Task Force Ticonderoga

Fleet Admiral Maximus Hunter travels around the area of responsibility of Vanguard Command with the special unit called Task Force Ticonderoga. He was never allowed to leave Vanguard Command Headquarters on Station Frontier without this task force ferrying him

Background
During the period leading up to the formal commissioning of the ships of the Vanguard Fleet and the operationalization of Vanguard Command, Hunter began requisitioning small and medium-sized starships that were either on temporary dock status or as yet unassigned to a mission profile. He wanted to form a small special unit around his personal flagship, the USS Ticonderoga. As a Fleet Admiral and as the Flag Officer-in-Command of the largest field division in Starfleet, Hunter had to observe protocols that would ensure his security. When in the field, he was required to travel with an escort that is capable of providing appropriate deterrence for any possible hostile attempt against his person. Under this set up, Hunter was able to go anywhere at anytime of his choosing.

Composition
Hunter had managed to requisition four ships in all. All fresh from the fleet yards like the Ticonderoga and all still with no permanent crew to man them.

Task Force Ticonderoga had the following complement:


 * The Prometheus class Tactical Assault Cruiser USS Ticonderoga.
 * The Intrepid II class Destroyer, the USS Buccaneer.
 * The Nova II class Light Frigate, the USS Parallax.
 * Two Defiant class Armored Escorts, the USS Fearless and the USS Adamant.

Crew complement
Hunter instructed his able aide-de-camp, Captain Slovak Merrin, a half-human half-Vulcan, to search for Starfleet officers and personnel who had reputable skills in their respective fields of expertise, who were at that time in-between assignments, or were on leave, or who were on active assignments but were willing to work with him as his personal crew complement in the task force. Within a few weeks Captain Merrin managed to fill up the crew complement requirements to all five ships: 320 for the Ticonderoga, 150 for the Buccaneer, 80 for the Parallax, and 50 each for the Fearless and the Adamant.

Hunter acted as the facto Commanding Officer of the Ticonderoga and the FOIC of the fask force. All the other four ships have Commanding Officers that hold the rank of Commander.

Roles and Functions
The Ticonderoga serves as Admiral Hunter’s personal flagship. It is the center of the task force. The Buccaneer, whose class is a heavily modified-to-combat Intrepid class, with redundant variable geometry warp nacelles and an aft sail featuring two of its three torpedo launchers, serves in the destroyer capacity as forward screen ship. The Parallax, on the other hand, serves as rear defense ship. Finally, the Fearless and Adamant never leave the side of the Ticonderoga as permanent escorts.

Deployment
Task Force Ticonderoga regularly travels to all the major starbases and space stations under Vanguard Command, including Station Deep Space Gamma Zero-One in the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole. But it can only travel to Station Deep Space Delta Zero-One in the Delta Quadrant if it hitches a ride with one of the three task forces that have scheduled trips there using their flagship’s Quantum Slipstream Drive.