Anthony Kwan (Retired USAF)
Jeanne Domenech ( ????)
Mark Strosin (Active Duty Navy)
Michael Nguyen (Army Veteran)
Moderator: Doug Murray (Army Veteran)
The views or opinions expressed here are those of the author and panel members. They do not represent any official government views.
He studied three years of policemanship
Academic interest changed to aeronautical engineering and qualified for a pilot's license.
He volunteered for the United States Army Air Corps, and was ordered into training as a flying cadet when the United States entered the Second World War in 1941
Ordered to the South Pacific, Second Lieutenant Roddenberry flew missions against enemy strongholds. In all, he took part in approximately 89 missions and sorties. He was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.
Roddenberry formed the idea for Star Trek using various military and military-like concepts.
TOS “Where No Man Has Gone Before”
Mentions Starfleet Academy and refers to Starfleet as “the service.”
TOS “Mudd’s Women”
Establishes that Starfleet captains, much like modern-day counterparts,
have authority to convene a Board of Inquiry to investigate certain
situations.
TOS “Balance of Terror”
Written along the lines of a destroyer-submarine conflict, this episode is
full of military terms, including various shipboard alerts and damage-
control jargon. It also establishes that Starfleet is tasked with defending
the United Federation of Planets.
TOS “Dagger of the Mind”
Captain James T. Kirk tells Tristan Adams that Starfleet regulations require
an investigation into the events at the Tantalus Penal Colony.
TOS “Court Martial”
This episode explains that Starfleet has a military court system very similar
to that used by the U.S. armed forces.
TOS “The Menagerie (Parts I & II)”
The court martial system is seen again, and reference is made to Starfleet
General Orders.
TOS “Tomorrow is Yesterday”
The USS Enterprise crew comes into contact with several members of the
U.S. Air Force. James Kirk tells John Christopher that Starfleet is a
“combined service” when asked if the Enterprise was part of the U.S. Navy.
TOS “Errand of Mercy”
Starfleet is described as consisting of dozens of starships which can form
fleets to stop an invasion force. James Kirk refers to himself in this episode
as a “soldier.”
TOS “The Doomsday Machine”
Starfleet regulations are again discussed, including the rights of a medical
officer to relieve a commanding officer who is acting irrationally.
TOS “The Trouble With Tribbles”
A Starfleet admiral is seen for the first time.
TOS “By Any Other Name”
It is mentioned that Starfleet has “handled foreign invasions before.”
TOS “The Savage Curtain”
Captain Kirk’s tactics are compared to those of Ulysses Grant.
TOS “Turnabout Intruder”
Court martial proceedings are seen again, as are discussions about
medical regulations allowing for relief of a commanding officer for cause.
Uniforms
Higher calling
Money is not the end-all
Service to others
Starting in high school, I tried to be a leader
like Captain Kirk
Knowledgeable
Follow orders, listen to others, but …….
Take charge, take action
They used to say, if man could fly, he’d have wings. But he did fly; he
discovered he had to. Do you wish that the first Apollo mission
hadn’t reached the moon, or that we hadn’t gone on to Mars and
then to the nearest star? That’s like saying you wish that you still
operated with scalpels and sewed your patients up with catgut, like
your great, great, great-grandfather used to do... Dr. McCoy is right
in pointing out the enormous danger potential in any contact with
life and intelligence as fantastically advanced as this. But I must
point out that the possibilities – the potential for knowledge and
advancement – is equally great. Risk – risk is our business.
... Kirk, “Return to Tomorrow,” stardate 4768.3
The Navy traces its ancestry to 13 October 1775, when an act of the Continental Congress authorized the first ship of a new navy.
Some ships were named for the young nation’s ideals and institutions (Constitution, Independence, Congress).
Enterprise – a project or activity that involves many people and that is often difficult; the ability or desire to do dangerous or difficult things or to solve problems in new ways.
USS Enterprise (1775) was a sloop of war that
served in Lake Champlain during the
American Revolutionary War.
The sixth Enterprise (SP-790) was a
motorboat that served in a non-commissioned
status during the period of United States
participation in World War I.
USS Enterprise (CV-6), the “Big E,” was the sixth aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy and the
seventh U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. Launched in 1936, she was a ship of the Yorktown
class, and one of only three American carriers commissioned prior to World War II to survive the
war, the others being Saratoga and Ranger. She participated in more major actions than did
any other U.S. ship, including the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Battle
of the Santa Cruz Islands, various other air-sea engagements during the Guadalcanal campaign,
the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. On three separate occasions
during the Pacific War, the Japanese announced that she had been sunk in battle, earning her the
name “The Grey Ghost.” Enterprise earned 20 battle stars, the most for any U.S. warship in
World War II. Some have labeled her the most glorious and honored ship in the history of the U.S.
Navy, rivaled only perhaps by the 18th century frigate USS Constitution.
USS Enterprise (CVN-65), formerly CVA(N)-65, is the world’s first nuclear-powered
aircraft carrier and the eighth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World
War II fame, she is nicknamed “Big E.” At 1,123 feet (342 m), she was the longest naval
vessel in the world. Her 93,284 long tons (94,781 t) displacement ranks her as the 11th-heaviest
supercarrier, after the 10 carriers of the Nimitz class. Enterprise had a crew of some 4,600
people. The only ship of her class, Enterprise was the second-oldest commissioned vessel
in the U.S. Navy after the wooden-hulled USS Constitution. Originally scheduled for
decommissioning in 2014 or 2015, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010
slated the ship’s retirement for 2013, when she would have served for 51 consecutive years,
longer than any other U.S. aircraft carrier. She was inactivated on 1 December 2012, with her
official decommissioning taking place some time after the completion of an extensive terminal
offload program currently underway. Enterprise is a commissioned navy ship but is inactive.
She has undergone enough of the 4-year- long inactivation process to render her unfit for further
service. Inactivation removes fuel, fluids, furnishings, tools, fittings, and oil, and de-energizes the
electrical system.
U.S. Navy building “USS Enterprise” (Bldg 7115), a commissioned
building (27 May 2005 – June 2011), is the orientation “ship” for students
at Great Lakes.
The steamboat Enterprise participated in the Battle of New Orleans
and then demonstrated for the first time by her epic 2,200-mile voyage
from New Orleans to Brownsville, PA that steamboat commerce was
practical on America’s western rivers.
The balloon Enterprise was used by the Union Army during the
American Civil War.
Space Shuttle Enterprise (OV-101) was the first space shuttle orbiter,
used for test flights in earth atmosphere, landing procedures, and ground
tests between 1975 and 1985. It was named after the fictional vessel
from the Star Trek franchise, and later appeared in the opening sequence
to “Star Trek: Enterprise.”
USTS Kennedy (T-AK-5059), former USTS Enterprise (2003-2008),
SS Cape Bon (1985–2003), and SS Velma Lykes (1967-1985) is
currently a training ship at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, which
renamed it after the 1874 Enterprise (the Academy’s first training ship)
before renaming it after the Kennedy family.
Enterprise (Sloop of War) – 50
Enterprise (Motor Torpedo Boat) – 8
Enterprise WWII (Yorktown Class Aircraft Carrier) – 2,217
Nuclear Enterprise (Enterprise Class Aircraft Carrier) – 5,828
Enterprise (Space Shuttle) – 2
Enterprise (NX Class Star Ship) – 83
Enterprise TOS (Constitution Class Heavy Cruiser) – 430
Enterprise TNG (Excelsior/Ambassador/Galaxy/Sovereign/
Universe Class Heavy Cruiser) – 1,012
Voyager (Intrepid Class Light Cruiser?) – 150
DS 9 (Cardassian Space Station) – 83
The courses of study offered at Starfleet Academy correspond to the DIVISIONS within Starfleet.
COMMAND – Prepares personnel for careers in leadership and command, diplomacy, and
navigation and flight control. Officers who complete this course of study may assume positions
such as commanding officer, executive officer, diplomatic officer/advisor, attaché, or adjutant.
OPERATIONS – Prepares personnel to provide the support services necessary to keep the
Starfleet installations and vessels functioning from a logistical and resource standpoint.
Officers completing this course of study may assume positions such as general operations
officer, mission operations, flight deck operations, or logistics officer.
SECURITY – Officers completing this course of study are prepared in internal and external
tactical and security procedures, criminal investigation, use and construction of weapons, and
hand-to-hand combat. Officers completing this course of study may assume positions such as
tactical officer, security officer, strategic analyst, and armory officer.
ENGINEERING – Prepares engineers to repair, maintain, and construct the physical systems
upon which Starfleet depends. Officers completing this course of study may be assigned as
engineers aboard starships and starbases, as repair and maintenance personnel assigned to
shipyard facilities, or as designers and consultants of Starfleet shipyards.
SCIENCES – Prepares personnel to investigate and inform the mysteries and curiosities
encountered by Starfleet. Science officers have a general set of competencies required of them
in addition to a specialty or major area in which they are well-versed. This includes knowledge of
theoretical research in their areas of expertise.
MEDICAL – Prepares officers to care for the physical and mental well-being of Starfleet
personnel. Unlike the other divisions, individuals who wish to complete an M.D. through
Starfleet Academy often must attend the academy for an extended period of time. These officers
are generally commissioned a junior grade lieutenant (O-2). This course of study is also
appropriate for those who wish to be career nurses.
Leadership similarities
Academies (officer and NCO)
Born vs. made
Duty, honor, country
Naval traditions similarities
Uniforms
Ranks
Ship types and names
Prime Directive
The Prime Directive dictates that there can be no interference
with the internal development of alien civilizations. Applies to
only Starfleet officers. Civilian citizens of the Federation are not
bound by it.
Today’s Rules of Engagement
Rules or directives to military forces (including individuals) that
define the circumstances, conditions, degree, and manner in
which force, or actions which might be construed as provocative,
may be applied. They provide authorization for and/or limits on,
among other things, the use of force and the employment of
certain specific capabilities.
Strategies are forward-looking and provide
the guidelines for growth. They are about
future performance gaps and how you will
overcome them.
Tactics are now-oriented. They are about
present performance gaps and how you will
overcome them in order to support the
strategies.
Training
Service members are drilled PHYSICALLY, TECHNICALLY, and
PSYCHOLOGICALLY on a regular basis. As with any sport, the
more you train, the better you get. You train as a team – to act
and think as one.
Use of Force
We do not enjoy engaging the enemy – we are putting our lives
on the line. However, imagine practicing football day after day,
year after year, and never actually playing a game. When we
actually get a game, it is very exciting.
US Armed Forces Officer’s Oath
I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and
defend the Constitution of the United States against all
enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and
allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without
any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will
well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I
am about to enter; So help me God.
Oath Taken by UFS Officers When Commissioned
I solemnly swear to uphold the regulations of United Federation
Starfleet as well as the laws of the United Federation of Planets,
to become ambassadors of peace and goodwill, to represent the
highest ideals of peace and brotherhood, to protect and serve
the Federation and its member worlds, to serve the interests of
peace, to respect the Prime Directive, and to offer aid to any and
all beings that request it.
Mikhail Gorbachev – understanding the bad state of
the Soviet economic and financial affairs
Glasnost – Russian for “openness”
Perestroika – Russian for “restructuring”
Theocracy, fascist governments, dictators (always)
Individual freedom
Constitution
Internet
Cable
Being a Trekkie in an alpha male environment
Why no Red Shirt women then? (however, women’s military
roles are changing today)
Red Shirts – it hurts to lose even one!
Definition of “command”
To be in charge; have authority
To deserve and receive (respect, attention,
etc.)
To have authority over
To have responsibility for
Being responsible for everyone on the ship
Dealing with personality conflicts
Dealing with domestic disturbances
Overcoming boredom
Dealing with drinking, fighting, etc.
Making sure crew is physically fit
Making sure crew is technically/combat ready
Simulation training: playing “what if”scenarios
such as the “Kobayashi Maru,” damage control
drills, etc.
Having to make “The Decision”; Being in the
“Hot Seat”
Lead, Follow, or Just get out of the way
Lonely at the top
Sometimes deciding who lives and who
dies, who gets promoted, who does not, etc.
Do not be “OBEd” …….. Make a decision,
good or bad, if bad, make another one.
Getting the job done is paramount
Fly – Fight -- Win
Take the high ground
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead
A X47-B Navy drone lands, and takes off, aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush; 80 miles off the Coast of Virginia Wednesday, July 10, 2013.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said “It is not often you get a chance to see the future, but that is what we got to see today,” he said after the landing.
Veterans, Thank You For Your Service
