Federation Naval Patrol

[Mikey]

Agreed, especially for older or more basic models.

[Sionnach Glic]

IIRC, in Contagion it was stated that the crew has no influence on 90% of the ship's systems.

And people wonder why I call Starfleet stupid.....

[Aaron]

Trek ships, UFP ones mostly, have most of their systems run by the computer. The crew mostly just tells them where to go. Upkeep and basic service, the rest can be done at a space port.

I'll grant you that, especially after TOS. However, you still need to be taught what to do and how to do it, in other words the crew needs to know what to go do with itself.

[Mikey]

Absolutely true. But the simpler ships we could expect the FNP to be using would in turn require Coast Guard training rather than USN, crew a Nimitz training.

[Tsukiyumi]

Older doesn't necessarily mean simpler; some of the systems might be manual where the more modern ones are automatic, maintenance might be more frequent and/or difficult, etc.

[Teaos]

But automation takes computer maintenance.

[Mikey]

The modern Coast Guard isn't the same as the USN; but they still train their people to use their equipment. Why should the FNP be any different? So, an FNP member may not have the same level of skill with SOTA tech as a Starfleet officer, but we can assume they've been trained how to crew what vessels they have.