7: Additional Ground Observations

As is the case with ship-based policy, Starfleet tries to avoid the usage of lethal force. However, if pushed, they are deadly effective at neutralising an enemy force.

We speculate that this seemingly subtle shift in their willingness to kill is a direct result of their recent war was the Dominion.

If possible, I would like to be allowed access to the Federation's historical files to see if this observation is true, or if the Federation had simply neglected to prepare for open warfare because of a prolonged period of peace.

It would make a fascinating sociological study, and it should allow us to better predict their tactical patterns.

Where possible, Starfleet will attempt to stun an opponent for capture and interrogation. Though given to Starfleet regulations, we suspect that they lack the ability to extract enough relevant information from a prisoner to make an interrogation worthwhile due to Starfleet's high moral standards.

The same cannot however, be said of their Romulan allies, whom we suspect would be willing to extract any relevant information with lethal force.

We believe that stun settings can possibly be fought off on the lower settings, and even the higher settings may not work on races with regenerative capabilities, though there currently is no proof of this hypothesis.

Like the Turians and Systems Alliance, Starfleet works in pairs or teams of 4 for small-scale work.

We believe that they follow the same approach as the aforementioned governments for large-scale operations, but we have yet to see such an action, and due to their limited numbers, doubt will do so at any time in the near future.

The only documented operation beyond Virmire was the securing of the Citadel.

Here, after the initial securing of C-Sec and the Tower, two Starfleet officers often worked with a unit comprised of Asari commandoes, N7 commandoes, STG operatives C-Sec officers or Spectres.

The two Starfleet officers acted as heavy weapon platforms and scouts simultaneously.

The teams lead by Ensigns Ratcliffe and Fourier actively used any Biotics in their team, showing a quick grasp of the ways to use Biotics in the field and how to merge them with their own approach.

It should be noted, that those two teams had the highest kill rates of any of the mop-up units.

Much like the Asari, Starfleet is averse to leaving anyone behind, but given to the over-reaching abilities of their transporters, it is not a potential weakness we can exploit currently.

On the subject of transporters, Spectre T'Thon showed a brutal –if efficient – method of dealing with enemy biotics when she asked the Vanguard to transport a Krogan Biotic from one location to another. The Krogan exploded and destroyed two Geth Primes that were beside his new location.

While Starfleet would not be likely to try such a tactic in battle, they now have been shown the effectiveness of it by Spectre T'Thon, who should be both commended for her quick thinking and reprimanded for showing a possible enemy a weapon to be used against any Biotic.

Starfleet has no problem with trusting their officers and crew-members to work in small teams, large groups or mixed with soldiers of other races.

While they are not soldiers per say, the security officers are better trained for combat than C-Sec officers, who would be a better comparison than any military unit.

Whether this is standard, or a result of the training given to them by Captain MacLeod and Captain Willard (the currently comatose former Captain of the Vanguard) back in their universe is unknown, but it is an important feature to note as they can easily slip into larger groups when required.

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