STARFLEET MILITARY?
According to ST:TNG Writer’s/Director’s guide (1987): “Starfleet is NOT a military organization….No saluting. We may hear the word ‘Sir,’ but it is intended as the same kind of courtesy used by junior and senior officerson commercial airliners….No stories about warfare with Klingons or Romulans and no stories with Vulcans.” Granted the Romulan/Klingon/Vulcan rule has laxed, Starfleet is still basically non-military (except when they are cornered, like the Borg situation). The fourth season ST:TNG Writer’s Technical Manual says to mentally merge NASA, the Coast Guard and research ships like Calypso to gain a concept of the Enterprise’s mission. I guess we’re supposed to believe that court-martials are non-military, huh?
