So I realize that this transition from Minutemen to Marine Corps was kind of unexpected, and that's my fault for not making it a clear transition. Hopefully this clears up some of that confusion.

I want to thank Luckenhaft for the guidance to do a chapter like this, your last review was exactly the type of feedback that I need to improve this story and myself as a writer, so thank you for that and I look forward to more of your insights.


Good evening ladies and gentlemen of the Commonwealth, Travis Miles here with something a little different for you tonight. As I'm sure your all aware the Minutemen have come under new management several months ago and, following increased reports of supposed Institute attacks, have made some very controversial changes to their infrastructure. Changes some would even say are unnecessary. Luckily for us Diamond City's own Piper Wright has taken it upon herself to get the answers behind some of these radical reforms straight from Lance Corporal Ryan Anderson, acting General of the United States Marine Corps.

Begin Playback

"Alright, I'm Lieutenant Wright here with Lance Corporal Anderson, acting General of the newly resurrected United States Marine Corps. General, first off let me just say how much I appreciate you taking the time to do this interview."

"Of course, it's a pleasure to be able to address the people of the Commonwealth. I understand that some of the changes we've made in the past month might put some people on edge about our intentions, but I would be glad to answer whatever questions you might have and hopefully put people's minds at ease."

"That's exactly what we're here for, so let's get started. When did you decide that the Minutemen weren't enough to defend the Commonwealth? What made you decide to bring back the Marine Corps?"

"While I served as General of the Minutemen we did great things, we set up several new settlements and helped secure the existing ones. We formed an alliance with the Brotherhood of Steel and stepped up our own military strength. But even with all our accomplishments we were still a ragtag group of civilians running around with guns scattered across the Commonwealth without any sort of defined leadership. Yeah we had the Castle as a base of operations but our ability to coordinate effectively was severely lacking, a fact that become abundantly clear when we were unable to respond to the Institute's attack on the Railroads HQ. By the time we even suspected something had happened two of our operatives and the entire Railroad leadership had been captured. That's when I came to the realization that the Minutemen as they were weren't going to cut it in the war that's coming. The following morning, I held a meeting with our leadership to figure out what we were going to do to correct this deficiency. I proposed that we unify all our current forces, which the majority were in a reserve state at the time, into an active fighting force and place an emphasis on combat effectiveness and reaction time, much like the pre-war Marine Corps. This plan would change the Minutemen from a bunch of settlers with guns into an actual military force capable of rivaling the other factions in the Commonwealth. Colonel Garvey agreed with this plan and suggested that while we were rebuilding ourselves from the ground up that we do away with our old identity and adopt a new one. Since we were using the USMC as a standard to hold ourselves to, as well as my prior service, it only seemed right that we bring back the pre-war organization. Since then we've been working on fully transitioning into a fighting force worthy of the title United States Marines."

"Doesn't that seem a tad bit arrogant to you, renaming the Minutemen Marines based solely on your prior service?"

"Maybe, but this is more than just a changing of our name, we're actually reestablishing the USMC. Sure it's biased, had I served in any other branch I would have probably pushed to resurrect that group, but historically speaking the Marine Corps is the best fighting force in recent pre-war history and I believe that we can be again."

"That's very interesting General. However, people across the Commonwealth have grown used to the Minutemen being around again and feel that you're discrediting everything the Minutemen have accomplished. What do you have to say on that topic?"

"It's understandable that people feel that way, but the Marine Corps has always valued its heritage and traditions. That being said we've taken the Minutemen's idea of responding in a minute's notice and developed a rapid response, hunter/killer team, named the Marine Corps Minutemen in honor of the groups accomplishments, capable of immediately reacting to calls of distress. These special operatives operate in small three to four man teams to quickly and effectively handle any situation that may come up. What used to take the original Minutemen days to accomplish, we can now accomplish in a matter of hours. The members of this elite group embody and uphold all the values that the Commonwealth Minutemen established and they are a vital part of our Corps."

"Why not just keep the Minutemen around and train a portion of them to become Marines?"

"Simply put, why have less when you can have more?"

"I see. What about the men and women under your command, how have they reacted to the militarization reforms you've enacted?"

"I'm aware that many of our troops joined the Minutemen to ensure the security of their settlements and expected to remain in a reserve status, but with increasing aggression from the Institute, and the ever present threat of raiders and super mutants preying on underdeveloped settlements, the majority of our troops welcomed the chance to be a part of something bigger than themselves and learn the skills needed to effectively defend their homes. This new generation of Marines is committed to ensuring that the Commonwealth becomes a place where people can live without fear."

"Speaking of a new generation of Marines, I understand that your holding these Marines up to a higher standard than when they were Minutemen, has this affected them in anyway?"

"This isn't a new concept; the Marine Corps has always held itself to higher standards than any other military force. This standard gives our Marines something to strive for and they find pride in knowing that they're the best fighting force in the Commonwealth. Morale has increased exponentially, we went from being unorganized farmers with a seemingly unobtainable, undefined goal, to united, trained, warfighters with a clear goal to work towards."

"You've said that you wanted to reform the Minutemen's combat effectiveness. How has transitioning into a Marine Corps contributed to this?"

"As the Minutemen, we focused more on defensive tactics to secure our settlements hold attackers at bay. As Marines we've adopted the USMC's concept of maneuver warfare. This new doctrine allows us to defeat our enemies by incapacitating their decision-making through shock and disruption, giving us the tactical advantage in combat. Utilizing these tactics, we've eliminated several raider encampments, including the Corvega plant, and we're currently working on destroying their last strongholds in the Boston ruins."

"Alright, let's move onto the big question on everyone's mind. How will the Marine Corps defeat the Institute, an organization that has terrorized the Commonwealth for decades?"

"It's true, the Institute is unlike any enemy the Marine Corps has ever faced. They're technologically advanced, have seemingly limitless amounts of troops, and are well hidden, but one thing that gives us the advantage over them is our will to fight. Throughout our history we've always committed to fighting and destroying our enemy, no matter how the odds are stacked against us, and we've always come out on top. It won't be any different this time, yes these Marines are new and untested but I have complete confidence in their ability to fight and win this war."

"Let's hope so, aside from the Brotherhood your Marines are best chance we have against the Institute. Thank you for your time General, I wish you and the Marine Corps the best of luck in your endeavors. This has been Lieutenant Wright with General Anderson."

End Playback

"And there you have it folks, the Minutemen are gone but from their ashes the Marine Corps has been reborn. Let's hope that they can live up to their pre-war reputation and bring an end to the constant fighting in the Commonwealth. So good luck in your campaign, Marines. And now these next songs go out to our boys and girls in green fighting to keep us safe, stay safe out there…"


Again I hope this has cleared up any confusion.

These last few chapters have been very administrative in nature, but the next chapter will get back to the action in the form of Marines doing what they do best...