The Stellar Guard Navy, like the Ground Forces, depends on firepower and agility over armor, although all of the heavy ships carry substantial protection. The Navy, much like the Ground Forces, is designed to blow their opponents out of anywhere the Navy wants to be. The Navy emphasizes small forces that can combine into massive fleets if necessary, but rarely does a race these days put up enough of a fight in space to occupy more than one Task Force of the Stellar Guard.
While the carrier pilots may get the glory, and the battleships get the respect, the assault ships are considered the reason for the fleet. The other ships are viewed, from the political perspective, as assistants to the primary mission of getting ground forces from one planet to another. However, ground force soldiers know not to get too cocky aboard their transports. Treating sailors as chauffeurs is an easy road into the realm of nasty practical jokes. Also, any soldier who has been in a space battle knows that, while soldiers can always eat a little dirt if things go bad, sailors can either get it right or, at best, float around in an unarmed and unarmored life pod, if they don't end up eating vacuum. No soldier who has been in one space battle wants to be in another.