Actually, if you look at the countries that are regarded as "not having a military" this is isn't necessarily as wrong as the "Starfleet is a military" side of the arguement would have. Reading between the lines, it usually comes down to at least one of two or three factors: Do they have forces that are primarily intended for warfare (standing infantry, armor & artillery v armed police) and do they legally classify them as such. Japan's SDF satisfies only the second criteria, whereas Iceland - with an armed Coast Guard, an unarmed air force and no standing army - technically meets both. While Starfleet is a uniformed service organisation with militarised assets, we have no cannon evidence that dedicated warfare units exist (standing army, combat-only starship pre-USS Defiant), all examples of ground combat have been handled by security forces, and production documents (which may stand in place of in-universe law) suggest that Starfleet is not regarded as miitary by the rest of the Establishment even if a lot of their tradtions and competencies are traditionally associated with militaries.
Why is there resistance to the idea of Starfleet being military?
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Actually, if you look at the countries that are regarded as "not having a military" this is isn't necessarily as wrong as the "Starfleet is a military" side of the arguement would have. Reading between the lines, it usually comes down to at least one of two or three factors: Do they have forces that are primarily intended for warfare (standing infantry, armor & artillery v armed police) and do they legally classify them as such. Japan's SDF satisfies only the second criteria, whereas Iceland - with an armed Coast Guard, an unarmed air force and no standing army - technically meets both. While Starfleet is a uniformed service organisation with militarised assets, we have no cannon evidence that dedicated warfare units exist (standing army, combat-only starship pre-USS Defiant), all examples of ground combat have been handled by security forces, and production documents (which may stand in place of in-universe law) suggest that Starfleet is not regarded as miitary by the rest of the Establishment even if a lot of their tradtions and competencies are traditionally associated with militaries.
The Japanese SDF is a military, and the US Coast Guard is part of the military. The USCG personnel are bound to UCMJ, military law. This is what separarates them from civilians. Starfleet personnel are also bound to military law. I think if anything, that is the real clincher. Starfleet are not civilians, and unlike the US Coast Guard, they have the authority to operate in international space.
And SF does have infantry ground troops that are not ship security. We see them in season 5 of ds9 fighting Klingons.
And SF does have infantry ground troops that are not ship security. We see them in season 5 of ds9 fighting Klingons.
The USCG operates in international waters. They also currently have patrol forces in the Persian Gulf, their own cutters and Law Enforcement Detachments (LEDETs) assigned to Naval vessels in the Caribbean, and polar ice breaking operations.
And that, right there, is the only answer to that question imho. You have to redefine your concepts & definitions of the thing because it is a fantasy thing. By all rights it is a military, except it isn't... because they say so. *wink wink*
They are both wrong. Starfleet has science vessels: USS Grissom in TWOK, granted the captain was a 'by the book' guy but he was still in command of that vessel. For all we know he might have been a botanist in his career or an astrophysicist.
You mean Federation knowledge.
ITA
Real life example no matter how militaristic the police might look to the public if the USA or UK were invaded by foreign enemies the police know their legal limitations, it is not their role to defend the nation from outsiders under those circumstances.
When the Federation is invaded by nonFederation enemies, who does the state call to defend its borders, the Non military Starfleet. Starfleet Admirals do not step back and say 'Go call Defence Force X we are mapping stars'.
E.g Cardessian Wars, Border wars with Klingons, Romulans, Dominion , Borg. All fought buy a bunch of highly experienced explorers and scientists......right?
Also Spock gives Captain Kirk the exact price of how much it cost to train him as a Starfleet officer. So much for a money free economy...
The same Klingons referred to Genesis as a "doomsday weapon",
As do their allies:
DURAS: This is not your world, human. You do not command here.
PICARD: I'm not here to command.
DURAS: Then you must be ready to fight. Something that Starfleet doesn't teach you.
PICARD: You may test that assumption at your convenience.
PICARD: I'm not here to command.
DURAS: Then you must be ready to fight. Something that Starfleet doesn't teach you.
PICARD: You may test that assumption at your convenience.
Starfleet officers can certainly handle themselves, in a fight, but it's far from the first thing anyone thinks of when they think of Starfleet.
Incorrect. Starfleet is not a military organization, it is a scientific research and diplomatic body. Although some of its duties include military missions, the purpose of the Enterprise -- as with ALL Starfleet vessels -- is to expand the body of Federation knowledge.
"Almost a year" according to Picard's log entry. That would include all of Season 1 and 2 and at least part of Season 3.
See, that's the ideological bias showing again. Why would "military" NEED to be rehabilitated in the first place? Why strive to modernize an obsolete concept that no longer has a place in civilized society, rather than replace it with one that DOES?
Indentured servitude, arranged marriages, bounty hunting, monarchy, arranged marriages, capital punishment, trial-by-combat, all of these things can be rehabilitated into a more civilized form. But most of these concepts have either been abolished or are on their way to being abolished. That isn't a good thing or a bad thing, it's just the way societies evolve.
And Star Trek's Earth is ALL ABOUT being a more evolved society. They've abolished poverty, war, disease, hunger. They've certainly abolished indentured servitude, arranged marriages, bounty hunting, monarchy, capital punishment and trial by combat, and now they have different institutions that have replaced those roles. Evidently they've also abolished the Professional Military, which is why Starfleet isn't considered to be one.
Or it would be considered a primitive and obsolete attempt to implement that basic concept much the way monarchy and trial by combat were considered be primitive forms of governance and justice.
To be sure, the less pretentious and self-important Star Trek stories became, the more likely they were to depict Starfleet as a straight up military organization (this is one of the reasons I consider TNG+ and TOS/TMP separate timelines). But the Star Trek that preaches and demonstrates "evolved sensibilities" among humans is the Star Trek that doesn't hold Starfleet t be a military organization.
I'll keep my current sensibilities. Thanks.
"The primary function of a Chandler Firefighter is to protect the community"
- Chandler Fire Department
There are lots of ways to protect people. War is not always -- or even usually -- the most effective way. In fact, in the history of Star Trek you can actually make the case that military solutions turn out to be inapplicable to 90% of their problems, so it would make sense for them to de-emphasize the militaristic role of Starfleet and let them focus on things that DO work.
The primary purpose of a professional military is combat operations; if you have an organization whose missions usually involve something OTHER than combat, you have a force with severe and possibly terminal mission creep. It's better to identify what the force IS going to do most of the time and simply make that their primary function.
He kind of succeeded.
But they've never de-emphasized the military aspects. Beyond saying they aren't the "military" they pretty much act like the military.
See the disconnect?
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