#spacedockwelder

[commanderanderson]

Dear Commander Anderson, Perhaps the new cadets need to have the old philosophy from East Asia drilled into their heads. You probably have heard it, " Young warriors are impatient, they rush into battle and get themselves killed quickly. " " Old warriors are wise and patient, and allow the opponent to expose their weaknesses. "

Unfortunately at Starfleet our old warriors are as great a liability at times.  Age brings as much arrogance to command as youth does.

[commanderanderson]

Dear Commander Anderson, Allow me to clarify the point I was attempting to make in my previous message. Because of conditions or circumstances, advanced technology can and will fail. A phaser can be a finicky weapon in the wrong conditions and may fail to function. Under such circumstances, a primitive, non technological tool or weapon may have to be implemented.

Forgive my abruptness, I am too used to seeing hotheaded cadets looking for a fight.  It bothers me so.  I had hoped that chest beating exhibitionism would be behind us once we developed warp capabilities.

Starfleet issue phasers are very sturdy, there have been very few occasions where they have been faulty.  However there have been many reported cases when weapons have been taken or dropped during combat, and in such instances the best course of action really depends on the circumstance.  

At Starfleet we teach tactical awareness and planning alongside combat and arms training for this very purpose.  I always say the best way to win a fight is to avoid it, as normally the only people who take up arms against the Federation outgun us, for various reasons.  Each member of starfleet from Cadet to Admiral is subject to combat training, they may of course specialise, but everyone is taught close quarters hand to hand combat, where it would be prudent to arm oneself with whatever is available, so a club would indeed be useful.  

In reality though if you are disarmed and you are fighting people with superior fire power, combat is not the answer.  What is the old earth saying, “Never bring a knife to a gunfight.”

[commanderanderson]

Dear Commander Anderson, Greetings, I hope that you are well. You are an instructor in field weaponry at the Starfleet Academy. Do you also instruct your students in the value of what would be called primitive weapons? Sometimes a club will work where a phaser will not.

Instruction in the use of field weaponry is only part of my job.  In a life or death situation, any weapon that comes to hand is useful, be that a club or anything else.  It is for this reason that we work from hand to hand combat upwards.  As to whether a club will work where a phaser will not, I disagree.  We use phasers at Starfleet because we can set the level of lethality, preferring in all cases to stun our opponent.  The phasers are designed to stun and even kill, whilst causing minimal pain to the victim.  If a Starfleet officer wilfully and purposefully inflicted unnecessary suffering on an opponent, say by beating them senseless with a club as opposed to stunning them, they would be subject to immediate suspension and possible discharge from Starfleet.  We are a peace keeping organisation.  I train my students to protect themselves and their crew mates, not to inflict pain and suffering.  Thank you for your query.