Re: Does Barclay belong in Starfleet?
Posted: 2017-05-31 11:30pm
It's safe to say that Starfleet is indeed the Federation's military arm. It's who they call upon to fight their wars, and their ships are clearly capable of standing in battle against their foes, whether it be the Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians or whoever. So Starfleet is a military.
It is also other things in addition to being a military. This doesn't make it "not a military" though, or even without real world precedent. Consider the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which does the military things you'd expect from a military arm but also has plenty of civilian jobs and aspects to it as well - such as building and maintaining dams, and even running campgrounds for public recreation. There is also the U.S. Coast Guard, which is definitely an Armed Service of the United States, but they also have a lot of non-military roles like law enforcement, search and rescue, etc. I'm sure there are plenty of other examples in other countries as well, if I were to look.
The main difference is there where the USACE and USCG are components of the broader US Armed Forces, Starfleet is the entirety of the Federation's military. And while these real-world components do have plenty of 'civilian' tasks, they don't neglect or forget their military ones. Plus, there is plenty of 'pure military' in the US Armed Forces, so while Coast Guard cutters aren't the most badass warships afloat, they don't need to be - the U.S. Navy handles that.
Which is where Starfleet goes astray into the "not a military" thing, because they tend to resist or even refuse to acknowledge that yes, they are a military - right up until they're forced to do so. At least for a lot of the characters we actually see and interact with. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with a Starfleet super-organization, in theory - we could bundle up all of the U.S. Armed Forces into something called the "United States Defense Forces" with identical uniforms and ranks and all that jazz if we really wanted to, and it would (probably) be just as effective so long as each subdivision maintained their core professional competencies. Whether that be 'military' or the various 'civilian' things they do, as noted above.
But Starfleet doesn't seem to like that, and it also muddies the waters between its military and non-military functions. Whether or not the U.S.S. Enterprise was acting as a scientific exploration ship, Federation diplomats or showing the UFP flag in a possible (or the occasional actual!) military conflict pretty much depended on the day of the week. That and their general attitudes toward not wanting to focus on the military roles they do in fact possess, and not unoften is an arguably dangerous dilution of skillset, professional competencies and responsibilities, but that's how the UFP likes to roll for some reason.
Bringing it back to Barclay, no he wouldn't make it in a Starfleet that was more military, but could certainly do good things in the non-military tracks of Starfleet. The thing is, Starfleet doesn't especially differentiate between these tracks all that well, which I think is where the genesis of this question lies. I mean shit, if we accept the 'alternate future' in "All Good Things" even their medical ships can get into tussles and fight back against peer enemy warships without dying instantly, though clearly the U.S.S. Pasteur wasn't on the level of the Big E. You couldn't really say the same for the U.S.N.S. Comfort for example, a medical ship clearly meant to be as far away from actual battle as it can be.
Also, I think it really says something about Starfleet Academy and more so his previous command - the one Riker theorized tried to "pawn off" the poor Lieutenant - that clearly, the man is capable and actually can get past his shortcomings if there are people willing to give him a chance and work with on it. So why did it take until the Enterprise for anyone to apparently even try and help the guy?
It is also other things in addition to being a military. This doesn't make it "not a military" though, or even without real world precedent. Consider the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which does the military things you'd expect from a military arm but also has plenty of civilian jobs and aspects to it as well - such as building and maintaining dams, and even running campgrounds for public recreation. There is also the U.S. Coast Guard, which is definitely an Armed Service of the United States, but they also have a lot of non-military roles like law enforcement, search and rescue, etc. I'm sure there are plenty of other examples in other countries as well, if I were to look.
The main difference is there where the USACE and USCG are components of the broader US Armed Forces, Starfleet is the entirety of the Federation's military. And while these real-world components do have plenty of 'civilian' tasks, they don't neglect or forget their military ones. Plus, there is plenty of 'pure military' in the US Armed Forces, so while Coast Guard cutters aren't the most badass warships afloat, they don't need to be - the U.S. Navy handles that.
Which is where Starfleet goes astray into the "not a military" thing, because they tend to resist or even refuse to acknowledge that yes, they are a military - right up until they're forced to do so. At least for a lot of the characters we actually see and interact with. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with a Starfleet super-organization, in theory - we could bundle up all of the U.S. Armed Forces into something called the "United States Defense Forces" with identical uniforms and ranks and all that jazz if we really wanted to, and it would (probably) be just as effective so long as each subdivision maintained their core professional competencies. Whether that be 'military' or the various 'civilian' things they do, as noted above.
But Starfleet doesn't seem to like that, and it also muddies the waters between its military and non-military functions. Whether or not the U.S.S. Enterprise was acting as a scientific exploration ship, Federation diplomats or showing the UFP flag in a possible (or the occasional actual!) military conflict pretty much depended on the day of the week. That and their general attitudes toward not wanting to focus on the military roles they do in fact possess, and not unoften is an arguably dangerous dilution of skillset, professional competencies and responsibilities, but that's how the UFP likes to roll for some reason.
Bringing it back to Barclay, no he wouldn't make it in a Starfleet that was more military, but could certainly do good things in the non-military tracks of Starfleet. The thing is, Starfleet doesn't especially differentiate between these tracks all that well, which I think is where the genesis of this question lies. I mean shit, if we accept the 'alternate future' in "All Good Things" even their medical ships can get into tussles and fight back against peer enemy warships without dying instantly, though clearly the U.S.S. Pasteur wasn't on the level of the Big E. You couldn't really say the same for the U.S.N.S. Comfort for example, a medical ship clearly meant to be as far away from actual battle as it can be.
Also, I think it really says something about Starfleet Academy and more so his previous command - the one Riker theorized tried to "pawn off" the poor Lieutenant - that clearly, the man is capable and actually can get past his shortcomings if there are people willing to give him a chance and work with on it. So why did it take until the Enterprise for anyone to apparently even try and help the guy?