Jon Marcus Phanan is a human male, standing at six foot one inches and weighing 165 pounds. He has hazel eyes and brown hair. Phanan is the son of Mark and Gloria Phanan, who were scientists and experts in the study of temporal anomalies for the Federation. To aid their research, the Federation supplied the Phanan's with an advanced deep-space exploration vessel, about twice the size of a runabout.

Mark and Gloria explored the space along the border of the Alpha\Gamma quadrant for over five year and eventually started to explore beyond the border, venturing into the Gamma Quadrant itself. Jon was born during this time and spent his first fourteen years very much alone, being brought up by his parents. As the years passed by, Jon's parents began to realised that their exploration of the Gamma quadrant was having a detrimental effect on their son.

As the family made their way back to Federation space, they were attacked by a Kirusan attack vessel. (This was before the Kirusans had been officially discovered by the USS Virgo.) The family's ship was badly damaged. Jon's father was killed and his mother was badly injured when several of the control panels exploded during the attack. Jon's mother was able to plot an automated course back to Federation space and make a last minute fix to the ship's warp core allowing them to escape the attacking vessel, before she too died from her injuries.

Jon, unable to help either of his parents or defend the ship huddled in a corner sobbing. Eventually, after nearly three month alone the ship reached Federation space and Jon was recovered, traumatised by his experiences. 

Orphaned, Phanan was placed in a foster home, but was never happy there. After six months, he left the foster home and ended up living on the streets of San Francisco. After nearly a month of living rough, he found a job at a coffee shop, waiting on and clearing tables. The owner of the shop felt sorry for the boy and let him live in the upper room of the shop. Phanan worked there for nearly four years, until his eighteenth birthday. Then, seeing that he had never had enough time or money to attend a regular school, joined the Starfleet Marine Corps to try and further his education.

Starting at the rank of Private, Phanan battled his way through boot camp and although not a top ranking Marine, showed great promise. After he had completed his Marine training, he was assigned to the USS Patton, a Ambassador class vessel. His commanding officer Lieutenant Jack Rasznick, helped him out through his time aboard the Patton, teaching him the ropes and how to stay alive in their tough way of work. Phanan stayed in the same corps, working his way up the ranks first to the rank of squad leader, then to the ranks of Second and First Lieutenants and finally to the rank of Marine Captain.

Jon Phanan's CO was impressed by his skill to learn fast and teach others to do the same, that he had him transferred to the Ninth Marine Squad at Utopia Plantia. Here, Captain Phanan was given the command of a group of Marines. Jon spent two months teaching and training the squad to be the best Marines in the corps., before they were given their first assignment. 

Phanan and his squad were assigned to the newly commissioned USS Utopia. The ship, a special troop moving craft manned wholly by a Starfleet Intelligence crew set out on it's maiden voyage. However,  tragedy struck when they neared their objective within the Beta Quadrant.

The full details of what happened aboard the USS Utopia and the nature of the Utopia's mission have never been established, but most of the Starfleet crew and all of the Ninth Marine squad, bar Captain Phanan were killed.

After a final brief attack, the surviving Starfleet crew and Captain Phanan barricaded themselves in a central area of the ship and placed themselves in a type of stasis, hoping that help would arrive.

Eventually, it did in the form of the USS Leviathan and Captain Marcus Devore. Jon was found to be the only surviving member of the Utopia mission. After being rescued, he was became the Commanding Marine onboard the Leviathan.

After arriving aboard the Leviathan, Jon attempted to recruit a new band of Marines from the ranks of the Starfleet crew, in an attempt to keep the Leviathan safe from any hostiles that may try anything onboard his new home.

Upon the repulsion of a Barien boarding party, Captain Phanan was promoted to the rank of Major, partly to show the eternal gratitude of Captain Devore, but also to remove the confusion of having two Captains aboard ship.

When the USS Leviathan was destroyed during the Barien war, he transferred across to the newly commissioned USS Leviathan-A, where as well as his own recruits, he was now joined by a new squad of trained Marines.

After the Barien war ended, the Leviathan-A was transported to the Andromeda Cirrus galaxy by Q, where the Major and his Marines were instrumental in defending the Leviathan-A from numerous attacks made by a pair of warring races.

Over a third of the Marines stationed aboard the Leviathan during that time were killed when the Leviathan was in a collision with a vessel from another dimension, whilst travelling within an inter-dimensional wormhole. Once back in Federation space, the Major returned to Earth and started to recruit a new batch of Mariens, with the assistance of second Lieutenant Jack Trueman.