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Is Starfleet a military organization?
- Thread starter Commander Troi
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I really like you all. 
I guess it is up in the air, based on onscreen canon. Certainly the characters who have been identified as Starfleet Commander-in-Chief onscreen like Admiral Bill, Admiral Clancy and Admiral Vance are implied to be the head of Starfleet, and Clancy definitely wears a Fleet Admiral's insignia, making her I think the only five star officer we see in the 24th century, which would seem to support the idea. On the other hand, Admiral Vance seems a bit too hands on for the head of Starfleet, giving Captains their assignments direct, though for all I know that could be a result of Starfleet being a smaller organization in the 32nd century.
The novels do go with the idea the Commander-in-Chief is the head of Starfleet, for whatever that's worth.
There is, again, really no contradiction here. The term "commander-in-chief" can refer both to the head of state or government who serves ex officio as supreme commander of all of the state's armed forces, and to the commanding officer of a division of a military service. An example is the United States before the George W. Bush Administration; the commanding officers of the U.S.'s Unified Combatant Commands used to be entitled as the commanders-in-chief of their respective UCCs, while the President of the United States was always ex officio the commander-in-chief of all United States Armed Forces.
It's entirely plausible for the Federation President to be the commander-in-chief of all Federation armed forces, and for the head admiral to be entitled the Commander-in-Chief of the Federation Starfleet. The Starfleet C-in-C would still report to the President.
As I noted up thread that's not entirely consistent even within TrekLit.
BotF uses Chief of Staff for the Federation Starfleet, with several sub-ordinate Chiefs of Staff for different functions.
Some TrekLit -- particularly 23rd C favours CinC of Starfleet -- whereas the 24th C material mainly used "Commander, Starfleet" before transitioning towards the end to "Chief Admiral".
in ww I every german division had a chief of staff but so had the imperial army
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True. Though to be honest, I haven't the faintest notion why an interstellar federal republic has its own navy instead of leaving each member world to run their own surface-based navy.
Perhaps most planets do have their own navies, but Earth, as the capital world of the UFP, is a special exception and their surface defense also falls under UFP jurisdiction. When they thought the Founders had infiltrated Earth, Starfleet Security was out patrolling the tiny side streets in New Orleans, not a local patrol.
Anything's possible, but I don't particularly see why Earth would get a special exception. There wasn't even anything in "Homefront"/"Paradise Lost" to indicate that the State of Emergency the President declared on Earth was legally distinct from a State of Emergency he could have declared on another Federation planet.
My fanficcy presumption is that the Naval Patrol is primarily concerned with specializing in exploration, diplomacy, and, on occasion, combat with Aquatic-based cultures.
It could also be on the level of the Civil Air Patrol. Uniformed hobbyists and amateurs who practice their profession on the high seas, mostly outdated tactics in honor of ancient Naval traditions of old cultures.
Short Answer: NO
Long answer: Have I posted on this subject before? Can't remember. But I have been watching TNG episodes with my grandparents during our quarantine, and Picard LITERALLY SAYS in the Season 2 episode "Peak Performance" that Starfleet IS NOT a military. The exact quote is "Starfleet is not a military organization. Its purpose is exploration." Whatever may have been the case in TOS, in TNG it is explicitly stated that Starfleet is not a military organization.
Long answer: Have I posted on this subject before? Can't remember. But I have been watching TNG episodes with my grandparents during our quarantine, and Picard LITERALLY SAYS in the Season 2 episode "Peak Performance" that Starfleet IS NOT a military. The exact quote is "Starfleet is not a military organization. Its purpose is exploration." Whatever may have been the case in TOS, in TNG it is explicitly stated that Starfleet is not a military organization.
And that claim of Picard's is contradicted by the fact that Starfleet operates a system of courts-martial, and by the definition of "military" which Starfleet fulfills to a "T." Please do read through the whole thread instead of digging up the same argument that has been debunked multiple times.
And of course the FJ Technical Manual, which may have been the source for Kirk's chief of operations title, used chief of staff.
Then they take part in war games exercises in the very same episode.
If you point a gun at me and tell me you're not a gunman, I will agree with you.
Starfleet has the option to state its point of view that it's not a military. By force, if necessary.
Starfleet has the option to state its point of view that it's not a military. By force, if necessary.
Short answer: yes, it is a military. Just because characters say something doesn't make it accurate.
Longer answer: this thread.
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