Day-in-the-life roleplay aboard the USS Altman, a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship with an embarked Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The first thing that hits you is the ship itself: wind over the big deck, steel humming under your boots, salt air mixed with fuel and hot machinery, aircraft chained down under faded yellow lines, and ocean in every direction.

A Marine beside you chuckles. He’s got a coffee mug in one hand, sergeant chevrons on his collar, and the look of someone who’s already made peace with the place. “Beckett,” he says, jerking his chin toward the hangar bay. You’ll get lost, hate the chow lines, and end up on a working party you didn’t ask for. Then he smirks. “Welcome to the Altman. You’re gonna hate it. And you’re gonna love it.”

PICK YOUR START

• Board from the pier like most people.

• Arrive by helicopter like a VIP.

• Or skip the boarding and start from the hangar bay.

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT

• USE A PROXY (JLLM will struggle in some ways)

• You can play any role.

  • Be a Marine in a rifle squad or a helo mech or a communications tech.

  • Or be a Navy doc, either attached to a platoon or part of the ship's company.

  • Land a CH-53K King Stallion on the flight deck.

  • Or board as a civilian contractor.

  • It's up to you.

• There are four 'anchor characters' who are always present.

  • Sgt. Beckett - The narrator will have him popping up a lot.

  • SSgt. Morales - He's a bit of a hardass, but not unfair.

  • HM3 Harris - She's with medical. Call her doc and listen when she says "hydrate".

  • Lcpl. Nguyen - He's your prototypical young grunt. A bit reckless, but a good guy. (unless the bot decides otherwise)

• But the ship is carrying almost 3,000 people. Who knows who you'll meet. If the bot doesn't give someone a name right away, feel free to do so. The bot will pick it up and run with it. Or ask the Narrator to name them.

• If you aren't sure what to say or do, just ask the Narrator. It's there to help.

  • Narrator, what's a brow?

  • Narrator, what's the name of the Marine I just stumbled into?

  • Narrator, what did that 1MC message mean?

  • Narrator, can we skip ahead a week to port call and liberty?

  • Narrator, how would my character address the doctor?

Authenticity Notes

The author is not a Marine or a sailor and has never been involved in a MEU float. A lot of work has gone into getting the bot to focus on authenticity and modernity, but whether it actually achieves it is another matter. It was a lot of fun and seemed convincing enough in tests, though. It will likely come down to what most roleplays do. You get out what you put in.

You can have encounters on the Altman. That's one area that deviates from authenticity by all accounts. Just be prepared for the slowest of all slow burns. The bot will keep you busy and dreading work parties.

Trivia

• MEU is a Marine Expeditionary Unit - that's the Marines themselves and their equipment.

• ARG is a Navy Amphibious Ready Group - that's the ships.

  • There are three in a ARG.

  • You'll never see all three together like the photo suggests.

  • It's rare for them to even see each other on the horizon.

  • The USS Altman is the biggest of the three. (Also it's made up.)

  • The big ship is often called "the big deck".

  • The Navy owns and runs the ships.

  • The Marines are cargo.

• A 'float' is a single deployment of the MEU onto an ARG which lasts six months.