Starfleet Planetary Combat Primer

                                        
                                        The Enterprise and the Crazy Horse fire upon the Golgothos after tricking it into a crossfire of sensors and weaponry

Overview

Although War as a whole has largely dwindled in the 25th Century, events such as the Romulan, Cardassian and Klingon conflicts have forced Starfleet to continue to field units with specialized training in both land and space. These units, operating under the sub-branch of the revived MACO forces, are the proverbial tip of the spear when it comes to hostile boarding or the more rare planetary invasions. Often considered less glamourous than Starfleet proper, MACO is generally barred from most forms of active recruitment, instead relying on interested citizens asking to join, though these same restrictions are often loosened significantly during times of political turmoil. Further complicating the relationship between the branches, MACO utilizes remarkably few pieces of overlapping technology with their ship-bound Comrades, and much of that differing equipment can be viewed with some measure of distaste or disdain from Captains who bear witness to their effects. Some MACO commanders refer to this as the "Black Sheep" Badge, informing their soldiers that they can't be considered a member of the unit if the Captain hasn't wrinkled his or her nose at them

Another element of the distrust stems from the limited number of weaponry that saw service in both branches of the Federation military. While Hand-Phasers were still very common among the Marines, it was supplemented by a number of other, exceedingly deadly, pieces of equipment. Some Captains have even gone so far as to blame them for the continued existence of the Foehammer Antimatter Projection Mortar prior to the signing of the Khitomer Accords. That said, several different Captains, from the venerable Jonathan Archer and James Tiberius Kirk to the widely respected Admiral Picard, have acknowledged the legitimate need for their presence given missions they were forced to conduct on their voyages. Much of the mutual acrimony also dissolved in the midst of both the Cardassian and later Dominion Wars from 2347-2375

Despite this, however, tensions often remain high on joint vessels, which has resulted in a number of "Troop Transport Auxiliary" vessels being commissioned for the exclusive purpose of transporting their forces. Despite their title, these ships retain a reasonable defensive compliment through their significant compliment of shuttles and aerospace fighters, and frequent escorts from Escort Starships. Their primary purpose, however, was to replace the aging Continent-Class Assault Ships that proliferated during the second Klingon-Federation war. Carrying a significant compliment of Aircraft, Vehicles, Soldiers and Battlearmour, a single vessel is often more than enough to take a world by force if the need arises, which has caused no small amount of consternation among the Politicians of the Federation.

Enabling Circumstances

As the technology used to wage war has increased, so to has the lethality of that war. Indeed, one of the most significant deterrents to typical invasions is the ease by which a starship with uncontested control of the orbit of a under-developed world could destroy an entire army, particularly one unable to rel