john titor
Captain
I don't think Jellico is that gung-ho, or at least as gung-ho as some people here believe him to be (alright, he's definitely moreso than Picard). If he were, he would've engaged the Cardassian fleet instead of using various tactics, bluffs, and clandestine methods to force their hand (and we wouldn't have gotten Jellico's excellent dressing down at the hands of Riker, either).
I've been rewatching some early TNG episodes, and Picard strikes me as remarkably similar to Jellico. He's just as strict and intimidating, and it's clear that everyone feels the need to put some distance between them and their captain. He seems more like a disciplinarian than an actual explorer at times.
Of course, when Q did run into someone more militaristic than Picard, Q got socked in the nose
I suppose Jellico could be seen as what if Picard had never loosened up after Locutus.
Picard was an explorer but he went into disciplinarian mode whenever some dumbass interfered with his plans. Mostly he was calm and collected, in the first season he was probably a bit stressed about commanding a galaxy class starship but after that he relaxed into his role. Anyway Captain Jellicos style of command was not needed in the 24th century, cowboy diplomacy and miltaristic muscle flexing,
But not necessarily covert spy and standoff missions, and I wouldn't get an explorer to do that kind of work. Likewise, I wouldn't send someone like Jellico to a diplomacy mission as well. A balance, a moderation, between peace and defense is something we've consistently seen in Trek, knowing when to talk and when to fight, and in this case it was exemplified with two men who got along and respected each other well enough, but had different styles.
And frankly, in the first few seasons, how many times did we see the Enterprise engage in the sort of mission like Chain of Command? We never did. Yet when the time came to face the Borg or the Romulans, Picard easily adopted a more military mind without flinching.
As well, there's a very good reason why Picard was specifically chosen for such a clandestine mission in the first place, in that Picard's style of leadership, as nuanced as it is, was a good counterpart to Jellico's oversight. After all, Jellico succeeded in his mission and rescued Picard, all without firing a single shot from his end. If his command style is obsolete in the context of Trek's 24th century, then just how did he accomplish that feat? Compare that with nearly every rescue mission we've seen in Trek which involved, surprise, guns blazing, from Kirk to Janeway and Archer.
First off, don't you think this whole sweeping generalization in itself is a bit arrogant and unenlightened? It may be a matter of perspective, but to have one human assume that he has the intellectual authority to look down upon the rest of his own people in judgment (to show that one human is closer to an alien perspective than the rest) shows that humanity has a long way to go in overcoming smug superiority. If and when humanity means an alien culture, it will be a collective effort.
And within the context of Trek, the Federation was founded in part as a collective defense and resource pool for the founding worlds. Even since the beginning, military in some form or way was part of the plan. Earth itself was chosen as the center because it was, politically and militarily speaking, neutral to the other three worlds. The other three worlds had been at war with each other in some form or way before Earth came along. Admiral Forrest is closer to Jellico in command style, and he was instrumental in improving human/Vulcan relations.
Additionally, at the time of Chain of Command, Data still had much to learn about command, intuition, and instinct. This is why whenever there was a battle, Picard still chose to put Riker in command, when it's well within his power to appoint Data as battle commander (like how Kirk made Chekov in command once or twice over Scotty).
Fair enough. Though Jellico is the ultimate micro manager and was the wrong man for negotiating with the cardassians. In relation to the alien first contact point, no its not smug superiority, its just fact if we're talking about a TNG style alien race (who knows whats out there and perhaps the militaristic bent we're on might prove beneficial). Essentially I don't think anyone is any less inferior or superior, but what I will lament is a pattern in societies to cow to the demands of authoritarianism. Independent thinking is a quality I want to see come to fruition, while I may tolerate alternative view points ref militarism, support for the status quo, I don't have to like them.
When I think of Datas strategic talent the first episode that comes to mind is the one where he exposes the romulan warbirds with the tachyon beam or whatever he did to achieve that result. I would imagine that in a war scenario he would prove extremely advantageous given his ability to process info quickly, use scientific knowledge to his advantage etc. It would be like gary kasparov against deep blue when he lost.
