Yes! It's very much like the Royal Navy in the Long Peace from 1815 to 1914. If there was a war, they would have to fight it, but as a practical matter most of the time there wasn't a war. They spent their time on training missions, some of the most amazing expeditions in history (Darwin on HMS Beagle, HMS Discovery on the west coast of North America, the James Cook expeditions to the Pacific, the Arctic expedition of a later HMS Discovery), making nautical charts that mariners the world over relied on, conducting search and rescue operations and aiding mariners in distress all over. They needed to be able to expand the navy in case of war, they'd need enough skilled sailors and officers to staff a larger fleet, so they did many things in peacetime to train and keep their officers and sailors sharp while doing something useful for the world as a whole.
Is Starfleet a military organization?
- Thread starter Commander Troi
- Start date
Yes! It's very much like the Royal Navy in the Long Peace from 1815 to 1914. If there was a war, they would have to fight it, but as a practical matter most of the time there wasn't a war. They spent their time on training missions, some of the most amazing expeditions in history (Darwin on HMS Beagle, HMS Discovery on the west coast of North America, the James Cook expeditions to the Pacific, the Arctic expedition of a later HMS Discovery), making nautical charts that mariners the world over relied on, conducting search and rescue operations and aiding mariners in distress all over. They needed to be able to expand the navy in case of war, they'd need enough skilled sailors and officers to staff a larger fleet, so they did many things in peacetime to train and keep their officers and sailors sharp while doing something useful for the world as a whole.
In TOS, for example, my headcanon has black as the uniform color worn by Starfleet Marines. As for the color they would wear in TNG and later...I dunno, light gray, maybe? As I said, it's all still Starfleet - just one more division.
But we never saw any Starfleet Marines in TOS or anyone in a Starfleet black uniform (although Kirk and Spock looked striking in SS uniforms in Patterns of Force). Anytime someone was doing a job that might call for Starfleet Marines it was actually done by Starfleet Security - the hapless Redshirts. They're cannon fodder for landing parties, they're enforcing command authority aboard ship. That's would be the Marines' job, if there were any Marines.
.
I think Starfleet sometimes is military depending on which show you're watching and when, and maybe what you watched first informs that opinion later. I grew up on the TOS films, so I just took it for granted Starfleet was the military. But someone watching TOS or TNG or Enterprise might think completely differently. I also think it's perfectly reasonable to have different sides of Starfleet coexisting in the same time period. Like in TNG I have no problem with Picard saying he's a diplomat and explorer, meanwhile over on the Cardassian border Starfleet Tactical is sending First Recon to scout Atbar Prime for possible assault, and even having guys and girls whose soul purpose in joining Starfleet was to be a Tactical grunt who get to shoot people, some who are contemplative on war and some who just relish going into battle.
Drat, and I thought this topic had quietly fallen asleep.
As far as black uniforms in TOS, I remember one or two comics had this kind of look for clandestine intelligence ops, like having Scotty and a few others go behind Romulan lines to steal a bird of prey or something like that.
Kor
As far as black uniforms in TOS, I remember one or two comics had this kind of look for clandestine intelligence ops, like having Scotty and a few others go behind Romulan lines to steal a bird of prey or something like that.
Kor
Even the more militaristic Starfleet members tend to have strong "hard" science", "soft" science or humanities backgrounds.; they really would prefer sharing tea, coffee, root beer, et cetera, with their gastronomically compatible alien counterparts while they discuss history, philosophy, pop culture, exobotany, et cetera, instead of launching an offensive.
Last edited:
I'm sure Starfleet is just as diverse as any organization and has plenty of officers that would rather fight than talk.
Ideally, they're kept away from volatile situations where shows of force are decidedly counterproductive.
Only the crazy admirals.
Which isn't too different from today's militaries, so I'm not sure what we're trying to prove here.
Indeed.
In fact, the above point serves to reinforce my "Starfleet is mostly modelled on the US Coast Guard" point as the typical majors for USCG officers are:
Business Administration (with emphasis on International Business and Logistics)
Global Studies and Maritime Affairs (International Relations, Maritime and Environmental Policy)
Marine Transportation (Maritime Industry, Navigation and Ship-Handling. Includes civilian Third Mate license)
Mechanical Engineering.
Facilities Engineering Technology.
Marine Engineering Technology.
Oceanography.
Minors in BA, Global Studies, Law, Oceanography, Maths and Naval Science are also common apparently.
Would that be much different from what a prospective naval or merchant marine officer would study?
Not really I suppose, particularly the latter.
Not even close. The folks of the 23rd/24th century are noticeably smarter/better educated (children are learning Calculus and astrophysics, for starters) and Captains seem far more willing to let their ships take a hit or two during first encounters before finally defending themselves (i.e., they are less aggressive). By the way, have you ever noticed in these debates that there's an implication that "A military man can also be x.", but it's rarely or never framed the other way around? Why the assumption that one profession/vocation always overrides the other?
Similar threads
- Poll
