MACO ranks

The rank system used by the MACO military force of 22nd century Earth are based on traditional army ranks from previous Earth rank systems, particularly those of the United States' armed forces.

General

The flag officer rank of general was used by General Casey, commanding officer of the MACOs who were assigned to the Enterprise NX. This rank is approximately equivalent to an Earth Starfleet Admiral. (ENT: "The Expanse")

It was not revealed if the MACO infrastructure uses any separate grades of general rank, and no general's rank insignia was ever made for the series. Based on the rank insignia that was shown, a 'general' would be two, three, or four stars.

Major

MACO major patch

The rank of major was used by MACO field officers commanding larger groups of soldiers on special assignments. The insignia was a gold oak leaf on a blue shoulder patch. The oak leaf insignia appears to be carried over from the USA system insignia for major.

Major J. Hayes commanded the MACOs aboard Enterprise. Normally, a major is equivalent of a naval lieutenant commander; thus, Hayes technically outranked Lt. Malcolm Reed, but was still subordinate to him, since Reed (as the ship's chief of security) had authority over all MACO troops, regardless of their rank.

From the fact that Hayes named a corporal as his successor in ENT: "Zero Hour," it could be assumed that he was the only MACO officer aboard Enterprise.

Sergeant

MACO major patch

The sergeant insignia was three white chevrons on a blue shoulder patch.

• N. Kemper was a MACO sergeant assigned to Enterprise.

Corporal

MACO major patch

The corporal insignia was two white chevrons on a blue shoulder patch.

Several corporals were seen assigned to Enterprise, and also posted at other Starfleet assignments.

Private

MACO major patch

The private insignia was a single white chevron on a blue shoulder patch.

While the insignia was plainly seen, the term "private" was not used in any dialogue, the troopers in question were simply referred to as "MACOs."

Background

The MACOs appear to follow the same basic rank system of Earth armies, with American insignia, it could be assumed that the other ranks of such a system also exist, although they were not used on screen. The producers of Star Trek probably avoided the army ranks that sound naval (lieutenant, captain, etc.) to avoid confusion, and emphasize the difference, which would still have allowed them to use the following if the series had continued:

• staff sergeant — four chevrons (three up, one down)
• senior sergeant — five chevrons (three up, two down)
• master sergeant — six chevrons (three up, three down)
• sergent major — six chevrons (three up, three down, star between)
• colonel — silver oak leaf ? (an eagle might be too American)
• brigadier — one star

This chart shows only general equivalencies based on the ranks used by many governments on Earth, as well as the rest of the galaxy.