Why is there resistance to the idea of Starfleet being military?
- Thread starter The Wormhole
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Yes, exactly. The historical comparison doesn't necessarily tell us anything about Starfleet or the people in it, nor has anyone EVER implied that being explorers is the reason Starfleet cannot also be a military.
Basically. That, of course, would require them to make certain other changes to their operating procedures and rules of engagement, and it would depend on what they decide the military is to BECOME. If, for example, they decided to re-designate the armed forces as a law enforcement agency, they'd have to either change a few laws that would otherwise prohibit those organizations from operating the weapons they do, or strip them of the weapons and equipment that would otherwise violate those laws. They'd also have to make changes to military regulations as to their rules of engagement and the places they can and cannot operate, not to mention who they directly answer to and how.
If nothing changes about their size, equipment and abilities, then the law would have to be changed to accommodate that and they would be a military in all but name.
The thing is, there would need to be some kind of REASON to change their description, and the new description would reflect this reason. If, for example, the military (say, the Army Corps of Engineers) needed to be able to operate on American Soil without a declaration of martial law or without being explicitly mobilized by the Commander in Chief, independently stepping in to solve problems when and where they find them.
That the Federation doesn't declare Starfleet to be a military organization means there are certain things Starfleet does that they don't feel are appropriate a military organization. This probably has something to do with the roles of militaries in Federation members' societies. In OUR society, the role of the military is to defend the homeland in its entirety; for the Federation, being a collection of worlds that have been sovereign for thousands of years and never had to depend on anyone else before, the military is probably purely for LOCAL defense and the protection of individual members.
The words "Starfleet is not a military organization" spoken by multiple characters, plus the lack of an affirmation that it IS, plus the non-military character and culture that pervades the service in the TNG spinoffs.
It doesn't. Star Trek is the ONLY major science fiction franchise that ever has this debate, for precisely the reasons I just described. The origin of the debate is that Starfleet's status is EXPLICITLY given as non-military and is intentionally ambiguous as to its actual legal status and political role.
If there was any sort of anti-military bias in scifi fandom, you'd be seeing this debate pop up in other franchises. But this doesn't happen; nobody ever asks if, for example, the Earth Alliance Navy is a military organization. It clearly is, they SAY it is, they treat it like it is, and they do their best to emulate what a space-based military would probably look like.
Which is the main reason they're not a declared military organization. There are likely some very important things militaries are not allowed to do that Starfleet can do whenever they see fit.
Like destroy a planet from orbit?
^^The Dominion or Klingon empire lands on Earth or say Betazed does Starfleet back away and tell the local planetary defence authorities to take over the fighting because they are sticking to deep space warfare?
No, I'm saying that the mitigation of threats to federation (and other) lives is not necessarily a military task. We see an example of this in "Encounter at Farpoint" where Picard does everything he possibly can to avoid having to fire on the alien ship, even after it starts attacking the Bandi. The main reason he does this is because he hasn't yet determined if opening fire will get him the resolution he wants; for all he knows, the alien will turn right around and attack the Enterprise next and then attack Farpoint next. The message there is made explicitly clear: Enterprise's job isn't to defend the Bandi or anyone else from enemies, it's to promote peace and solve problems the most effective way possible.
Now, I am very much aware that if that had been James T. Kirk in that same position, he would have blasted that alien with a very calculated and precise burst of phaser fire and THEN tried to figure out the best way to resolve the conflict. But if you separate TOS and the TMP movies from the spinoffs, the case for Starfleet as a military organization makes a lot more sense.
I don't think Kirk was actually that trigger happy.
Actually, YES. A military organization having the power to do this is something no Federation member would really allow, knowing that any one of them might end up in the crosshairs if they didn't tow the party line. But an exploration service could be given legal authority to do this in cases where it was important enough, and could be trusted with the judgement to decided when it was necessary to do so. You can't trust the Andorians or the Vulcans or the Tellarites with that kind of power, but apparently you can trust Starfleet, because they would have to have a scientifically valid reason for doing it.
No, but Kirk was also FAR less hesitant to resort to violence when the situation called for it.
Possibly. Starfleet operates primarily in space; it seems like an organization that specializes in planetary defense and ground warfare would exist independently and have a very different skill set and a very different set of equipment.
Did the Borg wipe them out first in First Contact?
Of course it was. Kirk judged that the Eminians would not resort to peace with Vendikar unless the ALTERNATIVE to peace was the annihilation of their entire civilization. His judgement was ultimately correct.
Oooookay.
The Borg (cube) never made it to Earth in First Contact, and the Sphere deliberately avoided landing on Earth of the present.
Evidently not.The Sphere got pretty close. Close enough for the planetary defense to act?
Would Earth's planetary defense forces be any more impressive than the Mars Defense Perimeter?
Against the Borg? I doubt it. In fact I'd guess they probably shot their entire wad before the Enterprise even showed up.
No one in the Navy considers themselves soldiers, but there are some in Starfleet who do.
In the trek universe, ground troops have a different skill set, equipment, transportation, and unit structure, but they are still part of Starfleet.
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