Weapons are there only for self defence, right? I'm translating few lines from a Finnish publication about TNG, it said something like: "Weapons are the last resort. If the ship has to use weapons it's a defeat for the entire crew".
Is Starfleet a military organization?
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Weapons are there only for self defence, right? I'm translating few lines from a Finnish publication about TNG, it said something like: "Weapons are the last resort. If the ship has to use weapons it's a defeat for the entire crew".
Nah.
Die Wunderwirkung der Latinität
Ihr lieben Jungens in Stadt und Land,
ich weiß euch eine Geschichte!
Ich kenn euch, ihr hört so trefflich zu
mit sehr ernsthaftem Gesichte,
doch in den Winkeln am Auge blitzt's,
wie von ganz anderen Sachen,
und eure Lippen beben dabei, -
das ist verhaltenes Lachen, –
ihr seid nämlich eine ganz dolle Schwefelbande!
Der Kurfürst Johann von Brandenburg,
der war gelehrt wie sonst keiner,
er sprach das flüssigste, klarste Latein
noch besser als selbst die Lateiner,
Da nannten sie ihn den 'Cicero'
– er fand das übel geraten, –
viel besser hätte ihm 'Cäsar' gepaßt,
so liebte er die Soldaten -
vor allem seine sechstausend schweren märkischen Reiter!
Nun hatten einst einen großen Streit
die Könige von Ungarn und Polen,
da ließ der Kaiser, den das verdroß,
den Johann Cicero holen:
„Herr Kurfürst, Ihr sprecht das berühmte Latein,
so bitt' ich Euch, habt die Gnade
und zieht gen Warschau und söhnt sie aus
mit Eurer lateinischen Suade, –
vielleicht nehmt Ihr auch ein paar Soldaten mit?“
„Herr Kaiser, der Auftrag paßt mir gut!“
sprach Johann mit tiefem Verneigen,
„Die klassische Kunst der Rhetorik wird
sich stark an Barbaren erzeigen,
Die Ungarn und Polen versöhne ich
ganz ohne Schwertstreich und Wunde,
so wirkt der Wohllaut der Latinität
in meinem beredsamen Munde –
und außerdem nehme ich meine sechstausend schweren Reiter mit!“
Vor Warschau, auf dem weiten Plan,
da standen Ungarn und Polen,
die beiden Könige rechts und links,
die saßen wie auf Kohlen,
denn Johann Cicero sprach und sprach,
wie troff die Rede von Milde,
und wenn er von „christlichen Gründen“ sprach,
so waren doch alle im Bilde. –
hinter ihm standen Sechstausend aufgesessen und Lanzen eingelegt!
Was Johann Cicero dort gesagt,
es ist der Nachwelt verloren,
den feindlichen Königen klangen nur
so einzelne Worte in Ohren:
„Totschlago vos fortissime,
nisi vos benehmitus bene!!“ –
Da söhnten die Gegner gerührt sich aus,
und Johann vergoß eine Träne,
und seine sechstausend Kerle brüllten: „Hurra, vivat Cicero!“
Ihr lieben Jungens, euch ist ja gelehrt,
warum die Dichter was dichten,
ihr wißt, der Zweck ist stets die Moral
bei allen solchen Geschichten,
drum, wenn ein Klassenaufsatz es gibt
über Münchhausens letzte Ballade,
so schreibt: Ein tadelloses Latein
das ebnet im Leben die Pfade, –
vorausgesetzt, daß einer eine gute Faust daneben haut!
Börries von Münchhausen
i can't promise that any babblefish will translate that properly
Sadly, in the US, police departments have been getting military equipment and training for several years, which has led some of them to think they are.Cops don't fight wars.
that's why starfleet doesn't give surplus phasers to the copsSadly, in the US, police departments have been getting military equipment and training for several years, which has led some of them to think they are.
If "armed ship = warship" then the Mayflower was a warship; it carried ten pieces of ordinance on its trip with the Pilgrims. And left four of them behind with the colonists as it sailed back to England.
Arming even your merchant vessels in an age of hostile nations, pirates and unknowns makes sense.
i daresay arming your pirate ship when the merchantmen sport guns makes sense
Fully armed. Planet-destroying arms.
the nacelles are disguised doomsday machines
If needed.
Wrong. "Full production" of the Defiant class would have had to start before the Dominion War did based on the fact the fleet seen at the end of A Call to Arms, you know, the episode where the war starts, includes three other Defiant class ships besides the USS Defiant itself. Also, the episode Valiant, the Valiant's dedication plaque says the ship was launched in on Stardate 49456, which places it in DS9's fourth season, sometime between the episodes Homefront and Sons of Mogh. But even if you want to ignore dedication plaques as "obscure props" dialogue in the episode even states the cadet training cruise on the Valiant started before the War did.
But police departments don't copy military customs, traditions and ceremonies as exactly as Starfleet does. I mean, hell, the orders assigning a Captain command of a Starfleet ship, are worded exactly the same way the US Navy's are, "You are requested and required..." Despite the official party line that Starfleet is allegedly non-military, everyone on the shows, both characters and behind the scenes production people, do their damnedest to make it as similar to a military as possible.
Really, that's just sloppy writing, but if one wanted to rationalize it, it could be explained as a peacetime military that hasn't fought a genuine threat in so long it's grown complacent. Which has been a common theme regarding the 24th century Federation and Starfleet anyway.
Yeah, I think they must have got that from a Patrick O'Brian book or something. They may have been worded like that at some point, but modern day USN orders are pretty matter of fact, something like:
EFFECTIVE [date] DETACH PRESENT DUTY AND REPORT TO COMMANDING OFFICER USS [name] AS RELIEF.
Cops don't fight wars.
Cops in the States have been militarizing for decades and are using military-grade equipment. No weapons of mass destruction, but they're pretty good at creating a lot of destruction using the tanks and guns they have now.
This is consistent with the two change of command ceremonies I attended in the 1980s. The departing CO read his orders to leave, then the two officers did the salute and relief routine, followed by the arriving CO reading his orders. The wording appears not to changed much since the 1980s.
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"We're [Starfleet]--and maybe that is the word that best explains us."
Ok, so they started before the Dominion War happened.
How many did they make?
From what I can tell, not that many compared to other vessels.
O’Brian and Forester both used that language in their respective series.
The whole four-shift/three-shift kerfuffle was a clear nod to O’Brian, as well.
Thus, Ron Moore thinks that Ed Jellico = Jack Aubrey. QED.
Well, prior to the Dominion War, we know of at least four, the Defiant itself, the Valiant and the three seen in A Time to Stand. Considering we only know of six Defiant class ships total seen on screen (the other two being the Sao Paulo and one seen in the fleet at the end of Endgame), that means roughly 65% of the class that's known was definitely built before the Dominion War started.
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