In-Universe Explanation RE: SF Marine's Weapons?

[estrea]

Did I miss something or was there ever an In-Universe explanation why the Star Fleet Marine's used (presumably antique-style) bullet weapons instead of phaser-type weapons against the Jem'hadar on that rocky planet or asteroid? I loved the uniforms, but they made the Marines stick out like target practice dummies. Just one of those little things that made me go: "Huh?"

 

[Timo]

Bullet weapons? In "The Siege of AR-558"?

They all had the standard phaser rifles we have seen ever since TNG "The Mind's Eye". These weapons shot standard phaser beams. We see some in action here (cut and paste):

http://ds9.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/7x08/ar558_321.jpg

One might argue whether the weapons used by the MACO forces in ENT were modern phase rifles, or older plasma weapons. It wouldn't be surprising if those "Marines" had decided not to go for the latest high-tech gadgetry quite yet, even when their "Navy" equivalents, our Starfleet heroes, already eagerly used phase guns.

But no Federation forces, be they shipboard or planetside, have been seen using bullet weapons or indeed anything besides phasers (and knives or swords). At best, there was this one experimental slugthrower in DS9 "Field of Fire", but it was stated that this weapon was never deployed on the battlefields. (Yes, Kirk and Spock and McCoy confiscated some Tommy-guns in "A Piece of the Action", but they never fired those in anger. And yes, Sulu fired that revolver in "Shore Leave". And yes, Picard replicated or holo-projected another Tommy-gun in First Contact. But I don't think any of those count.)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[estrea]

Yeah, I was on YouTube and playing trailer after trailer (they're about 10 mins long) labelled DS9 Dominion War and this one popped up. Crap, I can't find it now.

The guys in black walking along amongst the boulders and white script comes up saying they're SF Marines. Then it shows Jem'Hadar hiding amid the boulders. The Marines walk into a compound. Everyone's wiped out. The officer tells a man to police the bodies and put lookouts on the upper walkway. Of course, that's when the Jem'Hadar attack and I notice the "antique" weapons. I'll just chalk it up to a "mash-up" -- I mean, I know I'm getting a little long in the tooth, but I did not remember that being in the Dominion War at all...

Yeah, I just went to another website to refresh my memory -- that was the episode where Nog lost a leg. The YouTube vid had to be a mash-up...maybe those "SF Marines" were really Starship Troopers. But the blending was nice and the creator was making a good statement about loss of friends during wartime.

 

[Crewman47]

What I've always wondered is why the Marines and even Sisko's crew still had those old TNG style Type 3 Phaser Rifles and never got the upgraded Type 3's that were introduced in First Contact even when Voyager was shown with the new ones?

 

[Timo]

Is that an upgrade, or another type for another kind of application? Not every GI Joe got a M249 when those were introduced as squad weapons: M16 still soldiers on as the individual fighter's weapon.

When Nog totes a First Contact rifle in DS9 "Empok Nor", it looks (and I think is supposed to look) like he's brandishing a machine gun in a ridiculous bit of overkill, while the serious security folks just carry standard assault rifles of the good old TNG "The Mind's Eye" type.

Applying that retroactively, it would make good sense for everybody on the E-E to pack machine guns against the Borg, even though they would continue to use the shorter, lighter, more practical assault rifles against Klingons and Romulans and Breen and Jem'Hadar and other lesser opponents.

That YouTube snippet sounds interesting... Any further keyword suggestions beyond "DS9 Dominion War"?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[estrea]

I will continue to look for it. As I said, I was so baffled why these 'alleged' Star Fleet Marines were using projectile weapons against the Jem'Hadar. I could kick myself now for not writing down the addy. <insert icon banging head on desk here>

 

[estrea]

The creator of the YouTube video that started this whole thing is ChrRei. He or she has now condensed the material on The Dominion War into three (3) videos. I must say, he or she is excellent at editing, summation overlay onto existing scenes and is definitely an appreciative Niner. However, I miss that video with the projectile weapons for the sheer message it sends, even if it is a mash-up. In the new videos, he or she achieves a similar message, but it is definitely PG (no blood at all). Oh, well.