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star trek - What does Kirk mean by "I'm a soldier, not a diplomat"?


In Errand of Mercy, Captain Kirk says to the Organian council members, "I'm a soldier, not a diplomat," at about 9:20 (also, transcript here). This seems very much at odds with depictions of Starfleet as having primarily a mission of exploration and diplomacy, and with several clear statements in TOS and TNG about Starfleet being very much a non-military organization, some of which have been discussed on this site. It appears that this was very much an official concept, originating with Gene Roddenberry himself. If so, how did a line like that end up in Captain Kirk's mouth?



Answer



The United Federation of Planets not a military organization, and it's true that the primary mission of the Enterprise is of exploration and investigation. However, I think it's clear that Starfleet is at least partly a military organization, and the crew of the ships that make up Starfleet as military personnel, regardless of how its Public Relations department tries to spin it:



  • The ships are outfitted with high-tech weapons; not just defensive but potent offensive capabilities

  • They follow a military command rank structure


  • They carry firearms

  • They are trained in combat techniques.


What is true, and what would be a more accurate thing to say, is that the Starfleet's military force is not a conquering or agressive force. They are almost entirely devoted to peace-keeping operations, the kind that real-world armies participate in all the time. They exist to support the civilian portion of Starfleet, and the UFP in general, in safely doing their job.


Kirk, as the captain of a ship, is not a diplomat. Starfleet has a whole group of dedicated ambassadors that are trained and selected for their dimplomatic skills; Kirk was selected for his ability to command a ship and a crew, to protect those diplomats during their missions. As a Captain, he's obviously expected to have some basic concept of how to make first contact successfully, and how not to ruin diplomatic relationships with other species, but that is not his job and not where his training lies.


Rodenberry had a vision of the future where aggression and war were things that Earth had grown out of, and the UFP and Starfleet were part of that vision. However, he also clearly had respect for the idea of a well-trained, properly used military force as an instrument of peace and protection. There's no reason why he would not have recognized the need to have "soldiers" protecting the "diplomats" from the dangers of unknown deep space, even in his perfect future.


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