From Newsgroup: alt.tv.star-trek.tos
From Address: graemecree{at}aol.com
Subject: Re: The alt.tv.star-trek.tos FAQ

I just added two new questions to the FAQ.  #43 was inspired by the U.S.S.
Controversy from this thread.  Might as well head this question off before
it's asked.  #43 is inspired by #42.
42. TO WHOM DOES KIRK REPORT?
 For most of the series, the Enterprise serves the United Federation of
Planets, whose military wing is known as Starfleet (or Starfleet Command).
However, early in the first season, things were looser. In Tomorrow is
Yesterday, Kirk tells Captain Christopher that their authority is from the
United Earth Space Probe Agency (this body is also mentioned in Charlie X,
when one of Kirk's log entries mentions making a report to UESPA
Headquarters). A few other names are tossed out in this early period. In
Miri, Kirk mentions contacting "Space Central", which could be
regarded as an unofficial (if incredibly 1950's sounding) nickname for
Starfleet Command. At the end of Tomorrow is Yesterday, Starfleet
identifies itself as "Starfleet Control", which is probably just
the name of the specific office at Starfleet that Kirk was talking to at
the moment. In A Taste of Armageddon, Fox mentions representing the United
Federation of Planets, but says he'll be making his report to the
"Federation Central". In a bureaucracy there's never just one
name for anything. 
The "Federation" is first mentioned in Arena. The United
Federation of Planets is first mentioned in A Taste of Armageddon.
Starfleet Command is first mentioned in Court-Martial. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 43. IS STARFLEET A MILITARY ORGANIZATION?
 This question is a perfect illustration of the word "retcon" in
action. Yes, within TOS and the first 6 movies, Starfleet is an explicitly
military organization. Kirk calls himself a soldier in Errand of Mercy.
Officers have military ranks. Starships are named after famous military
vessels (Enterprise, Yorktown, Hood, Potemkin, et cetera). When the
Federation is under threat of invasion (Alternative Factor, Errand of
Mercy, Arena, et cetera, Starfleet is called in to deal with the situation.
The Enterprise engages in decidedly military activities, like war games
exercises (The Ultimate Computer) military espionage (The Enterprise
Incident) and hostage rescue missions (The Final Frontier). Starfleet is an
overtly military organization, although they also have a strong exploratory
function. Roddenberry was said to be influenced by C.S. Forester's Horatio
Hornblower series, and Hornblower, like Sir Francis Drake, was a military
explorer. In Tomorrow is Yesterday, Kirk states that they're part of a
combined service, when Captain Christopher asks if the Navy built the
Enterprise. 
However, by the 1980's, when the military began to be less politically
correct among the circles Roddenberry frequented, he regretted the decision
and began to float the story (in Star Trek: The Next Generation and
elsewhere) that Starfleet was NOT a military organization. Never was.
They're pure explorers, similar to Jacque's Cousteau or some equally
politically correct figure. Explorers who conduct military operations and
carry around enough firepower to level an entire planet perhaps, but only
in a non-military way. So, in the retroactive continuity of TNG and beyond,
the Enterprise is not a military vessel, and never was, and if you know of
anything which might contradict that fact, you are requested to keep it to
yourself. 
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