Yeah, but it is not that you can't get the qualifications earlier, it is just that they're required for being a Commander.
Medical Careers in Starfleet
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Which is also silly. Commander is just a rank. McCoy was a Commander. Pulaski was a Commander. Neither one was qualified to run the bridge. Commander and command are not synonyms. The writers were idiots.
Pulaski must have been qualified. I can easily accept that the system was different in McCoy's time. But yeah, it is a bit odd. Then again, you don't really need a commander rank to be a CMO.
Why must she be qualified? Because she held the rank of Commander? Again that's conflating command with Commander. It's probably the same idiot thinking that made Sisko a Commander rather than a Captain.
But if you have the time in service and a large enough department there's no reason to stall out at Lt Commander. Not everyone at the rank of Commander and above needs to run a starship bridge. I don't think real militaries work that way.
Sure, I am not disagreeing that it is a weird requirement. I merely meant that under the system established in the show, whether you like it or not, Pulaski must have had the command qualifications.
Like I said the writers really didn't think it through or do any research. They just wanted to do a story about Troi taking command.
That's where things get weird, Thine Own Self was written by Ron Moore, who basically was 90s Trek's military expert.
The bridge officer's test isn't required to reach the rank of Commander. It's required for any staff officer who wants to have command of the bridge.
IIRC it was to get a Commanders rank. Though I'd prefer to think of it as just to have command of the bridge as you said.
I've been told that ALL officers have to take the test (not just blueshirts) but I find no evidence in the episode to support that. Indeed, the only ones who we know for sure HAVE taken the test are blueshirts - Crusher and Troi. I know this isn't proof for my assumption, but it's not proof against it either.
As for taking the test to simply reach CDR rank: I doubt it. McCoy and Pulaski, as far as we know, did not take the test.
Why would it only apply to blueshirts? Considering how easy it is to switch departments, it really isn't a feasible assumption. It is probably just that people whose jobs do not revolve around command decisions and do not have aspirations for command are less likely to take the test. And note how similar Troi's test is to Kobyashi Maru, which we see lieutenants Saavik and (in Kelvin) Kirk taking. Neither was a cadet any more, I think they were there for exactly this sort of extra command training.I've been told that ALL officers have to take the test (not just blueshirts) but I find no evidence in the episode to support that. Indeed, the only ones who we know for sure HAVE taken the test are blueshirts - Crusher and Troi. I know this isn't proof for my assumption, but it's not proof against it either.
You're basically basing your complaint about Troi taking command on assumption that Ro must have had the command qualifications, whilst inverse its true, she didn't and thus there was no command qualified person present, leaving the highest ranking person in charge.
I'm not gonna rewatch the episode for this, but my recollection is that it was related to the rank, as little sense as it might make. And we don't know that Pulaski didn't have these command qualifications, Bones probably didn't, but that was a century earlier and regulations change.
A case could be made that the "Advanced Tactical Training" course that Ro took off-screen between Rascals and Preemptive Strike (which led to her being promoted to Lieutenant) was when she would have been qualified to "take command".
I agree, it is.
And there's why. Right there it shows Crusher is just dabbling in another specialty. Why would a person with that kind of experience level take precedence over someone whose whole career and every working day was geared toward gaining the requisite experience to command a vessel? And what good would passing a test for commander promotion do for a starship physician who was not interested in that sideline, and who preferred to stick to improving herself in her chosen specialty? It's not believable to me, as I said before, it's just about giving actors something different to do.
A test that allows Troi to be promoted from rank A to rank B is hardly proof that the test is a requirement for rank B. Just as likely, it is a test that provides you with a promotion as a reward/incentive, completely regardless of what your starting rank is.
Similarly, other tests would be available for providing that promotion, again regardless of the starting rank - the same incentive, but a completely different topic. And then other means that do not involve any tests whatsoever, such as accumulating service years or the heroic rescue of a grateful ambassador from wily monstrosnails.
And then there would be tests that do not provide you with brownie points counting towards a promotion, or at least not so many that you would hop from any A to any B with just one test. (And, just possibly, tests you do have to take for earning the specific rank B. But we never hear specifically of these things.) What we hear of in the case of Troi is a test verifying the acquiring of a special competence Troi originally was missing - a competence Commander Pulaski very explicitly states she lacks, with no negative effect to her career and rank progression.
All that aside, the special competence of "standing bridge watches" is a rather menial thing, something ITRW burdened on young officers when their seniors have better things to do (such as sleep or drink or play minigolf). It is described as such in "Thine Own Self" specifically. It's a way for Crusher and now Troi to kill time in a not utterly boring fashion, by their standards of boring (although somebody like Yar or LaForge would probably be bored stiff, and even Harry Kim would eventually start to gripe).
Timo Saloniemi
Similarly, other tests would be available for providing that promotion, again regardless of the starting rank - the same incentive, but a completely different topic. And then other means that do not involve any tests whatsoever, such as accumulating service years or the heroic rescue of a grateful ambassador from wily monstrosnails.
And then there would be tests that do not provide you with brownie points counting towards a promotion, or at least not so many that you would hop from any A to any B with just one test. (And, just possibly, tests you do have to take for earning the specific rank B. But we never hear specifically of these things.) What we hear of in the case of Troi is a test verifying the acquiring of a special competence Troi originally was missing - a competence Commander Pulaski very explicitly states she lacks, with no negative effect to her career and rank progression.
All that aside, the special competence of "standing bridge watches" is a rather menial thing, something ITRW burdened on young officers when their seniors have better things to do (such as sleep or drink or play minigolf). It is described as such in "Thine Own Self" specifically. It's a way for Crusher and now Troi to kill time in a not utterly boring fashion, by their standards of boring (although somebody like Yar or LaForge would probably be bored stiff, and even Harry Kim would eventually start to gripe).
Timo Saloniemi
Does not exactly match the dialogue, but I guess that is an acceptable interpretation and makes more sense. Could you elaborate on what was said about Pulaski's qualifications?
In "Where Silence Has Lease":
Apparently, Pulaski is apologetic about giving commands to Data on the basis of not being a bridge officer and therefore not actually being entitled to do this thing. Yet she outranks Data by half a pip, and probably always had; her inability to order Data around must indeed stem from a separate limitation regarding the command chain specifics.
Troi never gave Data direct orders like that, either before or after acquiring the bridge officer qualifications. But she preferred to wrap people around her little finger anyway, and certainly had no qualms about making Data do her bidding regardless of rank issues. (Even when she gets the half a pip that trumps Data's, she just kids about the "call me Sir" thing, without anything really changing in the dynamic between the two.)
What Pulaski is not apologetic about is being on the bridge, so that interpretation of what bridge officer means is out. On the other hand, Pulaski doesn't seem to be suggesting that being a bridge officer would give her any special powers beyond being able to tell Data what to do with the sensor controls. Nor does she suggest that being a bridge officer would be impossible for a woman of her age or hairstyle or credentials, or that Picard is the only bridge officer in existence, or anything beyond what is actually shown. Apparently, you just plain need to be a bridge officer to achieve even the most trivial things on the bridge, such as having the sensor magnification adjusted by an underling!
Timo Saloniemi
Apparently, Pulaski is apologetic about giving commands to Data on the basis of not being a bridge officer and therefore not actually being entitled to do this thing. Yet she outranks Data by half a pip, and probably always had; her inability to order Data around must indeed stem from a separate limitation regarding the command chain specifics.
Troi never gave Data direct orders like that, either before or after acquiring the bridge officer qualifications. But she preferred to wrap people around her little finger anyway, and certainly had no qualms about making Data do her bidding regardless of rank issues. (Even when she gets the half a pip that trumps Data's, she just kids about the "call me Sir" thing, without anything really changing in the dynamic between the two.)
What Pulaski is not apologetic about is being on the bridge, so that interpretation of what bridge officer means is out. On the other hand, Pulaski doesn't seem to be suggesting that being a bridge officer would give her any special powers beyond being able to tell Data what to do with the sensor controls. Nor does she suggest that being a bridge officer would be impossible for a woman of her age or hairstyle or credentials, or that Picard is the only bridge officer in existence, or anything beyond what is actually shown. Apparently, you just plain need to be a bridge officer to achieve even the most trivial things on the bridge, such as having the sensor magnification adjusted by an underling!
Timo Saloniemi
The bridge test and others allow someone to increase in rank and/or responsibility level without having to go through a harrowing ordeal such as taking command in an actual crisis out of necessity or putting your life on the line to save someone else.
I imagine a promotion that is given by your commanding officer without you applying, following a heroic act you performed means more to some people than simply taking an aptitude test/training course.
Although those who earn their promotion through education might feel they are better qualified than one whose captain promoted them based on one act of service rather than a pattern of knowledge and experience developed and proven multiple times over time.
I imagine a promotion that is given by your commanding officer without you applying, following a heroic act you performed means more to some people than simply taking an aptitude test/training course.
Although those who earn their promotion through education might feel they are better qualified than one whose captain promoted them based on one act of service rather than a pattern of knowledge and experience developed and proven multiple times over time.
Promotion in rank for heroic action has been tried and died out, discredited, early in the 20th century. Rewarding heroism is much more effectively served by a system of awards and decorations. The most effective basis for promotion, OTOH, has proven to be selection from those who have demonstrated success in increasing levels of responsibility.
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