- "I'm a doctor, not a commando."
- - USS Prometheus EMH Mark II (VOY: "Message in a Bottle")
The term commando can refer to an individual, a military unit, or a raiding style of military operation. Commando units can have a variety of specialized capabilities which enable them to conduct many types of operations and often operate behind enemy lines. Commando specialization may include assault tasks, reconnaissance, counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism or sabotage.
Organizations who conducted commando missions include, the Obsidian Order, the Romulan Tal Shiar, Klingon Intelligence, Starfleet, and Section 31. Specific commando operations include:
- The Vulcan starship Ni'Var sent a commando squad to Coridan to rescue T'Pol and Jonathan Archer. (ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem")
- Operation Retrieve - the mission proposed by Starfleet Command to rescue Captain James T. Kirk and Doctor Leonard McCoy from Klingon space after they were accused of the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon in 2293. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
- Celtris III Operation - The mission of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his team which included the infiltration of the Cardassian base on Celtris III to locate and destroy a metagenic weapon. (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part I")
- The Dominion carried out commando type missions using Changeling infiltrators. (DS9: "The Adversary", "Homefront", "Apocalypse Rising", "In Purgatory's Shadow", "By Inferno's Light", "The Die is Cast")
- Captain Benjamin Sisko led a commando team into military headquarters on Ty'Gokor in an attempt to expose the Changeling impersonating Gowron. (DS9: "Apocalypse Rising")