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Is Starfleet a military organisation?
posted by wonder2wonderSTAFFMOD on April 24, 2023 at 11:41 AM
"Starfleet is not a military organisation. It is a scientific research and diplomatic body."
"Although the duties of the Enterprise may include some military responsibilities, the primary purpose of the Enterprise — as with all Starfleet vessels is to expand the body of human knowledge."
"In practice this means that our armaments and militarism have been de-emphasized over the previous series and very much de-emphasized over the movies. We will not see saluting. We may hear the word "sir", but it is extended as the same kind of courtesy used by junior and senior officers on civilian airliners. It is traditional, however, to use ship's ranks on the bridge, an acknowledgment of the naval heritage of Starfleet."
— Gene Roddenberry
• Is Starfleet a Military? - Video
Kirk: "I'm a soldier, not a diplomat."
• Is Starfleet a Military? - Part 1 - videoclips episodes
Picard: "Starfleet is not a military organisation. Its purpose is exploration."
• Is Starfleet a Military? - Part 2 - videoclips episodes
Some other videos:
• Starfleet: Military Overseer or Defense Partner?
• Starfleet is not a military!
• Star Trek TNG -- Starfleet Is Not the Military
• Sorry Picard, But Starfleet is a Military Organization!
What is your opinion?
Sidenotes:
Reading the comments below all these videos is interesting. 
Reply by SecretaryIMF
on May 1, 2023 at 6:35 AM
@wonder2wonder : I've always thought that Starfleet is a military organization. Of course, I also think that Section 31 is the Impossible Missions Force on steroids.
Reply by Nexus71
on May 1, 2023 at 11:50 AM
Since there is a chain of command and that the starships are armed with phasers and photon torpedoes I think it is obvious that Starfleet is a military organisation , however stupid it was of putting families on the Enterprise D it still is a military vessel
Reply by SecretaryIMF
on May 7, 2023 at 9:14 PM
@Nexus71 : The having the families of the crew live on the starship was a novel idea, but realistically, not so much.
Reply by VobIdem
on May 8, 2023 at 7:14 PM
Starfleet is a scientific organisation first, focused on space exploration, and a diplomatic organisation second. We know this because of Gene Roddenberry's views, and over 50 years of canonical Star Trek.
It is further evidenced by their starships, which are by design non-warships.
Nor does Starfleet invade planets, or seek out conflict like the Klingon military and Cardassian military do.
Reply by rooprect
on May 8, 2023 at 11:58 PM
Interesting to read Roddenberry’s original thoughts. I think despite his original vision of non-military Starfleet, it definitely morphed into a military role by the end of season 1 (“Balance of Terror”, “Errand of Mercy”). I mean, what ‘scientific organization’ engages enemies in the Neutral Zone with the covert purpose of stealing military secrets? My guess is that the battle episodes had high ratings so the writers kept writing more.
But the real clincher is in Wrath of Khan where we see a clear distinction between Dr Carol Marcus’s true scientific project vs. Starfleet’s military interests. She delivers a pretty fiery monologue that spells it out. What are her exact words…? Something like “Scientists have always been pawns of the military”
I think it’s pretty cool that Roddenberry’s original vision of Starfleet evolved in this direction. Kinda gave it a dark side. More like real life.
Reply by SecretaryIMF
on May 9, 2023 at 1:14 PM
@rooprect : I agree with you.
Reply by Knixon
on May 9, 2023 at 1:47 PM
Actually, David said that, and Carol disagreed.
And while it's obvious the Klingons would have used it as a weapon, I don't know what evidence you could show that the Federation/Starfleet would do the same.
Reply by SecretaryIMF
on July 22, 2023 at 11:21 PM
In Star Trek Into Darkness, Admiral Marcus built a Starship with tons of weapon systems installed in it (I think he named the ship Vengeance).