skies wrote:It's funny how star fleet denies being a military force. They have a military command structure (with a rigidly enforced hierarchy), military uniforms, and militarized vessels. Hell, even the so called science core have a uniform (a sort of gray jumpsuit with a silver bar across the chest).
IIRC, Gene Roddenberry actually wanted to forego rank insignia on the uniforms altogether initially, but realized that would be stretching things a bit too much.
I don't recall real world exploration and shipping vessels having weapons, except in times of war or in dangerous areas; even then, they had just light armament for basic defense and relied on fully armed naval escorts. Basically, you never arm a vessel unless you plan to use them, ether in battle or as a projection of force (i.e. gun boat diplomacy, patrol duty, or defensive escort).The only times armed vessels were used for exploration by nation states was when a navel vessel was tasked with a special exploratory mission
And conversely, military resources are applied to many functions other than making war -- disaster assistance, rescue operations, exploration, and R&D. All of which Starfleet does. As another example, I've seen several Trekkies making the argument that Starfleet is a non-military organization like the US Coast Guard, completely ignoring the fact that the USCG is considered part of the American military.
The primary difference seems to be that Starfleet doesn't do nearly as much specialization, though we have seen some dedicated science and hospital vessels. That difference isn't substantive IMO -- it just means they chose a more generalized approach. That may make sense in terms of dramatic license because it allows a wider variety of missions for our intrepid crew, but in RL it would be terribly inefficient.
The only thing non-military about starfleet seems to be their strategic and tactical (lack) of ability.
AFAICT, the sticking point in Trekkies' arguments that Starfleet was not a military was the assumption that if they were then all they would be used for is fighting and that they would default to forceful solutions to everything. IOW, they would have a "shoot-first, ask questions later" at best and at worst would be a conquering force. These are very simplistic assumptions and also one quite easily contradicted with RL evidence.
The varied roles that a military can serve were already noted above. It's also not hard to find military men who are thoughtful advocates of only using force at those times and levels at which it is absolutely necessary, in part because their knowledge and experience gives them an informed respect for the consequences of those actions.
So frankly, beating the "Starfleet is not a military drum" is pretty damn silly, but some Trekkies do it all the same.
It's okay to kiss a nun; just don't get into the habit.
