13 Department Heads?

Discussion in 'General Trek Discussion' started by Bry_Sinclair, Oct 6, 2013.

  1. Bry_Sinclair

    Bry_Sinclair Vice Admiral Admiral

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    In 'Scientific Method' when Janeway is going a little nuts and ranting at Tuvok, she says about how lax things have gotten on the ship and that, as Security Chief, thirteen department heads report to him daily.

    Not including himself there are four seen onscreen (Paris, Torres, Kim, EMH). I'd assume there is a senior science officer kicking about somewhere onboard (they just always seem to miss the scheduled meetings), which would bring the number of officers who report him to five.

    So what are the other eight departments? The only thing I can think is that services such as the shuttlebay, cargo bays, transporters, and individual science sections (life/planetary/stellar/etc) reported directly to him, although I always see them as being sections of larger departments (flight control oversees the shuttlebay, whilst cargo and transporters both fall under operations).

    For a ship with just 150ish crew aboard it seems like quite a lot of departments.

    Thoughts? Opinions?
     
  2. Commishsleer

    Commishsleer Commodore Commodore

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    Why would say medical report to security daily?

    Say Ensign Ricky's got a hangnail or Crewman Erik a sore throat. Does Tuvok need to know that? Daily or at all?

    Why would Security need to know whats happening in Engineering either or whatever department Paris is in charge of. It seems ridiculous to me unless Tuvok needs some make work?

    I think he needed to be keeping a better eye on the Marquis or on supplies or potential Delta quadrant threats or something but I don't any department heads would need to report to him daily weekly or monthly.
     
  3. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

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    ^I think perhaps you are being too specific, it might be more general. i.e. How many/who is in sickbay maybe not the reasons as to why.
     
  4. R. Star

    R. Star Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    You don't think Janeway would actually trust that Maquis terrorist to run things without Tuvok filtering things as Second Officer first would you? ;)
     
  5. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

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    It's stuff like this that makes me wonder what First Officers like Chakotay and Riker do all day, rather than stand around on the bridge striking dramatic poses. Neither of them seems to have actual assigned duties other than chewing out subordinates. They don't seem responsible for any particular department, like Spock was.

    And I was watching TOS: The Cage/The Menagerie a lot the past month. What's up with Number One? She sits at what eventually becomes Sulu's helm position, sometimes her hands aren't even touching the controls, she fiddles with her hair, doesn't pay a lot of attention to the main viewer. Near the end, when she and Colt are back on board, the transporter officer tells Spock (in an overdubbed off-camera voice possibly) that the system is coming on again, rather than telling her. And she's supposed to be the most experienced officer on board.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2013
  6. Grendelsbayne

    Grendelsbayne Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I don't know a lot about the Voyager itself, but I don't see why the people you're mentioning would report to Tuvok at all. My instinct would be to interpret the comment as referring to 'department heads' or deputies within Tuvok's own department, security, ie - whoevers in charge of the armory, whoever's in charge of the brig, maybe the leaders of permanent security detachments for high risk areas like the bridge or engineering, etc, etc...
     
  7. SiddFinch1

    SiddFinch1 Captain Captain

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    I prefer the first officer to have other assignments. Of course in tng era picard stayed on ship while Riker beamed down all the time so he did have a function
     
  8. R. Star

    R. Star Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    "Yes Number One... beam down into that hostile alien planet wearing your bright red shirt... I'll be up here drinking tea. Make it so."
     
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  9. lurok

    lurok Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    13 dept heads? Bollocks.
     
  10. Grendelsbayne

    Grendelsbayne Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    This post makes me wish this board had a 'like' function...
     
  11. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

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    That's why you sometimes see so many posts with just the quote, followed by a single :techman:.
     
  12. lurok

    lurok Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    and this:

    [​IMG]

    right-click; save
     
  13. LobsterAfternoon

    LobsterAfternoon Commander Red Shirt

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    Riker (possibly Chakotay as well, but I don't recall) seemed to be in charge of assessing how well crewmembers were functioning. On a big ship like the Enterprise D, I could see that taking up a good amount of time.
     
  14. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Actually, strangely enough, Seven of Nine did that job on Voyager. Look no further than the episode Good Shepherd. It should have been Chakotay's job, but apparently wasn't.
     
  15. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yes, but my take is that Number One is also sitting at what will one day become Data's position too. Number One is sitting at "Ops." On the Enterprise Dee, owing to it's size, the ship has a dedicated First Officer with no other duties besides that position, the Second Officer handles ops duties. The Pike Enterprise is much smaller, so the First Officer also is ops. Lt. Tyler is the helmsman (and navigator).

    Given Voyagers size, with a 150 member crew, the 13 department heads should be reporting to Chakotay. If they are instead reporting to Tuvok, it might be in his capacity as the ship's Second Officer, and not specifically to him as the security chief.

    :devil:
     
  16. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    But is second officer really a position? I always assumed it was just someone designated to assume command should the captain and XO both be incapacitated.
     
  17. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

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    Ideally, the first officer is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day running of the ship and making sure that everything (including the crew) runs smoothly for the captain. Reviewing countless reports and attending routine staff meetings probably doesn't really make for great dramatic television, which is probably why we rarely (if ever) see XOs doing them onscreen.
     
  18. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

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    We do see Riker from time to time preforming the traditional duties of a First Officer, managing the inside of the ship and the crew. One of this times would have been in Chains of Command were the Captain instructed Riker to change around the crew's shift schedule. We see Riker at separate times with Picard or Troi going over crew reports.

    :)
     
  19. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

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    We even heard Spock overseeing a battle drill in "The Corbomite Maneuver." But such times that we see an XO carrying out the traditional role of an XO are brief, and usually just before something more exciting happens in the story.
     
  20. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Paper work doesn't make for great drama.

    :devil: