Peak Performance: Why did Picard not want a combat ready crew?

My eye roll moment in the season two episode "Peak Performance" came with Picard's apparant disdain and reluctance to participate in war games with the Zakdorn Kolrami. I get that this is the Federation and they are beyond the need for violence in this day in age. I just don't understand why any Commanding Officer wouldn't want their crew to be as prepared and trained as possible in all aspects of starship operation.

Is it that realistic to just consider yourselves explorers on the flagship of the Federation in a universe that has shown you repeatedly that not everybody is in love with your idea of interplanetary brotherhood? Do you assume that just because you are a ship of exploration you will just be left alone by the Romulans who just reasserted themselves in the Alpha Quadrant, Klingons, etc.

You have tactical officers on the ship and you don't want them to receive training that could help them improve their capabilities? I love Picard but participating in wargames isn't devolving into a dangerously savage child race. It's called being prepared. Oh, wouldn't you know it, the Enterprise would find itself in several pitched battles over the course of the series and movies.

 

Maybe, but that is quite a leap for the audience to assume all of this without ever having seen the Zakdorn or Kolrami before. As far as Picard and the audience knew, Kolrami had an excellent reputation as a military strategist. He wasn't complaining to the crew about Kolrami, he was complaining about wargames in general. Even if he thought Kolrami was an undesirable bureaucrat, Starfleet's orders were to particpate. As a CO he should of at least tried to maximize the training opportunity for his crew instead of moping into it with this "I'd rather be exploring things" attitude. I love Picard but I don't think this is consistent with a character who presents himself as an absolute professional throughout the series.

 

That explains why his crew were pouting like a bunch of pussies in Chain of Command. They were just following Picard's lead.

 

Haha. Pretty much.

 

I have never been impressed as to how this was a serious test of combat readiness for anyone involved.... a new Galaxy class ship vs. a skeleton crew on an old Constellation class ship that was not even in proper operating condition. How was this a good exercise? I would expect what we saw in TOS "The Ultimate Computer" was along the lines of a more serious exercise.

 

Well Kolrami was a strategist so the whole purpose was an evaluation of tactical gamesmanship. He didn't come all the way to the Enterprise to see who packed the most firepower between a Galaxy Class Starship and an old Constellation starship.

 

This was an exercise about dealing with the Borg who would always vastly outgun Federation starships.

Thus, for the purpose of this wargame, the Enterprise and its crew represented the Borg while the Hathaway and its skeleton crew represented the vastly outgunned Starfleet vessels.

In a sense then the main test was whether Riker and his skeleton crew aboard a largely neutered starship could figure out a way deal with the vastly superior Enterprise in just a few short hours.

Not unlike what Riker and the Enterprise crew had to do in "The Best of Both Worlds".

My analysis here is backed up by the fact that Picard specifically reserved Data (an artificial intelligence-one could say the most like the Borg) as his second in command.

 

It was a test to see how good they were at strategic thinking, since they ran into the Borg and were outclassed. The Enterprise was supposed to fill the role of the overpowered aggressor, while the Hathaway played the outmatched Starfleet vessel.

 

Yes that is what blows my mind about Picard's attitude. Hey there CAPT you had absolutely nothing for the Borg in your first engagement and you know through Guinan that they are on their way. You don't think your crew needs training because you are an exploratory starship?

 

From the episode:

If Picard didn't think the war games were completely necessary they would not have taken place. His own opinion that Starfleet is not a military organisation but that its purpose is exploration (retcons aside) is stated as undeniable fact here.

Prior to the introduction of Borg, even with the Romulans' re-appearance after a 50 year absence there's little call for such wargames expect perhaps in regard to ships serving on the Neutral Zone border. Also, bear in mind that at (known) maximum warp it would take two years and change to get to the Federation from system J-25. Admiral Hansen says himself in BoBW that [Starfleet] expected much more lead time over a year later. But, hind-sight is 20/20.

In the end, it was Picard that decided that he and his officers needed to hone their tactical skills.
So, I'm not entirely sure why you're so critical of a pre-imminent diplomat captain of a flagship exploration vessel of an organization whose stated main purpose is exploration, during a time of peace being slightly hesitant to take part in a wargames.

A wargames I'll add, that a certain Klingon security chief admitted was largely a waste of time.

 

It has been a while since I saw this episode. I do appreciate the responses that you all have given, yet I am still thinking some of the plot line was a bit silly... Maybe they could have just as well put Riker & Co. in an old rowboat to do battle. But SINCE I have never been involved with any test of military/battle strategy- what do I know!

In part, I think it is foolhardy to conduct an exercise that requires a battleship to render its own weapons useless, leaving that vessel defenseless. But this would get in the way of the story!

....Meanwhile- I seem to easily accept the fact that most every alien in the galaxy speaks English. I guess I should just repeat to myself "It's just a show, I should really just relax."

 

Universal Translators.

Off topic, but on a slightly related note: I always found it odd watching Doctor Who that every alien race in all of time and space all spoke with a British accent.

 

That is kind of my point, Starfleet suggested it, he agreed but then whines and moans about it in front of his staff. If you are a CO why would you present the wargames essentially as a waste of time. Why would I want to participate in them if my CAPT was like "I guess with the Borg and all, we can humor Starfleet." How much effort would you give something like that?

I am fine with Picard's exploreration/diplomacy first mentality but he is also responsible for the lives of over 1,000 people on the Enterprise including families. Space is big and largely unexplored and it can also be *gasp* dangerous sometimes. I would expect him to ensure that his tactical officers are just as proficient as his engineering staff or science teams. If it takes taking a couple of days to partake in a training exercise, then so be it. It's not like taking this small amount of time to train your staff makes you a crazy warhawk.

 

Instead of possibly facing the Borg with a exploration organization trained in tactics, wouldn't it be better if Starfleet was a military organization trained in tactics?

 

... Or simply it was just never explained that Starfleet acquired some Babel Fish from a galactic hitchhiker!

And on your "off topic", I think it is interesting how Doctor Who now deals with this situation by explaining that the TARDIS is doing the translating for our heroes telepathically (IIRC).

Rose: "If you're an alien, how come you sound like you're from the North?"
The Doctor: "Lots of planets have a North!"

 

I guess I'm missing the part where he "whines and moans" about it at all. The quote I provided doesn't sound like whining to me. He was directly asked a question and he answered. Unless there's some other scene where he does complain, I'm not sure what you're talking about.

Space can indeed be *gasp* dangerous, I guess I was under the impression that the fact that they're wearing those uniforms meant that they were already at least nominally trained for emergency situations.

Picard *did* take the time for the wargames. And to most listeners he doesn't come across as needlessly bitching about having to take part in those wargames, so I fail to see your problem.

 

Take it up with Gene Roddenberry.

 

I'm not saying he threw a temper tantrum and started rolling around on the floor.

He obviously lodged some sort of complaint/protest with Starfleet as Kolrami brought it up. I guess I just feel that if Starfleet were to contact me and offer me the chance to train with a Zakdorn strategist of Kolrami's reputation I would be pretty pleased to offer that asset to my tactical team. Riker seemed to be all for it and his attitude probably rejuvenated those involved. I don't have any "problem" in the world regarding Star Trek. I just thought that Picard marginalized the value of his tactical officers. It's really not that big of a deal, I'm just trying to generate some interesting discussion.

 

Actually a significantly older, far more dated ship blew the galaxy class to smithereens in generations

Set disrupters on kindergarten