Hazard Teams

Hazard Teams represent the best of Starfleet's tactical officer corps, composed of highly skilled soldiers, medics, marksmen, and pilots drawn from a ship or facility's crew that are utilized to take control of extreme situations and high-risk away team missions.
The origin of Hazard Teams actually begins far from Federation space. After the USS Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrent in 2370, it eventually became clear as the ship made its way further home that regular security personnel were no longer suitable for adequately defending the ship or engaging on high risk away missions as the Delta Quadrent proved itself to be often quite dangerous, with numorous alien attacks and danagerous incidents occuring, especially to a lone ship unable to restock and repair itself as it would have been able to in the Alpha Quadrent and completely unable to replace crewmembers. It became especially clear after Voyager was briefly taken over by the nomadic Hirogen in 2374, who then forced half of the crew via neural interfaces to take part in grisly holodeck simulations without the use of safety protocols as a means of creating a supply of all new creative hunts for themselves. After several weeks, the crew of Voyager were able turn the tables on the Hirogen and take back the ship as well as come to a truce via an exchange of holograpghic technology that the Hirogen desired for their hunts. However, the damage to Voyager's internal components was extensive and the crew suffered greatly from the ordeal, with one crewman having died in the holodeck simulations. By this point, the ship had been invaded and even occupied multiple times, each time causing casualties and it became clear that their security situation was not sustainable and a better response was required to keep the ship safe, or else Voyager may not survive the next potential attack.
The ship's secuirty officer, Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, began to research how to best defend Voyager against these threats. After extensively researching armed tactical groups from across Federation and non-Ferdation history, including the Earth Starfleet's MACOs that had long since been disbanded, the Andorian Imperial Guard, dozens of pre-warp organisations such as Earth's Navy SEALs and SAS commandos and even the Romulan Tal Shiar, he decided it would be advantagous if Voyager could have its own "Elite Force", one with vastly improved training, equipment and flexibility than their current security officers already utilised.
Tuvok began training sessions open to all personnel on the ship excluding senior officers to identify the best candidates for a potential team, which he would then put through extensive and rigorous training unlike anything that Starfleet Aacdemy had provided to Voyager's crew. After several years and a number of delays caused, ironically, by the very kinds of crsises that his new squad of officers were being trained to handle, Commander Tuvok eventually unveiled what he dubbed the "Hazard Team", his answer to the many dangerous situations that could face Voyager, including high-risk away missions, defense of the ship from invasion/boarders and even assistance with the ship's internal issues that proved dangerous.

The Original Hazard Team onboard the the USS Voyager circa 2376

In 2376, the Hazard Team would recieve it's trail by fire. As Voyager continued on its jorney home, the ship was attacked by an unknown ship, causing extensive damage. While Voyager was able to destroy the attacker, it releases an engergy wave that transported Voyager to another region of space, one filled with the remains of numorous ships and a dampening field disabling their drive systems. While Voyager's crew set about repairing the vessel and finding a way to leave, the ship was attacked by a group of mauaders, but was easily repelled thanks to the Hazard Team. The Hazard team was then deployed on several missions on ships in the area, including information and resource gathering, rescue operations of one of their own and sabotage of a Borg cube, salavage operations on a "weapon ship", the successful defense of Voyager against their would-be captors who had brough them to this region, the Vorsoth and finally a daring assault against their base, destroying it and allowing Voyager and all other ships in the region to finally escape.
The final notable mission for the Hazard Team onboard Voyager would be in 2378, where it was deployed onto a Borg sphere that had captured the ship whilst it was using a Borg transwarp hub to find a direct way back to Earth. With little time to operate before the transwarp conduit collapsed and the Borg would attempt to board the Voyager, the Hazard Team destroyed the equipment keeping Voyager disabled, allowing it to manouver and fire weapons again. As such, after the Hazard Team returned, Voyager blasted its way out of the sphere, destroying it, and re-emerged to a Starfleet armada in the Alpha Quadrent, finally returning home to Earth. It is thanks to the Hazard Team in this operation that Voyager's crew survived this final stretch to return home.
As the crew of Voyager were being celebrated for their triumphant return and seemingly crippling blow to the Borg in the process, the Hazard Team was debreifed on it's operations and disbanded by an adminstrator Stemmens, who believed that there was no need for such a team in Federation space. The team was split up and assigined to various posts, with Lieutenant Munro assigned to teach small-team security tactics at Starfleet Academy.

The Hazard Team reformed onboard the the USS Enterprise-E 2380

In 2380, the Hazard Team would have it's second chance and be reformed, thanks to a chance encounter with one of Starfleet's finest captains. Captain Jean-Luc Picard, commanding officer of the flagship USS Enterprise-E, was visiting Starfleet Academy where he observed Lieutenant Munro on a training exercise. Impressed by it's results, the captain asked Munro about his training, who informed him about the Hazard Team and their time in the Delta Quadrent on Voyager. Despite the protestations of administrator Stemmens about his belief that Hazards teams were not required in Federation space, Picard highlighted that many Starfleet ships operated outside charted Federation space in areas of space that were often danagerous. Picard believed that having a Hazard Team would be beneficial and requested that Munro transfer to the Enterprise to set up a Hazard Team there, to which Munro was happy to agree to. As the Enterprise began it's latest tour of duty, Munro had re-assembled most of the original Hazard Team aboard the ship and integrated new members from it's crew. This would prove timely, as the Enterprise soon encountered a new threat after recieving a distress from the USS Dallas.
Hazard Teams are now widely deployed across Starfleet ships of the the line and even several stations and facilities in need of extra security. While MACO has since been reformed, the two groups remain separate. MACOs are best differentied as a separate service from Starfleet, and thus will not always be deployed on or from Starfleet ships or facilities, though officers can apply for memership within its ranks, while Hazard Teams are exclusively drawn up from Starfleet crews, specifically non-senior officers. Inter-service riverly has been noted, though this is kept at a minimum and on friendly terms by each service's senior leadership, with co-operation through joint training, operations and information and technology sharing.

Type

Special Forces