Marines

Marines
The Marines are the World Government's military sea force. It is present in all the seas around the world. The World Government maintains a slight military presence in the four Blues by establishing Branch Offices, but focuses the bulk of its assets on the far more dangerous Grand Line.

Marines seem to fall into a few categories:


 * Branch Office Marines, who operate from a set base that they identify themselves with. Example: Nezumi of the 16th Branch. * Field Marines, who patrol large areas of the sea. They often operate out of the Headquarters itself, but may operate far away from it. Example: Hina.

These designations are not official, but are being used here simply for the sake of convenience.

Nomenclature
The Marines in One Piece are the military arm of the World Government; it's possible that an Army exists, but it has not been shown and would be redundant anyway. In the real world, the English word "Marine" is used to describe an army unit who is deployable on land or at sea, while a strictly seafaring force is called a Navy. The Marines of One Piece function more like a Navy than a Marine Corps.

Although the literal roman characters "Marine" are displayed prominently throughout the manga on the hats and uniforms of officers and at military installations, the Japanese word that is used is "海軍" (かいぐん) "kaigun", which translates most closely to "Navy". One of the reasons that Navy is the traditional English translation of the word "kaigun" is the close association that the Imperial Japanese Navy had with the British to the extent that bridge commands in the INS were even issued in English until shortly before WWII. As a result, Viz as well as 4kids decided to translate it as "Navy". Viz alters the various "kaigun" kanji to read Navy in English while leaving the word Marine alone on various equipment and personnel. 4Kids, on the other hand, has opted to erase kanji and to change all instances where the word "Marine" appears in the artwork to read "Navy".

Evidence from the series (specifically, the author's frequent use of vocabulary from mainland European languages) suggests that the use of "Marine" in the Navy's emblem may come from French or German, where "Marine" has the same meaning as the English word "Navy". In English, to call the Navy the "Marines" or the "Marine Corps" can be considered a mistake, because Marines (in the English sense of the word) only make up a portion of the Navy's forces. Nevertheless, fans of the series generally accept either term, though some who are fans of the Japanese version (but do not actually speak Japanese) have been known to criticize the use of the word "Navy," either as a knee-jerk reaction against the 4Kids dub of the Anime (which uses the term) or out of unawareness that the word "Navy" is a more proper translation of the term "Kaigun."

Justice and the Marines
The main problem within the Marines is the approach to Justice. They are generally divided between those who support Moral Justice and those who support Absolute Justice with the latter being the code of conduct for the Marines as a rule.

The Doctrine of "Absolute Justice"
The Marines follow a strict motto of "Absolute Justice" (絶対正義 Zettai Seigi), when it comes to prosecuting those who violate the government's laws. It is a central tenet of Marine doctrine, to the point where the word "Justice" (正義 Seigi) is emblazoned on the uniform coats of all commissioned officers. Pirates have been especially singled out by the Marines as a major threat to order. They are considered criminals regardless of whether they have committed any crimes other than raising the Jolly Roger. Civilians, too, are targeted by the prohibition against piracy: persons known to have associated with pirates are barred from entering the Marines (there are notable exceptions), and providing aid or comfort to pirates is a serious crime, especially if they are well-known bounty heads.

"Absolute Justice" vs. "Moral Justice"
One of the ongoing themes of One Piece is the misapplication of the principle of "justice" by the Marines. While the Maires wish to maintain law and order by apprehending criminals, the techniques that it (or at least some of its members) use can often be no better than the pirates they seek to wipe out, trampling the rights or needs of civilians in order to pursue its own ends. They are also shown to willingly sacrifice the lives of other Marines in attempts to persue absolute justice, often sacrificing large numbers for the sake of one or two criminals.

Rank System
The system of military rank in place for the Marines is fairly straightforward, where each rank is clearly delineated.

Officers and recruits present at Marine Headquarters are considered "Super-elites". All ranks present from "Lieutenant" above are usually trained here, exceptions being those in command of other Marine bases which includes Axe-Hand Morgan and Nezumi.

Rank Insignia
The Marines do not have a system of rank insignia per se. There is significant variation in the kind of uniform worn by officers, with many opting to wear a variety of dress showcasing their own eccentric style. However, as a general rule set down by the author, uniform guidelines are as follows:
 * Upon first entering the Marines, new recruits are given the standard uniform, consisting of a white short-sleeved shirt emblazoned with the Marine emblem, a simplified seagull with "MARINE" underneath it, on the back; a blue neckerchief; dark blue trousers; and a baseball cap with "MARINE" across the front. All officers at the rank of Seaman (一等兵 Ittōhei) and below wear this. The quasi-rank of "Zatsuyō" (雑用 Zatsuyō) adds the kanji 雑 Zatsu ("various" or "odds and ends") to the sleeves, and to the Marine emblem on the back.
 * Once an officer has reached the rank of Petty Officer (伍長 Gochō), he or she can choose from a number of different uniforms, including his or her personal clothes. Only those who really want to appear "sailor-like" will stay with a more traditional uniform.
 * Sailors at the rank of Warrant Officer (准尉 Jun'i) and above are allowed to wear the coat with "Justice" (正義 Seigi) on the back. This coat tends to be worn like a cape, draped over the shoulders with the arms not in the sleeves.
 * For the rank of Lieutenant-Commander (少佐 Shōsa) and above, a suit worn underneath the "Justice" coat is the preferred attire.

There are, of course, exceptions: Jango and Fullbody wear their own clothes with the "MARINE" hat, despite holding the rank of "Seaman Recruit" (三等兵 Santōhei). This may have something to do with the exceptional circumstances by which both of these men were brought into their present situation, or it may simply be lenience on the part of their Captain, Hina.

Filler Marines
Any filler Marines can be found here.

Jonathan
Commander Jonathan is an Anime-only vice-admiral stationed in G-8. He tends to spend the night fishing and is often seen relaxing and meditating, but despite this he is a brilliant strategist. He seems to severely dislike broccoli and says "nah" at the end of his sentences on occasion. He is Chef Jessica's husband, and appears to have superhuman strength judging from how Sanji told Luffy to stay away from him.

Nelson
Commodore Nelson (ネルソン提督, Neruson Teitoku) is an extremely obese anime-only Marine officer on the East Blue, who seeks the Thousand Year Dragon, Ryūji, for his own selfish purposes. To that end, he hires a man named Erik to do his dirty work. While it is assumed that Nelson seeks the Thousand Year Dragon to make an elixir of life from its bones, he really just wants to go on a diet. Assumed as dead due to Erik's furious attack on him after the return of the Thousand Year old dragon's birthing grounds.

Nelson's rank is roughly equivalent to "Commodore" (准将 Junshō), yet the rank he holds (提督 teitoku) does not exist within the Marine rank system. This is most likely a mistake on the part of the Anime writers.