Have any ENT novels said who took over for Major Hayes as head of the NX-01's MACO squad, after his death?
Who is Major Hayes' successor? (ENT)
- Thread starter Mr. Laser Beam
- Start date
I don't remember, to be honest. Overall, I thought there'd be more focus on the MACOs than there has been...
Having done a quick check, I don't know if it was official, but apparently Hayes nominated McKenzie as his sucessor right before he died...and she does show up leading the MACO squad on Rigel X in "The Good That Men Do". So I don't know if she officially took over, but she's a good bet, it seems.
Sorry if that's not too helpful.
Having done a quick check, I don't know if it was official, but apparently Hayes nominated McKenzie as his sucessor right before he died...and she does show up leading the MACO squad on Rigel X in "The Good That Men Do". So I don't know if she officially took over, but she's a good bet, it seems.
Sorry if that's not too helpful.
^ McKenzie was only a corporal, wasn't she? Unless she gets a commission, I don't see how she could succeed Hayes.
^ Until a new leader could be found, I assume. It could be that there were no MACO officers left on the ship after Hayes died (weird, when you think about it; didn't Hayes have at least a MACO Lieutenant serving as his second in command?). If that's the case, then it would sort of make sense for Reed to temporarily assume that role until a new MACO officer could transfer to the ship. But this would of course not work in a permanent sense.
It would work if there was a merging of the MACOs into Starfleet going on at the time, to prevent two military leaders butting heads during a major war.
No way could Reed replace Hayes in any meaningful sense, because they aren't part of the same service. Reed is Earth Starfleet, which is a civilian research organization despite its military ranks. He couldn't hold any actual authority within the hierarchy of the MACOs, which are explicitly a military organization. That would be like expecting a police chief to take over as commander of a National Guard unit. Even if they work together, they're not the same organization.
^ The MACOs could have been 'folded' into Starfleet eventually. But even after Hayes died, we still saw MACOs in their own gear. So any merger would still be in progress even months later.
Surely the difference is more Navy vs Marines than Police vs National Guard? Plus the MACOs are assigned to Enterprise under the command of Captain Archer, so they'd have to respect their position within the Hierarchy of the ship (though IIRC, equivalent military ranks mean that Haynes outranked Reid)
If it were the Federation Starfleet, that would be a valid analogy. But it was made clear in ENT that the Earth Starfleet was separate from the military. From "The Expanse":
FORREST: I was surprised you asked for them. You think you'll be comfortable with the military on board?
ARCHER: I don't have a problem with non-Starfleet personnel.
And from "Home":
ARCHER: You may want to find someone with more field experience, a MACO.
ERIKA: I'm not sure how I feel about a military officer on the Bridge.
And yes, they were assigned to follow the orders of the ship's captain, just as anyone on board a ship is expected to do. But that doesn't mean a member of the ship's nonmilitary crew could actually replace their military commander -- except, as suggested, on a temporary basis until there could be a new commander promoted or assigned.
^ After the Enterprise returned from the Expanse, is it possible that there was some kind of arrangement made between the Starfleet and the MACOs? Because IIRC, Reid acted as their commander from there on in...
Of course it probably would have made more sense if there was no "Starfleet Security" division on the ship and Reid had been a MACO to start with...since Starfleet isn't a military.
Of course it probably would have made more sense if there was no "Starfleet Security" division on the ship and Reid had been a MACO to start with...since Starfleet isn't a military.
Realistically, there should have been a junior officer, a lieutenant perhaps, among the MACOs, to serve as Hayes' XO and assume control of the MACOs in the event of Hayes' death/incapacitation. Alas...
I like to imagine that McKenzie went to OCS after returning from the Expanse and was officially made the CO of Enterprise's MACO contingent, even if we never saw her on-screen in Season 4.
I like to imagine that McKenzie went to OCS after returning from the Expanse and was officially made the CO of Enterprise's MACO contingent, even if we never saw her on-screen in Season 4.
If I remember right, Reed was originally going to be Major Malcolm Reed, a Marine (or whatever the proto-MACOs were referred to) and Enterprise's Chief of Security. I don't know why they decided to make him a regular Starfleet officer instead.
That's why I used an analogy with the police -- an armed security force which is not military. A military is an armed organization operated by the state and charged with the defense of the state. Armed organizations like the FBI, the police, or a private security firm are not military because they're responsible for internal or local security/peacekeeping rather than national defense. NX-01 and other Earth Starfleet vessels had security forces, but their role was merely to protect the crews of their ships and maintain order aboard them, not to do battle against Earth's enemies. So they weren't military any more than, say, a bank security guard is military. When a threat to Earth's survival did emerge, that's when the actual military, the MACOs, were sent in.
"Military" can also refer to ground forces specifically. Combat forces have historically been divided into two types: military (from miles, Latin for soldier) and naval (from navis, Latin for ship). The names of the United States Military Academy (Army) and the United States Naval Academy (Navy) reflect this distinction. "Military" has been widely applied to all combat forces only very recently; a more educated society than ours might easily revive the distinction.
Starfleet appears to serve as the United Earth's primary space combat force in the series (note that only Starfleet ships appear to defend the Sol system in "The Expanse"), which makes them Earth's de facto "space navy," even if they are for some reason considered something else. (The well-armed United States Revenue Cutter Service served similarly before the reestablishment of the still better-armed United States Navy in 1798.* Its ships were folded directly into the Navy when undeclared war broke out with France that year. One such ship was commanded by the later naval hero Edward Preble.)
*Technically, the navy was reestablished in 1794, but its first ship wasn't commissioned until 1797, and it's fighting strength was less than that of the Revenue Cutter Service until 1798.
I think they were more akin to the US Navy's MAA (Master-at-arms) force, which serves as a military police and security cadre aboard and near US Navy ships and installations. While they would never be mistaken as marines or soldiers, MAAs are well-armed, and trained in shipboard combat tactics. Most maritime security boardings are conducted by MAAs, not Marines or Soldiers.
Except in certain areas (essentially, off the Horn of Africa), Marines aren't generally carried aboard Navy ships not classified as amphibious ships. When I visited the Enterprise a decade ago, the only meaningful contingent of Marines aboard were assigned to the air wing.
Similar threads
