How would you improve Star Fleet?

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2003-01-07 09:01pm

I would get the likes of Edward Jelico and Benjamin Maxwell to be advisors when it comes to training new officers for the military. I would completely redesign the mission parameters of Starfleet itself and would form a seperate branch known as Starfleet Marines. Dedicated ground combat troops and starship deployable heavy weaponry would be developed. New ship classes would be developed to fit the needs of new mission requirements. Carrier type craft would be developed. Dedicated missile platform ships for long range combat would be increased in size and missile capacity while other weapons and considerations would be removed. Proper escort type craft would be created. Ships already in service would be have their designs altered and improved. Ships like the Akira and Sovereign would become the norm rather then the exception. Dedicated sector fleets with specific areas would be constructed. Important military and strategic targets would have heavier protection put in place and civilian traffic near those areas would be restricted and in some cases completely banned.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-01-07 09:01pm

First step is to use the prefix codes to destroy every existing Starfleet vessel. The Federations enemies are too stupid to take advantage of my weakness and I'm taking out a lot of morons and awful designs in one swoop.

After that I'll spend 20 years educating a new design team free of normal Federation influences. They will then build me a fleet worthy of the title.

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2003-01-07 09:04pm

You just know what Mike's going to say don't you?

paladin · Post by **paladin** » 2003-01-07 09:08pm

Alyeska wrote:I would get the likes of Edward Jelico and Benjamin Maxwell to be advisors when it comes to training new officers for the military.

Why just as advisors for training new officers? Put them in charge of SF and give them full authority to make any necessary changes.

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2003-01-07 09:08pm

Sorry....I see the no smart ass bit....but there's no other way for me to answer.....

Options
1) Scrap starfleet, write off space travel as a really bad idea....just stay home and watch videos/talk on the subspacenet and generally act boring and geeky...
2) Change starfleets mission paradim and switch it over to work as an interstellar freight hauling/garbage removal service.
3) Write the future continuation of humanity in this direction as a bad idea along with starfleet and crash all my warp core based bombs (Also called starships) into earth.

XaLEv · Post by **XaLEv** » 2003-01-07 09:13pm

For one thing, I'd split Starfleet into three: Exploration fleet, Battle fleet and Coast Guard. Each branch would use ships optimized for their purpose.

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2003-01-07 09:14pm

paladin wrote:
Alyeska wrote:I would get the likes of Edward Jelico and Benjamin Maxwell to be advisors when it comes to training new officers for the military.
Why just as advisors for training new officers? Put them in charge of SF and give them full authority to make any necessary changes.

Good point. Though Maxwell should be less in charge because of his instability. But Jelico is smart enough to be in charge and also smart enough to know when he needs help or when people are smarter then him. He could easily spot canadites for officers school who are better then him. With both of them making officer regulation decisions and cleaning up the Starfleet command structure and the sort things could easily be streamlined.

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2003-01-07 09:15pm

XaLEv wrote:For one thing, I'd split Starfleet into three: Exploration fleet, Battle fleet and Coast Guard. Each branch would use ships optimized for their purpose.

Not a bad idea. The Battle Fleet would get the ships most optimized for long endurance and combat. The Coast Guard fleet would be tasked with dealing with pirates and the like and have the authority to get assistance from near by Battle Fleet units. The Exploration section would have the jack of all trades designs and often might be acompanied by Guard or Battle fleet ships.

TheDarkling · Post by **TheDarkling** » 2003-01-07 09:25pm

Build actual warships that pull patrol duty and defence etc.
The above ships are separate from the exploration fleet however the Exploration fleet is also built so that in times of war a quick refit is possible to get them up to war fighting standard (not difficult considering that TNG SF is pure exploration).
Stop engineers from doing extensive field modifications.

Kill the brass apart from Jellico who becomes head of Starfleet (or maybe just the exploration branch) then builds the new brass (probably handpicked from people trained the proper way, by him).
Create a dedicated ground combat force and make sure every ship carries at least some marines to deal with something less than full scale ground war.

Create further academy campuses and have a dedicated enlisted program (broadened from the current setup).
Keep the mothballed shipyards in a state where they take less than 6 months to reactivate.
Make it clear to SF's enemies that the new state of readiness means they aren't going to gain much before SF responds in force.

Finally upgrade planetary defences and defence fleets (although the ones around earth seem to be OK they could be better).

TheDarkling · Post by **TheDarkling** » 2003-01-07 09:26pm

That should read Jelico becomes head of Non-Exploration branch.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2003-01-07 09:31pm

Implament a massive building project, and produce a huge war fleet (as in, doesn't play glorified taxi cab to the counselars mother or has little kiddies on board). Basic fleet roles:
Battleship: Sovereign
Cruiser: Prometheus
Destroyer: Akira
Frigate: Defiant
Troop Carrier: Intrepid

Have a taskforce of 1 BB, 3 CA, 5 DD, 8FFG, and a fleet consist of 9 task forceswith 45 troop carriers and 2 dedicated science vessels (Nebulas since they can throw down as well in a pinch) per fleet.

And have Delta Flyers standardized as fighters, with Tac fighters rebuilt as bombers.

I'd refit the sovies by adding more torp storage (Yes I know we didn't see most torps, but I still want more, this is a war fleet) and refit the intrepids by adding armor and taking all that shutle storage space and converting it to barracks (

).

Delegate the existing ships (GCS, Oberths, what not) to continue to do the old role of TNG starfleet.

I'd get some god damned marines. Go back to now with time travel and steal some if you have to and have them train the newbies on some high gee planet. And have them train them FMJ style, not the current HoJos Paris Island/Great Lakes style.

This is all a direct outgrowth of the prep work I did for a fanfic I was considering doing.

TheDarkling · Post by **TheDarkling** » 2003-01-07 09:37pm

While most people (myself included) seem to see the wisdom in a split fleet the problem is crewing it.
A lot of the SF's personel seem to out there to do exploration, how many can be attracted to a military role (we have seen some but they are a minority) I think would be a concern.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2003-01-07 09:41pm

To improve Starfleet, you'd pretty much have to scrap the current government. Since the lines between Starfleet and the Federation are a quite blurry as far as power structure is concerned, you have to completely redo the government and make the military a separate organization.

Furthermore, to make it more effective, you'd have to reintroduce privately-owned corporations that the military can contract to build its ships. Having people work for the "betterment of humanity" doesn't result in progress. Competition for contracts does.

The military corps would have to be divided, as well. Navy, army/infantry, special operations units for each service, that kind of stuff. No more using career officers for special-operations missions.

That's just scratching the surface, but it'd be a major overhaul.

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-01-07 09:50pm

I would fund Single Incident Magic Technology Advanced Research (SIMATAR) to research those devices which have wonderous powers but only appear ones. SIMATAR would also be closely linked to InfoLoop, the organisation used to keep copies of all R&D device schematics. I mean, who the fuck was the genius that said "Hey, lets make a cloak that you can fire through, but keep NO SCHEMATICS so when the ship blows up we dont know how to build another one!"

All information on R&D would be backed up on paper, magnetic tape, optical storage, and Data Viruses and Plants (genetic information with binary data written in amino acid pairs).

XaLEv · Post by **XaLEv** » 2003-01-07 09:52pm

Alyeska wrote: Not a bad idea. The Battle Fleet would get the ships most optimized for long endurance and combat. The Coast Guard fleet would be tasked with dealing with pirates and the like and have the authority to get assistance from near by Battle Fleet units. The Exploration section would have the jack of all trades designs and often might be acompanied by Guard or Battle fleet ships.

Yes. I would also begin production on new ship classes, primarily warships. All new classes would incorporate intelligent designs: they will be designed for easy maintanence access, no more Jeffries tubes, triple redundancy on everything important, blast doors strategically placed, dedicated internal defences, warp cores kept deep in the ship, Marines on all ships. Massive shipyard facilities would be placed in the more resource rich systems. Older classes would be refit to new standards where economical. Those classes not refit will be phased out of service. Those that are refit will be kept in service but with a role subordinate to the new classes, with a certain percentage of them kept in mothballs, ready to be reactivated quickly. Battle fleet ships will be similar to the Defiant class: single bodies with nothing vital sticking out on pylons, heavily armed and armored, no 'science' facilities except those most useful in a war setting (EW, ELINT, etc.) Exploration fleet ships will be similar to the Intrepid class: More traditional than Battle fleet classes but without the spindly bits. Coast Guard classes will be essentially the same as Battle fleet. All shield systems will be optimized to prevent as much damage to the ships as possible: no more ships taking significant damage before their shields are at even 50%. Use of such things as ECM and decoys will become standard procedure, as well as attacking from range.

Changes of similar magnitude would have to take place in the government, as well, though I don't feel like going into that at the moment.

Darth Garden Gnome · Post by **Darth Garden Gnome** » 2003-01-07 09:56pm

XaLEv wrote:Changes of similar magnitude would have to take place in the government, as well, though I don't feel like going into that at the moment.

You couldn't, the line from where the actual government ends and Starfleet begins (or is it the other way around?) is impossible to determine. Both seem to take actions that should be considered by the other. The whole thing is filled with contradictions and inconsistencies. Although I suppose you could just "create" a new govt. without actually modifying the old one, whatever that is.

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-01-07 10:08pm

Darth Garden Gnome wrote:
XaLEv wrote:Changes of similar magnitude would have to take place in the government, as well, though I don't feel like going into that at the moment.
You couldn't, the line from where the actual government ends and Starfleet begins (or is it the other way around?) is impossible to determine. Both seem to take actions that should be considered by the other. The whole thing is filled with contradictions and inconsistencies. Although I suppose you could just "create" a new govt. without actually modifying the old one, whatever that is.

I believe you two have hit the nail on the hammer with this one. Defiant was the first true warship ever built by Starfleet, and it took the threat of the Borg to shake 'em up enough to do that. If you're going to reorganize Starfleet into an efective (i.e. bad-assed) military organization, perhaps the council will have to give the President certain "executive powers" to see that it's done.

Solid Snake · Post by **Solid Snake** » 2003-01-07 10:09pm

There would be no exploration branch of Starfleet. Private charters for scientists would have to be made.

For planetary defense, there would be space stations housing heavy fighter wings, extremely heavy guns, and powerful sensors.

Warships, over 200 meters in length, would be scrapped and used for spare parts. The only huge ships would be troop carriers and starfighter carriers. The war fleet would have pulse phasers, and have a shitload of forward nuclear weapons tubes. Nuclear missiles would save on power hungry force fields used to store antimatter in photon torpedos.

Starships out on their own would be a rarity. Battle fleets would stay within a light-year of each other at all times. Troop and Fighter carriers would be with escorts at all times.

sub-starships would be able to enter subspace without moving FTL, and be able to strike from subspace. Much more efficiant than cloaking devices.

And of course, stupid officers would turn into janitors on DS9 and other space stations...

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2003-01-07 10:20pm

FYI as to some of the ship design. Warp theory dictates some of the interesting if "flawed" designs in order for maximized warp speeds. So you have to compromise and get greater protection for less speed and more power problems (Defiant) or you build them with speed in mind then try and protect it from there. Its possible you can design high endurance battle craft as well as high speed quick strike craft so you can utilize both. In that case the likes of the Sovereign class already fits the bill as a high speed quick strike craft while a battle endurance version of the ship would be built that is better at everything except is slower at warp and possibly impulse. Either design implicaiton has pros and cons.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2003-01-07 10:24pm

TheDarkling wrote:While most people (myself included) seem to see the wisdom in a split fleet the problem is crewing it.
A lot of the SF's personel seem to out there to do exploration, how many can be attracted to a military role (we have seen some but they are a minority) I think would be a concern.

Institute the Draft.

Darth Garden Gnome · Post by **Darth Garden Gnome** » 2003-01-07 10:26pm

Alyeska wrote:FYI as to some of the ship design. Warp theory dictates some of the interesting if "flawed" designs in order for maximized warp speeds. So you have to compromise and get greater protection for less speed and more power problems (Defiant) or you build them with speed in mind then try and protect it from there. Its possible you can design high endurance battle craft as well as high speed quick strike craft so you can utilize both. In that case the likes of the Sovereign class already fits the bill as a high speed quick strike craft while a battle endurance version of the ship would be built that is better at everything except is slower at warp and possibly impulse. Either design implicaiton has pros and cons.

An interesting thought, a retractable warp nacelle system. I have no idea if this has already been implemented or not, but I doubt it. Want to go fast? Press the magic button and the nacelles retract. Wan to be combat ready? Press the button again and they fold up into a heavily armored area, kind of like the Defiant.

XaLEv · Post by **XaLEv** » 2003-01-07 10:30pm

Alyeska wrote:FYI as to some of the ship design. Warp theory dictates some of the interesting if "flawed" designs in order for maximized warp speeds. So you have to compromise and get greater protection for less speed and more power problems (Defiant) or you build them with speed in mind then try and protect it from there. Its possible you can design high endurance battle craft as well as high speed quick strike craft so you can utilize both. In that case the likes of the Sovereign class already fits the bill as a high speed quick strike craft while a battle endurance version of the ship would be built that is better at everything except is slower at warp and possibly impulse. Either design implicaiton has pros and cons.

Well, my idea is just the baseline. Individual classes could deviate from it somewhat based on their intended purpose.

TheDarkling · Post by **TheDarkling** » 2003-01-07 10:33pm

Ender wrote:
TheDarkling wrote:While most people (myself included) seem to see the wisdom in a split fleet the problem is crewing it.
A lot of the SF's personel seem to out there to do exploration, how many can be attracted to a military role (we have seen some but they are a minority) I think would be a concern.
Institute the Draft.

No way in hell would that get past he Federation council, most of the other measures here are simlpe extentions of what SF is already doing (or did in the past) but a draft especially in peace time it would never work and even if you remake the government you are going to have major civilian unrest - at this point you are remaking the entire federation which doesn't seem to be the point of this thread.

I like the idea of fresh blood in the R&D maybe get them looking at Voyager tech (not just endgame also the propulsion drive of the week and the other weapons etc).

consequences · Post by **consequences** » 2003-01-07 10:44pm

Have specialised high warp speed large transport designs that can dock large numbers of slower defiant style attack craft inside. Develop the phase cloak, and use it to its full potential, if I have an unlimited budget,I can bloody well unlose the technology. Mass-produce Data units by transporter to crew my fleet, without the damned emotion chip. Convert the Moon into an impregnable Adamantine Fortress, and train my grandmothers in psycho-kinetic warfare.

Strip down every uninhabited planet in my galactic empire, I mean Federation, for replicator fuel, and unreplicatable raw materials. Drug Janeway to get her to agree to let Q knock her up to see ifhe will give me any neat toys.

Find the secret coalition of "Smoothies" from Shep's fic "The Division" that are secretly running the Klingon Empire, and make an alliance with them. Grab the Hussnock territory that was depopulated by Kevin Uxbridge while no one is looking.
If the Galactic Empire shows up, immediatelt surrender and place my empire at their disposal.

Agent Mothman · Post by **Agent Mothman** » 2003-01-07 11:01pm

first step: Remove communism. replace with a free enterprise system and capitolism. Not as extre as the Ferengi, however.

Seccond step: Refit all existing vessels to be made for war. Use resources of allied planets to make advanced shipyards over every planet, not having just one main shypyard near earth.

Third step: Make fleet of mile long warships (named the Hammer Class)with the phase cloak, mega phaser, and quantum slipstream (with sheilding that can take the punishment).

fourth step: R&D makes advanced forms of quantum slipstream, and devotes massive funds into production of weapons of war. Holodecks are sold off starships and sold to civillians to help aid in this process.

fifth step: Take anyone like couselor troi out of starfleet. I hate that kind of californian fruitcake syndrome that has happened in Star Trek.

sisxth step: Expand borders of Federation through conquest.