Starfleet Enlisted

[Tebok]

I was wondering if anyone has ever come across a novel or something that gives a little insight into related the training of enlisted personnel? I wonder what is it like. The Academy is four years - just like modern day Military Academies so I imagine that Enlisted go through some sort of Starfleet Boot camp.

I also wonder about the rank structure. Is there anything between 'crewman' and 'chief' ?

 

[Avro Arrow]

In "The Drumhead", Simon Tarses said he went to the "Academy's training program for enlisted personnel", with the implication being that it was much shorter than four years.

If you go by Fletcher's designs, the enlisted structure in place at the time of the TOS films went:

• Able Seaman (seriously)
• Petty Officer Second Class
• Petty Officer First Class
• Chief Petty Officer
• Senior Chief Petty Officer
• Master Chief Petty Officer

But the system seems to change someone over the years. The aforementioned Tarses was a "Crewman First Class", which doesn't exist in the Fletcher system.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

In all the fan-designed rank sets that I've seen (after the introduction of O'Brien's new insignia) there are nine enlisted/non-com grades: three for Crewman (typically Recruit to Apprentice to Crewman), three for Petty Officers (Third Class up to First Class), and three for Chief Petty Officers (Chief to Senior Chief to Master Chief).

This is the system I use in fanfic writing. Since I'm not a military man, the one thing that confuses me is where Warrant Officers come in, but I tend not to let that worry me.

 

[T'Girl]

During TOS we hear of specialists and technicians, so there would be grades like specialist first class and technician third class. In terms of training there would be basic training (which the officer cadets would have too) as a first step in physical and psychological preparation (also weed out recruits). After graduations the recruit would go to a tech school to learn a specialty, this would be multiple months or a few years.

Warrant Officers are above the highest grade of NCO and below the lowest rank of commissioned officer.

.

 

[Paradise City]

That'd be Able Spaceman wouldn't it? Haha.

 

[J.T.B.]

This is the system I use in fanfic writing. Since I'm not a military man, the one thing that confuses me is where Warrant Officers come in, but I tend not to let that worry me.

Warrant officers as a distinct class between commissioned and enlisted are fairly rare, internationally, and none has been seen in Trek. So I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Levi]

Personnel may either join Starfleet Academy to complete the 4 year training to serve as an Officer.
Those not wishing to going through the Academy training may join and go through a short "Boot Camp", or Enlisted Training Course that will teach them the basics of serving within Starfleet. Afterwards, their time spent as the most junior crewman ranks is considered On-The-Job training. After a crewman has proven themselves capable in their respective positions, they may move up the ranks to a senior enlisted position such as a Chief Petty Officer and be allowed to continue their daily work in teams, or unsupervised.
At least that is how I understand it.

 

[Timo]

It might be special for somebody to take boot camp training at the Academy, as opposed to more normal venues, but an option nevertheless. Essentially, Tarses would be saying "my boot camp was in San Francisco", which might e.g. speak of ambition (traveling all the way to a distant planet to get basic training because it's prestigious to train at the UFP Capital) or professional dedication (San Francisco offers especially high quality training), both of which would be good for this "pretender" who had a very real reason to fear racial discrimination.

There's one other mention of a possible Academy past for an enlisted charcter - Bashir once quips to O'Brien "Don't they teach you X at the Academy?". Might be pure humor, though.

The aforementioned Tarses was a "Crewman First Class", which doesn't exist in the Fletcher system.

Well, the Fletcher system can easily be assumed to be as complete as any other - Fletcher initially left out Lieutenant Commander, say, but that doesn't mean Starfleet's system would have lacked that rank even briefly.

It's odd how officer ranks are clearly indicated in all systems, but enlisteds are one undifferentiated mass for the most part. Who needs to know the rank of an officer? There are so few of them even aboard a Starfleet starship that everybody would know by rote whether a superior or an inferior was addressing him, and whether to argue or obey. But enlisteds need a pecking order for sheer statistical reasons. And supposedly more identification markings in general, if they train less and therefore are likely to have more narrow specialities - Riker will need to know whether this particular spaceman can be trusted with shield generator repair or not, and that should be visible from the spaceman's uniform somehow, but isn't, not in Starfleet.

We might speculate that enlisteds work in small, inflexible groups, I guess. Thus, the dress code might not require a particular group's Petty Officer to wear any identification, nor any of her three rates of underling. Wearing a plate like O'Brien's would be optional, or reserved for "libero" assignments where the enlisted will meet all-new colleagues.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[The Wormhole]

In addition to Simon Tarses and O'Brien, there was also Crewman Tal Celes on Voyager, another enlisted who talked about attending Starfleet Academy. So it would seem that everyone in Starfleet regardless if they're an officer or enlisted gets their training done in San Francisco. Of course, the presence of enlisted personnel in Starfleet has often seemed much of an afterthought throughout Star Trek, and has been largely inconsistent throughout as well.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

During TOS we hear of specialists and technicians, so there would be grades like specialist first class and technician third class.

Those are equivalent (rank-wise) to Crewman, aren't they?

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

Those are equivalent (rank-wise) to Crewman, aren't they?

Always thought that they'd be at least one step above the basic 'no rank' Crewman (officially Recruit according to my personal fanon, with 1-3 ranks/grades between it and 'Chief', with Crewman being the generic term of address for all 2-4 sub-Chief ranks if assigned to 'General Duties' or if specialism is not known).

 

[ItIsGreen]

So it would seem that everyone in Starfleet regardless if they're an officer or enlisted gets their training done in San Francisco.

I could've sworn the Academy was in Paris? Why did I think that?

 

[JoeZhang]

I could've sworn the Academy was in Paris? Why did I think that?

Tom Paris attended classes at a campus in France - maybe that.

Given how big Starfleet likely it - either the academy is the whole city or there are other campuses in other places... (which has been debated here a number of times...)

 

[Timo]

Some parts of the capital planet have been assigned specific roles: Paris has the offices of the President, Tokyo features a big Starfleet R&D center, San Francisco is home to Starfleet HQ and Starfleet Academy. We don't know if this means those cities now are one-trick ponies, with every civilian evicted from San Francisco to allow the millions of cadets and trainees to reside there, say...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Drone]

Personnel may either join Starfleet Academy to complete the 4 year training to serve as an Officer.
Those not wishing to going through the Academy training may join and go through a short "Boot Camp", or Enlisted Training Course that will teach them the basics of serving within Starfleet. Afterwards, their time spent as the most junior crewman ranks is considered On-The-Job training. After a crewman has proven themselves capable in their respective positions, they may move up the ranks to a senior enlisted position such as a Chief Petty Officer and be allowed to continue their daily work in teams, or unsupervised.
At least that is how I understand it.

Is it possible for enlisted personnel to be elevated to an officer's rank, receiving a field commission, let's say, for particularly meritorious duty while in action?

Some parts of the capital planet have been assigned specific roles: Paris has the offices of the President, Tokyo features a big Starfleet R&D center, San Francisco is home to Starfleet HQ and Starfleet Academy. We don't know if this means those cities now are one-trick ponies, with every civilian evicted from San Francisco to allow the millions of cadets and trainees to reside there, say...
Timo Saloniemi

Interestingly, your suggestion sounds both silly and plausible at the same time. I would say that based on the strolling street denizens that we saw a bit of in Non Sequitur, for example, it would seem that there are "regular" citizens around as part of the demographic cohort. Also, it would seem unkind, if not mean spirited, for TPTB to withhold the natural beauty of such a lovely corner of the world from at least a some Joe and Jane Six Packs. Has there ever been a reference that you know of, to the population at the Academy at any given time?

 

[The Wormhole]

I could've sworn the Academy was in Paris? Why did I think that?

That is an odd thing to think, given Starfleet Academy's seal even has the Golden Gate Bridge on it.

Tom Paris attended classes at a campus in France - maybe that.

Given how big Starfleet likely it - either the academy is the whole city or there are other campuses in other places... (which has been debated here a number of times...)

Tom Paris did his physical training in France, but there's no indication the Academy has a campus there. In fact, a very large percentage of Trek characters are confirmed Academy graduates, and we know they went to San Francisco, suggesting that is Starfleet's only training facility. Even the novels shy away from the idea of other Academy campuses, the only time one was mentioned in the novels it was Luther Sloan who attended it (on Earth's moon) so for all we know that's actually a Section 31 training compound.

 

[FormerLurker]

In all the fan-designed rank sets that I've seen (after the introduction of O'Brien's new insignia) there are nine enlisted/non-com grades: three for Crewman (typically Recruit to Apprentice to Crewman), three for Petty Officers (Third Class up to First Class), and three for Chief Petty Officers (Chief to Senior Chief to Master Chief).

This is the system I use in fanfic writing. Since I'm not a military man, the one thing that confuses me is where Warrant Officers come in, but I tend not to let that worry me.

Warrant officers as a distinct class between commissioned and enlisted are fairly rare, internationally, and none has been seen in Trek. So I wouldn't worry about it.

As I understand it, Warrant Officer is not so much a grade or rank, like Captain or Chief Petty Officer, as it is a posting, like Chief Helm Officer or XO. As for what a Warrant Officer does, that I do not know. Several Warrant Officers in genre fiction, like Ripley in the first Alien, were part of the senior command structure. Ripley, for instance, was second in command.

 

[Levi]

Is it possible for enlisted personnel to be elevated to an officer's rank, receiving a field commission, let's say, for particularly meritorious duty while in action?

Yes, it is possible. However not just any Enlisted member can receive a commission. They will need xxx time in service, and will require enough proficiency in their trade to warrant such a commission. Rates lower then Chief Petty Officer do not usually receive commissions.
Battlefield commissions for a single act of meritorious service is rare. An act of heroism doesn't qualify someone as an officer. It is usually more based upon the Enlisted members leadership skills, and the role they have to play.
There are also many other factors that would be taken into consideration. There usually needs to be a shortage of available officers as well.
Sometimes, Enlisted members being offered a commission will be required to take a course of some type to familiarize them with Officer Rules & Regulations and anything else required.

Also, Specialists and Technicians are rates, or more like job titles. They are not ranks.
And I do not recall Starfleet ever using a Warrant Officer rank. I believe that's been some fan thing snuck in for extended game use. Probably because people simply associate Starfleet ranks with current military ranks (usually from the U.S. Navy), which includes a bunch of ranks that have no use in Starfleet (like Marines).
Starfleet uses the basic Enlisted/Officer/Admiralty rank system (as well as Cadet ranks). The way Starfleet operates, and the way its rank structure is set up around how it uses Officers and Enlisted personnel has eliminated any use for Warrant Officers (depending how you view a Warrant Officer). Any person who has worked within Starfleet that could have been a Warrant Officer has always simply been designated a Civilian, or an Ambassador.
But of course that's all up for discussion based on where you get your definition of a Warrant Officer from.

 

[Timo]

We have to wonder about warp specialist Kosinski in "Where No One", I guess. He gets to wear a Starfleet uniform, complete with an exotic-looking square collar decoration, but for some reason doesn't warrant a communicator pin. Most visitors don't get Starfleet clothes, although some might get a Starfleet communicator for convenience.

Has there ever been a reference that you know of, to the population at the Academy at any given time?

Nothing explicit on screen. What we know of class size might help, though.

That is, if every hero was credited as the best of his or her class, and knew each other through coincidence, we'd have to believe in a fairly small school. But thankfully, that's not how Trek works: say, in TNG, Riker was the eighth in his class, no heroes were classmates, and they know each other not through coincidence but because the Federation Flagship draws in the best and the brightest and the oddest. Similarly, in TOS, Kirk knows some fellow skippers, but only through them being fellow skippers; his only meeting with a former schoolmate is in a fantasy.

Data claims he graduated from a "class of 78", and since that in retrospect can't be a year reference, it seems he had 77 classmates who could testify his rank isn't purely honorary. That doesn't mean only78 people graduated that year, though - might be every year consists of a hundred parallel or intertwined classes, and the annual output is in fact 8,000 officers rather than 80.

Also, some teachers and lectures are "common knowledge", but nothing is universal, and there's always a hero who doesn't know what the other one is talking about when old studies, students and teachers are mentioned.

So basically the writers have steered clear of writing themselves in any sort of a corner here. Everybody knows Boothby, but that's it; otherwise, the Academy might hold a thousand students at a time, or a million.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

That is an odd thing to think, given Starfleet Academy's seal even has the Golden Gate Bridge on it.


Tom Paris did his physical training in France, but there's no indication the Academy has a campus there. In fact, a very large percentage of Trek characters are confirmed Academy graduates, and we know they went to San Francisco, suggesting that is Starfleet's only training facility. Even the novels shy away from the idea of other Academy campuses, the only time one was mentioned in the novels it was Luther Sloan who attended it (on Earth's moon) so for all we know that's actually a Section 31 training compound.

Actually, I've often thought that presence of San Francisco symbols on the Academy logo argues that there are other campuses, even on Earth, otherwise they'd just have a generic symbol like the 'Starfleet Command' one wouldn't they?