VOY - Virtuoso

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

I think the Federation's no different than the UN. Just an IGO that discusses policy and accountability and acts through treaty.

[Karha of Honor]

I think the Federation's no different than the UN. Just an IGO that discusses policy and accountability and acts through treaty.

I think the Federation survived incredibly tough times. The UN would break part as soon as shit would get real.

[Riedquat]

Starfleet directly fulfills some non-military roles - its scientific aspect for example, and perhaps surveying (there are plenty of military applications for surveying of course too, but it seems to go beyond that). Its exploration role has no real modern equivalent - part of the appeal of the likes of Trek is that "into the unknown" that you can't really do on Earth without really stretching credibility. Back when there was more exploring of the Earth going on militaries might've got involved but it wasn't really an explicit role, more a government deciding to support a particular instution.

In any case a lot of the time Starfleet acts and behaves and is organised in a very military way, ergo it is a military in my book albeit one with a wider remit than we have now. Which makes sense when wandering in to the unknown is as dangerous as it can be in Trek.

[jadenova]

Paul Williams in an episode about music. Is the concert hall called The Paradise?

[Frustration]

Starfleet was, in the original conception, a quasi-militarily-structured organization with mostly non-military goals, but more because the conceit of the show was that our society had changed than because it was incapable of acting like a military.

As the utopianism has been increasingly abandoned in favor of 'relatibility', the creators of the various incarnations of the franchise have made Starfleet increasingly militaristic.

[Riedquat]

Starfleet was, in the original conception, a quasi-militarily-structured organization with mostly non-military goals, but more because the conceit of the show was that our society had changed than because it was incapable of acting like a military.

As the utopianism has been increasingly abandoned in favor of 'relatibility', the creators of the various incarnations of the franchise have made Starfleet increasingly militaristic.

At the end of the day I think it's just easier to come up with stories that way.

[McAvoy]

Here is the thing. If you are you going to have alien species like the Klingons then you have to have a military.

If you had a long war against an alien species called the Romulans that shortly after the end of the war the formation of the Federation happened then a military happened.

Here is the thing, compared to what we have seen in TV shows and what was said. I am pretty sure Riker's Gene Roddenberry esque response in the second season doesn't really reflect at all the reality of Star Trek.

[Fianna]

I think the intent was that Starfleet was supposed to deal almost entirely with peaceful exploration, scientific research, and diplomatic missions, with all the weapons being there just in case. However, the Enterprise is (to use TV Tropes terminology) a Weirdness Magnet, and so runs into more dangerous situations in a month than most ships would see in their entire lives.

It's like Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote, who never sets out to be a crime solving detective. It's just that people they know are constantly being murdered, and they do their best to help with the investigation.

[McAvoy]

I think the intent was that Starfleet was supposed to deal almost entirely with peaceful exploration, scientific research, and diplomatic missions, with all the weapons being there just in case. However, the Enterprise is (to use TV Tropes terminology) a Weirdness Magnet, and so runs into more dangerous situations in a month than most ships would see in their entire lives.

It's like Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote, who never sets out to be a crime solving detective. It's just that people they know are constantly being murdered, and they do their best to help with the investigation.

Jessica is a serial killer. Setting up innocent people as the killer and covering her tracks. Then like some sicko she writes about it 'if I was a killer this is how I would do it'.

[Riedquat]

Here is the thing. If you are you going to have alien species like the Klingons then you have to have a military.

If you had a long war against an alien species called the Romulans that shortly after the end of the war the formation of the Federation happened then a military happened.

Here is the thing, compared to what we have seen in TV shows and what was said. I am pretty sure Riker's Gene Roddenberry esque response in the second season doesn't really reflect at all the reality of Star Trek.

Well you have to have something that'll fulfil the role of a military. It doesn't necessarily have to be a primarily military force, although without it being it'll almost certainly be less effective than a dedicated military.