Would it really be so bad if...

[Teaos]

Well I'm assuming you get into power post DS9?

If so you would try to keep ship building at or near war time levels. While you could get away with this for awhile if you run under a "Never again" banner it wont be long before the people in general grow angry at the resources used by it.

The other powers would be very wary of you, this might create a cold war type senario and maybe an alliance between them that could pose a very real threat to you.

Over all while you may be a good war time leader I doubt they would tollerate you for longer than a term or two.

[Sionnach Glic]

While you could get away with this for awhile if you run under a "Never again" banner it wont be long before the people in general grow angry at the resources used by it.

Why? I think they'd be rather happy they now have a well designed fleet to defend them, particularly when you consider how close to defeat they came during the war.

[Teaos]

Two reasons:

Firstly it costs a lot. You have to double the fleet. One military one science.

Two: If you have a military of the strenght Deep wants you are going to piss off the rest of the quadrant. Not something people like. They want to be safe not live in a military fortress.

[Sionnach Glic]

Firstly it costs a lot. You have to double the fleet. One military one science.

Or just half the number of existing science ships.

Two: If you have a military of the strenght Deep wants you are going to **** off the rest of the quadrant.

Great for them. What are they going to do about it? Nothing. They can't win a war, and they know that. Thus they aren't stupid enough to start one. There are no major imports from any foreign power, so they can't even hurt the UFP economicaly.
Basicaly, all they can do is sit down and look angry.

Not something people like

And how is the population going to know that Race X doesn't like us anymore? They don't exactly run into members of this race every time they go down to the shop.

They want to be safe not live in a military fortress.

And now they have their safety. Problem solved.

[Teaos]

Or just half the number of existing science ships.

Yeah cripple the science and exploration wing of the fleet... thats not going to come back to bite you in the arse in a few years.

Great for them. What are they going to do about it? Nothing. They can't win a war, and they know that. Thus they aren't stupid enough to start one. There are no major imports from any foreign power, so they can't even hurt the UFP economicaly.
Basicaly, all they can do is sit down and look angry.

Firstly just because you can do something doesnt mean you should or that its right.

Secondly they could form an alliance and pose a real threat, while they are not guaranteed to win the war will be as bloody as hell. Something that everyone would like to avoid. And before you say it, yes they would form an alliance if they felt a real threat from the Federation.

And how is the population going to know that Race X doesn't like us anymore? They don't exactly run into members of this race every time they go down to the shop.

Ah so you arent just increasing the military but have your foot on the throat of the press? What a nice free, peace loving society you have going here.

And now they have their safety. Problem solved.

Freedom > Safety

[Deepcrush]

We need to get something straight here.

A.) I'm not taking anyone's freedoms away.
B.) The Press can do whatever the hell they want.
C.) I'm not going to break down the Scientific arms of the SF. That would just be stupid.
D.) I would keep the wartime footing until the fleet reached its prewar numbers.
E.) Only a forth of the fleet would be counted as a purely military arm.
F.) Only the RSE could even hope to say anything about it.
G.) Martok would most likely love to see his number one ally step up to the plate and give his wounded KE time to rebuild.
H.) Most of the build up is defensive : Starbases, ODPs, Sensor Arrays, Communication outposts, Shipyards, Dry-docks, trade centers, labs and other testing centers.

PS, no one has even tried to guess the point behind the defensive build up.

[Teaos]

E.) Only a forth of the fleet would be counted as a purely military arm.

Thats a problem for you. Space is big, the Federation spans 8,000 light years. With that few ships they would have to be spread out and would not be able to respond fast to some areas.

[Deepcrush]

Every starship in the fleet is able to defend itself in most cases. The Military arm would be there to patrol areas in need. Starbases and ODPs would be able to protect systems from all but a concerted effort. Ships would be spread out to respond to the needs that can't be handled by the starbases and their crews. The other 3/4s of the fleet would still in the same build ideal of the current fleet. Just with newer models replacing older and weaker ones.

My problem is that to large of a military arm would be against the purpose of the UFP, no matter how badly I would like to change it. Put one Battleship in a system and dare someone to try and take it. Not likely. You wouldn't need a fleet for that if one ship showing up would make everyone think "Maybe the peace table isn't so bad".

The prime advantage of the UFP is tech. They produce better and faster in the fields of science then any of the other races in the AQ. Use your advantages, never ignore them. Why send a fleet if you can send just a single ship. Looks a lot less scary, but everyone knows that one ship will kick their asses. Why send a single ship if you have a wall ODPs and a Starbase already there.

The goal is to plan for what you need and where you need it before you need it. When you rush to finish something you tend to cause trouble. When you take your time then you tend to have fewer mistakes.

[Sionnach Glic]

Yeah cripple the science and exploration wing of the fleet... thats not going to come back to bite you in the arse in a few years.

Even halving the existing fleet would leave a massive amount of science craft.
And besides, what negative effect is something like this going to have?

Firstly just because you can do something doesnt mean you should or that its right.

Correct. However, I'm not going because I can, I'm doing it because it's smart to defend yourself when surrounded by hostile powers.

Secondly they could form an alliance and pose a real threat, while they are not guaranteed to win the war will be as bloody as hell. Something that everyone would like to avoid. And before you say it, yes they would form an alliance if they felt a real threat from the Federation.

Why would they? When the Dominion came snooping around practicaly broadcasting their intentions of taking over the quadrant, did all the other races ally against them? Nope.
The Federation went to war because the Dominion attacked them.
The Klingons were at war with the Cardassians, and as such they got sucked into a war with the Dominion, thus necessitating an alliance with the UFP.
The Romulans were more than happy to sit back and watch the carnage until they were convinced that the Dominion was preparing for an imminent invasion of their empire.
The Cardassians jumped into bed with the Dominion.
The Breen did the same.
The Tholians, Gorn, Ferengi, and all the other various races stayed neutral.

Given the Federation's pacifistic nature, even if it's armed to the teeth with warships people won't consider it to be on a mission of conquest, like they considered the Dominion to be.
At best, I can maybe see the Klingons and Romulans teaming up, though I highly doubt it. Both know they can't win a war, and so they wouldn't start one.

Ah so you arent just increasing the military but have your foot on the throat of the press? What a nice free, peace loving society you have going here.

You do realise that the only press in the Federation is already controlled by the government, right? If anything, I'd create more free media outlets.

And anyway, that's beside the point, as I was asking how people in general would know that, say, the Klingons hate the UFP? The various races don't exactly have reporters in each others' territory. The only thing they'd hear about is increased spending for defensive purposes. Given how bloody the Dominion War was, no one in their right mind is going to argue with that.

Freedom > Safety

Care to point out which freedoms I'm taking away? If anything, I'd create more freedoms by doing away with the communistic nature of the Federation.

[Deepcrush]

I think Teaos believes I would run the UFP like I would the Imperium of 40k or the Empire of StarWars. That is the biggest mistake as neither would apply to trek.

[Sionnach Glic]

No, Teaos just seems to believe that increasing military expenditure must mean you're turning the UFP into a military dictatorship.

[Deepcrush]

Now that's just silly. I want SF to return to what it was at ST VI. Only with better tech.

[JudgeKing]

Here is how i would run Starfleet
-have every ship be equipped with Regenerative Shields, Quantum Torpedoes, Nanotechn Moleculor Hull Plating, and Transphasic Torpedoes.
-All ships will creat force fields around boarders and flood the sealed area with plasma coolant.
-Security officers will be trained in Special Ops tactics.
-Give all ships a holographic viewscreen (Like the Ent-E in First Contact).
-Build more Starbases, shipyards, sensor posts, ODPs, outposts, and subspace relays.
-Have Starfleet give actual military training alongside standard training.
-sell the Oberths and Mirandas to the civilian market.
-Increase Nova class production to compensate for selling the Oberths.

[Deepcrush]

Here is how i would run Starfleet
-have every ship be equipped with Regenerative Shields, Quantum Torpedoes, Nanotechn Moleculor Hull Plating, and Transphasic Torpedoes.
-All ships will creat force fields around boarders and flood the sealed area with plasma coolant.
-Security officers will be trained in Special Ops tactics.
-Give all ships a holographic viewscreen (Like the Ent-E in First Contact).
-Build more Starbases, shipyards, sensor posts, ODPs, outposts, and subspace relays.
-Have Starfleet give actual military training alongside standard training.
-sell the Oberths and Mirandas to the civilian market.
-Increase Nova class production to compensate for selling the Oberths.

That is so FANtastic! WOW!

[Captain Seafort]

That is so FANtastic! WOW!

Well, the last two seem reasonable. Indeed, privatising the exploratory and scientific arms of Starfleetwould probably improve them somewhat.