Does the Federation maintain armies or marines?

Does the Federation have standing armies or marines?

The panel disagrees. Clarke prioritizes on-screen evidence, while others cite MACOs and supporting material as evidence of ground forces.

Clarke answers that the Federation lacks standing armies or marines, prompting immediate disagreement about MACOs and ground detachments. One reply identifies MACOs primarily with special operations, while another accepts wider supporting material as evidence of standing ground forces. Clarke gives priority to what appears on screen and recalls problems using supplementary sources in his Galaxy-class video. The participants also disagree over which books, comics, scripts, and games belong to particular canon categories. The existence and character of the force remain disputed because they are using different source boundaries.