MACO is a ground force. Ground troops (fictional or real) simply don't operate ships. That's what navies are for.
And yes, a space-based organization like Starfleet qualifies as a navy. Ships that operate in space ARE STILL SHIPS.
MACO fleet?
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MACO is a ground force. Ground troops (fictional or real) simply don't operate ships. That's what navies are for.
And yes, a space-based organization like Starfleet qualifies as a navy. Ships that operate in space ARE STILL SHIPS.
Again, missing the point: why was MACO only a ground force and did not have a fleet of military starships when such a thing was possible? And by saying, "that's just the way it was" does not answer the question of how MACO's tactics and technology could have been two to three years more advanced than those of Starfleet, since that doesn't account for not having a fleet of military starships. Not to mention that a non-military organization being more powerful than a military one weapons-wise sounds backwards.
Therefore, Star Trek is using an outdated definition of navy, qualifying it as regression or retrogression, even by the modern definition of the word.
My memory of ENT is fuzzy at best, but I assume they meant that the tactics and technology that the MACOs used for ground combat were more advanced that Starfleet's. That makes perfect sense, they're better at what they specialize in than Starfleet officers would be.
Are you asking why they don't have space Humvees, and space tanks?
Because they don't work in space? I guess?
Seriously? The word navy just means "fleet of ships." That's it. If you're going to argue against Starfleet being a navy, then you're arguing against the "fleet" part of Starfleet. It's in the damn name. How much more canon can you get on this matter?
And before you start, it is possible to be a navy without being military, so you don't need to open up that can of worms.
This whole debate just seems like one big circle without any real progress.
How is this even a debate?
A navy is a fleet of ships.
Starfleet is a fleet of ships.
Starfleet is a navy.
See how easy that is?
A navy is a fleet of ships.
Starfleet is a fleet of ships.
Starfleet is a navy.
See how easy that is?
It is very easy and apparently some people are either incredibly invested in it not being that way or they aren't the sharpest knives in the box.
What I said was that Star Trek at no point has ever used the word "navy" to describe Starfleet. If you interpret that to mean that it is one, have at it, Hoss. But on-screen Starfleet is only ever referred to as Starfleet. Starfleet does what Starfleet does. It needs no other definition or comparison to 21st century terminology because it doesn't fit into that box. Starfleet is in a category unto itself.
It can only not fit in our terminology if we lack the imagination to put up there.
Since everything points to the MACO's being equivalent to the marines, I'm inclined to believe that Starfleet has special ships set aside for their use. They are "ground" troops only. MACO's would be needed any time face to face or hand to hand combat was involved, not ship to ship combat. Head canon (via Star Trek: Armada video game) tells me that they'd use the 22nd equivalent of the Iwo Jima class starships.
You know that weird looking ship from DS9's "A Time to Stand", the one that looks like an Excelsior and a Miranda had a baby? The USS Curry, it was called.
I've always thought the Curry could be a Starfleet Marine (yes, they do exist, deal with it
) troop transport. That forward-slung secondary hull may be a troop barracks that can be detached and left behind, as a sort of home base for a regiment of marines after they are deployed to wherever they need to go...
I've always thought the Curry could be a Starfleet Marine (yes, they do exist, deal with it
) troop transport. That forward-slung secondary hull may be a troop barracks that can be detached and left behind, as a sort of home base for a regiment of marines after they are deployed to wherever they need to go...
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Officially, MACO stands for Military Assault Command Operations but it seems obvious it "really" just means MArine COrps.
So, because Starfleet has never been called "a fleet of ships" on screen, we can't call it "a fleet of ships"? Fine, but Starfleet is an Armada, Pike describes it as one on Trek XI. Which means "large group of vehicles" more or less the same thing, but this time we have Almighty Canon on our side.
I don't buy that. MACO stands for what it says on their mission patch.
^ Which is nothing. All it says is M.A.C.O.
