Federation Volunteer Group
Origins
Created originally to be used in emergency situations where a world inside the Federation but not a Member World found itself under attack by a foreign power, the Federation Volunteer Group or FVG is a special unit of Star Fleet Officers and Enlisted Personnel who have been granted special permission to fight alongside the Military forces of said planet in reference to General Order 21. The Federation Volunteer Group is considered a part of Star Fleet Special Operations Command, yet members do not necessarily have to be members of that organisation.
Entrance Policy
The FVG had a very strict entrance policy, designed to deter many younger officers who were simply looking for a way to gain fame and glory, and to prevent senior officers risking their valuable experience.
Officers would have to be between the ranks of Lieutenant Junior Grade and Commander (restrictions on enlisted ranks were more lax, with volunteers as senior as Warrant Officers making applications), and needed to formally apply to the FVG with their Commanding Officer's consent. If successful, the volunteer would have to sign a waiver that removed him/her from the active duty roster and assigned him/her to the official Military of the planet under attack. Should the Officer be killed or captured, their official Star Fleet record would show that they had resigned their commission before engaging in hostilities.
Once the term of service in the FVG was completed, or the volunteer's services were no longer required, he/she was eligible to return to Star Fleet. They would be reinstated at their previous rank, and reassigned to their previous assignment if possible. Officers killed in the FVG would not be named as casualties by the Federation News Network, nor would their family receive any official pension from Star Fleet - although the FVG itself would supply a sum of money to the family, proportionate to the deceased's Star Fleet rank and time in FVG service.
Combat History
Federation/Cardassian War
The first major conflict in which the FVG saw combat was during the Federation/Cardassian War of the mid-24th Century. Cardassian raiding groups had been attacking neutral colonies inhabited by humans, but due to jurisdictional problems (the worlds being officially outside Federation Space) Star Fleet could not intervene. FVG volunteers were sent into the warzone, primarily as humanitarian aid in the form of medical staff, but later also as combat detachments when hostile action was taken against the non-combatant volunteers.
Several groups of trained combat specialists were inserted into the territory to assist in combat operations, training the civilian colonists in the art of self-defence and guerrilla warfare. These operations were extremely successful and soon the Cardassian attacks on the colonies halted. When the war was over, several volunteers are believed to have remained behind and it is from these former Officers that the Maquis are believed to have stemmed although this has not been officially confirmed or denied.
