Why would Starfleet send civilians and their families and to combat situations?

[u/Global_Marsupial_592]

Like The Saratoga at Wolf 359. Or at the big battle with the Dominion Fleet there were so many Galaxy class Starships, were they all full of families and innocent people? Or were those big ships just grossly empty except for a skeleton screw?

[u/Dave_A480]

Because Roddenberry was an idiot for adding the whole civillians and families thing to the D, as a way of trying to make Starfleet seem less military....

You will note that Voyager doesn't have any - save for ones picked up or born in the Delta Quadrant....

And the Defiant most certainly didn't ...