So Cadet to Captain in what... a week?!

[T J]

I will admit I am pretty confused on the timeline of things for lack of a better term. In this movie we see Kirk as a kid, fine ok. I guessing Tarsus 4 won’t be brought into this.


Then later we see Kirk and MCcoy as cadets graduating (kinda strange but fine ok). Then they leave earth have the whole adventure. Now can someone hypothesize for me how Kirk is a Captain at the end? I know he gained the rank of Captain faster than anyone else in the fleet up till TNG time, I always assumed that was like 10 years. I know, just my silly assumption.


Unless the story advances years after he first arrives as a cadet I’m very confused. If he makes Captain in a week how can we take that realistically? I know realistic has little to do with it.

Any thoughts?

[datas_cat_spot]

Making Captain in a week after graduating? Is that what you're asking?

[Captain X]

The line from Pike about making captain in 4 years was ludicrous enough as it was. Unless it's wartime, most career officers are about O-3/O-4 after about 10 years.

[T J]

datas_cat_spot wrote:

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Making Captain in a week after graduating? Is that what you're asking?

It sounds silly I know but if this movie spans the time of a week or 2 that would be nuts. Seven promotions in a couple weeks time, that's fast.

[Devon]

Captain X wrote:

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The line from Pike about making captain in 4 years was ludicrous enough as it was.

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the line "Be promoted in 4, have your own ship in 8 years?"

[Jackson_Roykirk]

I'm thinking there is a span of a few years between his graduating from being a cadet to the time we see him on the ship wearing his black shirt.

I know the Entertainment Weekly article said "[black is the] color of space cadets in Abrams' trekverse", but I'm not putting that much stock into that comment in the article. I'm thinking that black may be the color of Academy Instructors (we know Kirk was one) or post-graduate Academy Command school.

[JoeZhang]

It's interesting because one of the commentaries of the footage shown to reporters notes that the first time that Kirk meets Pike, that he [pike] is wearing black...

[DeafPoet]

Jackson_Roykirk wrote:

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I'm thinking there is a span of a few years between his graduating from being a cadet to the time we see him on the ship wearing his black shirt.

I know the Entertainment Weekly article said "[black is the] color of space cadets in Abrams' trekverse", but I'm not putting that much stock into that comment in the article. I'm thinking that black may be the color of Academy Instructors (we know Kirk was one) or post-graduate Academy Command school.

If the trailer breakdown over at Trekmovie is to be believed, Entertainment Weekly is right about Kirk's shirt meaning he's a cadet.

[Captain X]

Devon wrote:

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Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the line "Be promoted in 4, have your own ship in 8 years?"

I'm pretty sure it was that he could go through the academy in four and make captain in 8, and Kirk's response was that he could get through the academy in 3 years.

[JoeZhang]

My *guess* is that the events of the film require Kirk to assume temporary command of the ship for a short period of time and at the end of it, having tasted command, he resolves to become a 'real' captain as quickly as possible...

I'll be amazed if he leaps from cadet to 'proper' Captain in this film.

[cultcross]

To be fair, we have no idea what happens in this film, specifically. It's a time travel story, that much we know. So it's perhaps a bit early to be moaning about length of service, etc.

[JuanBolio]

We know a lot of the crew is killed in the initial battle - that's how McCoy ends up in charge of sickbay. My guess is that Kirk will be an acting captain at best.

[Captain X]

So there are no other officers left in the chain of command which places a cadet in command of the ship? So only underclassmen cadets are left on the ship at that point?

[cultcross]

Perhaps it is by request of Old Spock?

[JoeZhang]

JuanBolio wrote:

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We know a lot of the crew is killed in the initial battle - that's how McCoy ends up in charge of sickbay. My guess is that Kirk will be an acting captain at best.

Maybe it will be the seafort saga, in which, although there are higher ranking officers on the ship because of regs, only seafort is able to take command of the ship.