Kirk: soldier, or explorer?

[Stofsk]

I wanted to put this out there and see your opinions. Define the terms however way you wish, and it doesn't have to be an either/or proposition. Of the two, which do you think Kirk leans more towards?

Part two of this question: can you picture Kirk as one or the other?

Can you picture Kirk in the navy and rising in it as a soldier first and foremost? Can you picture Kirk as an explorer who has a small expedition team? Obviously this would require some creative reimagining of the setting - in particular Starfleet - but I'm interested in looking at Kirk (and Spock and so on) through different perspectives.

[frigidmagi]

Well in early days solders were the exploders, be it Pike, or Cortez, solders did alot of the forward exploration for European powers, this makes sense if you're worried about slamming into a powerful potentionally hostile power.

I see Kirk in the mold of those guys but more humane, he's certainly not plotting to overthrow the native empire in a quest for gold. At the same time Kirk has never shy away from military action, we've seen him threaten to destory all the cities on a planet, supply weapons to native groups and attack and destory native heirarcharies. At the same time he often works to ensure that the natives get a chance to make their own desnities instead of being colonial possessions.

[Josh]

I could see him either way, though I think that he would prefer to be an explorer. But he could be your conventional ship commander type, rising to the admiralty and commanding fleets. But his preference was center seat in a Connie exploring the edges of known space.

[Stofsk]

I have an idea that depicts Kirk as commander of a small exploration vessel rather than of a Heavy Cruiser. My thought was to go the way of the explorer rather than soldier.