MILITARY ASSAULT COMMAND OPERATIONS
The Military Assault Command Operations (MACO) is a branch of the United Earth Military and serves as the space marine contingent of the planetary armed forces. The MACO was formed in 2134 as part of the formation of the United Earth world government, with the first MACO members drawn from the ranks of the United States Marine Corps and the Soviet Space Spetsnaz.
The initial charter of MACO authorized six MACO brigades at one thousand troops each. In the initial formation of MACO units, most of these brigades held a manpower strength of between two to three hundred MACO personnel. A headquarters unit was also established at West Point, New York and utilized the site of the former United States Military Academy for its facilities.
MACO as compared to other branches of the United Earth Military
MACO brigades, barracks, and headquarters
As with the other branches of the United Earth Military, the MACO relies on Military Covert Intelligence Operations for its information gathering and intelligence acquisition. MACO also has no medical corps, but does train its personnel in first aid and utilizes civilian doctors for serious combat trauma.
MACO rank insignia and standard uniform. Additional ranks of "Recruit" and "Cadet" exist for Basic and Officer training respectively
MACO training is conducted at West Point, which oversees basic recruit training as well as the MACO Officer Candidate School. In the summer of 2134 MACO also assumed control of the Omega Training Facility on Titan and currently conducts space assault and orbital training at both Titan and the nearby moon of Janus.
ASSOCIATION WITH STARFLEET
​In the spring of 2137, a cadre of fourteen MACO personnel were selected to form the new branch of Starfleet Security and were granted equivalent commissions as Starfleet officers. The following month, Starfleet membership was opened to all MACO commissioned officers.