Mission
Starfleet has been shown to handle diplomatic, scientific, and defense missions, although their main mandate seems to be peaceful exploration in the search of sentient life, as declared in the mission statements for different incarnations of the USS Enterprise. The flagship of Starfleet is often considered to be the starship USS Enterprise, even though that ship has generally not been commanded by a flag officer.
In the early years of Starfleet, as seen in Star Trek: Enterprise, Starfleet's mission is purely exploration and is not military in any sense except for weapons designed for defensive capabilities until the retrofitting of the Enterprise (NX-01) and the incorporation of MACOs (Military Assault Command Operations) after the Xindi attack on Earth. It is assumed this trend continues as Starfleet adopts a more traditional military role and assumes its regular place as the exploratory and defensive arm of the United Federation of Planets. (During Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, David Marcus derisively refers to Starfleet as "the military.")
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Famous quotes containing the word mission:
“... [a] girl one day flared out and told the principal “the only mission opening before a girl in his school was to marry one of those candidates [for the ministry].” He said he didn’t know but it was. And when at last that same girl announced her desire and intention to go to college it was received with about the same incredulity and dismay as if a brass button on one of those candidate’s coats had propounded a new method for squaring the circle or trisecting the arc.”
—Anna Julia Cooper (1859–1964)
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“The mission of the United States is one of benevolent assimilation.”
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