During war time the coast guard is considered part of the navy.
The British Coast Guard yes, the American Coast Guard no. The two separate branches work together (Coast Guard crews are praticularly skilled at searching ships for contraband), but the Coast Guard never becomes "part of the Navy."
Starfleet is like the Japanese Self Defense Forces
Bearing in mind that the JSDF is Japan's military. When the JSDF deployed to Iraq, their special force troop's rules of engagement included firing upon insurgents if the conditions of the rules of engagement were met.
During the shows, Starfleet is rarely shown operating in a military function, so many viewers don't associate them as such.
Most of what Starfleet does is in line with what militaries currently do, or have done in centuries past.
When there is a time to explore and check things out, it uses science.
And the science officer doing that science are part of a military rank structure, and all have military ranks.
If NASA was armed AT ALL, let alone as heavily as Starfleet is it would be a serious international indecent to say nothing of a violation of treaty.
As long as NASA's spacecraft weren't armed with nuclear weapons, how would NASA being arm be a violation of any treaty?
We have seen civilian populations in TOS and later Treks. They seem to be unarmed
The very first Star Trek episode aired featured a civilian with a personal weapon (Professor Crater).
feeling that including or mentioning the Earth government or Earth military or security services would unnecessarily confuse the audience
Never understood this, The Cloud Minders (and other) episode included non-Federation local governments.
or how psychologists and doctors can just take a test to take command of a ship's bridge--even in a combat situation
Both the psychologist and the doctor were Lt. Commanders, and the test they took was a qualification test.
Note to mention keeping the same crew together for years because they happen to like working together
Is that why Chekov, Sulu, Riker left?
However, if a uniform, a rank structure, a weapon, an organisation of such define a military (as is argued often as defining starfleet)
It's relavent that the "weapon" are weapons of mass destruction, that are under the release authority of the local ship's captain, or others aboard the ship that he is empower to delegate authority too.
"No money" has been very much embraced by the fans
At best, maybe half the fans.
How many civilian ships have we seen that definitely didn't have weapons?
The status of the heavily armed Orion ship in JTB is unclear, so perhaps civilian.
Canon says starfleet is not miltary, ergo it is not military.
Canon says Starfleet fights major wars with their flying death machines.
First contacts, diplomacy, charting nebulae, studying stars, shipping supplies, evacuations, patrolling...
First contacts, diplomacy,
charting coastlines, studying the seas, shipping supplies, evacuations, patrolling...
'Military' implies war, violence
And we've never seen Starfleet fighting wars, engaging in violence?
imperialism etc which I can imagine Starfleet specifically wanting to shy away
In A Taste of Armageddon, the Enterprise' mission was to establish a "treaty port."
Akira, Defiant, Steamrunner, Norway classes etc ... most of them are woefully ill-equipped to fulfill tactical role
Huh?
