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Structure of Federation Government - Question

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staffor...@gmail.com

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Sep 12, 2019, 12:08:37 AM9/12/19
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Hi,



I have just been thinking about Star Trek Voyager, and Episode 2 Season 1 came to mind. In that episode Tom Paris was in prison and it was not clear who could have put him there. At first it would seem that the government did - he was a rebel after all. But at the same time Star Fleet seems to have had some seem to some authority over him there.

In know that militaries have the power to imprison their members. But Star Trek is not a military organization.

Does anyone have any comment on my impression that Star Fleet had some special authority in the prison? And if my impression is correct, any explanation on why that makes sense?

Your Name

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Sep 12, 2019, 2:01:11 AM9/12/19
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He was Starfleet, then became a Maquis rebel, then was captured by
Starfleet and sentenced to a Federation prison colony.

Tom Paris
---------
The son of a prominent Starfleet admiral, he was dishonorably
discharged from Starfleet and later joined the Maquis before
being captured and serving time at the Federation Penal
Settlement in New Zealand. After joining Voyager to retrieve
Chakotay's Maquis ship from the Badlands, he was transferred
70,000 light years across the galaxy, deep into the Delta
Quadrant.

<https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Tom_Paris>


Starfleet isn't military as such, but does have what are basically
military sections. Starfleet and The Federation are more-or-less what
replaced the military, so have many of the same types of rules and
structure (hence ranks such as Admiral, Captain, etc.).




Stafford Martin

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Sep 12, 2019, 2:14:34 AM9/12/19
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----------------------------------------
I thought of this as well. Had he been put in prison while in Starfleet I would have considered the matter routine. But he was put in prison by the government. I suppose that it could be considered a courtesy in the same way our government used to grant people parole if they joined the military,

I think that it is another incident which makes more and more a mockery of the Starfleet's claim that Starfleet is not a military organization. It is probably more correct to say that it is not a militaristic or warlike organization. But it does not seem to differ from a military organization in any visible fashion.

Your Name

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Sep 12, 2019, 3:45:29 AM9/12/19
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> I thought of this as well. Had he been put in prison while in Starfleet
> I would have considered the matter routine. But he was put in prison
> by the government. I suppose that it could be considered a courtesy in
> the same way our government used to grant people parole if they joined
> the military,

From memory, Starfleet brought ex-Maquis Tom paris in to help hunt down
the other Maquis since he'd know their ways, potential hiding places,
etc. In exchange he'd get his freedom / reduced sentence. It was only
because he got stuck with Voyager in the Delta Quadrant that he
(eventually) rejoined Stafleet.



> I think that it is another incident which makes more and more a mockery
> of the Starfleet's claim that Starfleet is not a military organization.
> It is probably more correct to say that it is not a militaristic or
> warlike organization. But it does not seem to differ from a military
> organization in any visible fashion.

The police today have similar organisational structure to the military,
but aren't actually military (in most countries anyway).

Starfleet is military in the sense that it one of its jobs is to
protect the Federation, but it also has diplomatic, exploration, and
scientific sides.

Starfleet
---------
Starfleet was the deep space exploratory and defense service
maintained by the United Federation of Planets. Its principal
functions included the advancement of Federation knowledge
about the galaxy and its inhabitants, the advancement of
Federation science and technology, the defense of the
Federation, and the facilitation of Federation diplomacy.
<https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Starfleet>


Stafford Martin

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Sep 12, 2019, 4:16:18 AM9/12/19
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Which makes my point. When Starfleet officers deny that they are a military organization, they are not saying, "We also have other functions". They are denying that primacy of a military nature. I think that denial does not stand up to scrutiny.

They are not warlike. They are not like our military organizations which train for way when they are not at war. But war fighting is a primary function and during times of war becomes almost the only function. From the hints we receive of the Romulan military, for instance, this is pretty much what the military of the 22nd and later centuries look like. The main difference seems to be the attitude towards war.

Stafford Martin

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Sep 12, 2019, 4:18:43 AM9/12/19
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Police organization has some similarity to military organization but is not the same. Starfleet is almost exactly the same as a navy, with added positions relative to its additional functions.

Daniel60

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Sep 12, 2019, 6:42:33 AM9/12/19
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IMHO, Starfleet's primary purpose is "Exploration and Diplomacy", but,
if the other races they encounter get a bit toey, they can be defencive
as well!

--
Daniel

Stafford Martin

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Sep 12, 2019, 6:52:05 AM9/12/19
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That's their story anyway. I am sympathetic to it. But I think the case an be made that they are as someone said before: a military, diplomatic and exploration organization.
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