Cadet to Captain...NOT!!!

[Captain Pike]

Maybe it's the TNG writers who put Beverly in such a ludicrous position that are the inferior ones?

 

[USS Renegade]

Maybe it's the TNG writers who put Beverly in such a ludicrous position that are the inferior ones?

Maybe, or maybe Beverly just ROCKS!

Hell, even the EMH got in on the command action.

 

[Captain Pike]

My memories of Voyager are pretty vague (I think it's my subconscious deliberately blocking it out, kind of a post traumatic stress thing), but wasn't every other crewmember on the ship gone/dead/incapacitated or something ?

 

[Hartzilla2007]

My memories of Voyager are pretty vague (I think it's my subconscious deliberately blocking it out, kind of a post traumatic stress thing), but wasn't every other crewmember on the ship gone/dead/incapacitated or something ?

Actually the crew was force to temporarily leave Voyager and the Doctor was left in charge to make sure someone didn't take the ship.

 

[Captain Pike]

Thought it was something like that.

 

[FemurBone]

I disagree. Starfleet is full of explorers and scientists as well. There is probably a lot of advanced science and medical technology that Starfleet has access to that the general public does not yet have. The cutting edge research stuff that you have to spend time learning how to use.

On top of that, it would be irresponsible to have an average doctor on a Starship. In modern times, doctors go to school for years and they only have to worry about HUMAN psysiology. I don't think 4 years is too much time for extensive xenobiology courses, studies of alien medical porcedures, etc.

And THEN a Chief Medical Officer is going to need survival training for different enviornments. Bones had boots down on strange new worlds quite alot, if you remember. Yeah, there are LOTS of reasons for a doctor to have to go through 4 years of SF Academy.

I doubt starfleet has scientific knowledge the rest of the federation doesn't have. Science is science, and it is reasonable to assume everyone has the same knowledge. Hell, the genesis device was developed by civilian scientist, not starfleet.

Furthurmore, starfleet medical officers do not go onboard a starship automatically knowing the anatomy of the many thousands of species that exist in the federation. In the tv show knowledge of alien species has always been learned in the field, not in a class room. The same goes for alien germs that cause illness. Medical officers don't automatically know how to cure mysterious illnesses that come up, they learn how by running test.

As far as survival training, you don't need 4 years at an academy to learn that. Real militaries teach that in a matter of weeks.

 

[Bartay]

I think with Kirk, in the new movie, I would have to believe that he already had the rank of at least Ensign, if not Lieutenant Junior Grade.

I might be wrong, but wasn't LtJG. Saavick still in the Academy, when she was attempting to take the Kobiyashi-Maru test, in ST2? Perhaps, in regards to the Academy, an individual goes through the ranks of cadet, midshipman, & midshipman 1st class, and then receives a commission, while still completing their studies. Then, this individual goes out on "externships" with the rank of either Ensign or Lieutenant Junior Grade, but doesn’t officially get released from the Academy, until they earn the rank of Lieutenant.

This also might be based on what career direction someone is taking. Red-shirts (operations); maybe only getting to Ensign, right out of the Academy. Gold-shirts (command & control); being an Ensign while still in Academy, or in rare cases, Lieutenant Junior Grade (near graduation). Blue-shirts (medicine & life sciences); rank could vary. McCoy coming out of the Academy as a Lieutenant Commander isn't uncommon, even today. Today, you could have doctors, lawyers, or other individuals with highly specialized professions, that go to Officer Candidate School, and routinely come out as 0-3's (Lieutenant), 0-4's(Lieutenant Commander), or for the "highly" specialized positions, 0-5 (Commander).

 

[pookha]

there was no reason to bounce a thread from back in april when there was kirk promotion thread
on page 2

 

[3D Master]

I think with Kirk, in the new movie, I would have to believe that he already had the rank of at least Ensign, if not Lieutenant Junior Grade.

Nope, Cadet. He entered the academy which would normally take 4 years, he said he'd do it in 3, it's three years later.

I might be wrong, but wasn't LtJG. Saavick still in the Academy, when she was attempting to take the Kobiyashi-Maru test, in ST2? Perhaps, in regards to the Academy, an individual goes through the ranks of cadet, midshipman, & midshipman 1st class, and then receives a commission, while still completing their studies. Then, this individual goes out on "externships" with the rank of either Ensign or Lieutenant Junior Grade, but doesn’t officially get released from the Academy, until they earn the rank of Lieutenant.

Saavik went BACK to the academy to take a supplemental command training program.

 

[M'Sharak]

there was no reason to bounce a thread from back in april when there was kirk promotion thread
on page 2

I agree. Let's have discussion continue in the current thread, and I'll close this one.