usual "explosion" of micro-particles occurred. I suggest face mask and washing of hands after manhandling these figures. Seriously. The weathering effect from 3A is truly staggering, to the level that, for example, the Armstrong's "ring" around the "eye" is literally coated with dusty, chalk-like "stuffs". Honestly I am hoping for a deeper shades of olive green and fonts on the figures. I guess being Marines, well, water and robots made of steel don't go along well, thus probably for the almost non-existing green motive. Sporting a MIM fonts on all the figures, the grunt also comes with the current "leather" boots instead of molded ones on the original release. As I like to "tuck" in the hem/cuffs of a combat trouser, me itchy fingers pulled too hard and the strings intended to tighten up the trouser came out. So, no choice but to "tuck" it in just at the back. My grunt's face is two toned upon removal of the gas mask, one tanned at behind and pale in front. Guess it is due to too much sunlight :) And the armour vest colouration is, well, a bit disconcerting, as it has this, don't know, "algae-blueish green" colouration instead. Others are fine. Again all the "fluffs" are drawn from Wiki on US Marine Corps, WW2, Korean and Vietnam Wars, ThreeA Wiki and Games Workshop's 40k. Lets see how the WWR goes from here. Hopefully 3A shall retain and continue with the JEA colourway for the new wave in 2014.
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