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Command Assignments

Mithras

Cadet
Newbie
Hi, first post - be gentle :)

I'm wondering about commands for officers. How are they represented in Trek,
when an officer gains a command assignment, what might that be? A cruiser for a Captain or Commander? A destroyer or scout for a Lt Cdr? How about a Lt or Ensign? Should a junior officer receive a command position - what would they be in command of??

Cheers!
 
Captains command ships and space stations. Admirals seem to be in command of starbases (at least the ones that include a planetary element). The only time a Lt. CMDR would get his or her own command is if the Captain and XO is killed. :p
 
I thinking of the modern naval analogy where many types of ships are commanded not by Captains, but by lower ranks...
 
Lt Commander Dax is given command of the Defiant during the Dominion War and Worf took command of the Defiant on numerous occasions before and during the war.

Lt. Cmd Data was given command of a starship during the blockade of the Romulan Neutral Zone.

The USS Prometheus' highest ranked officer was a LT. CMD.

Commander Sisko was given command of the space station, Deep Space 9.
 
And what was that murder mystery ST:TNG episode, Aliya? Where two lieutenants were posted on a relay station. One of those Lts was in command of that station.
 
Picard was given command of the Stargazer after he showed command ability when the real captain was killed. I'm assuming that he was less than actual Captain rank at the time which would imply he was likely given a promotion to Lt Cmdr to command the ship until he became a full Captain.
 
I thinking of the modern naval analogy where many types of ships are commanded not by Captains, but by lower ranks...
In modern equivalents it seems as if all starships are capitol ships. There is some debate from the movie and the rank insignia from TOS if Captain Kirk could be Commander Kirk in command of a starship thus "Captain".

If this thread prospers I'm sure the Trekstorians and Treknologist will jump in But of the 4 ships series were built around from the Fleet flagship, to 1 of 13 of her class to a Cadat training ship and a relatively short ranged ship going into the Badlands, well they all had a Captain commanding.

Which brings us to Defiant, what do we make of her? To me especially in the prewar period it seemed as if Starfleet treated her more like an upgunned/armored runabout assigned to DS9 then a starship. Her crew was drawn from other duties on the station to complete a mission. The caretaker seemed to be Worf as he didn't feel comfortable living in such civilian surroundings. After Bajor was overun it seemed as most of the DS9 officers stayed aboard to crew her under the senior officer, Lt Cmdr Dax as Sisko and Worf were assigned other duties. When the station was liberated the Defiant seemed to go back to her role as patrol boat, except the fleet chief of staff for sentimental reasons commanded her and used her to fly his pennant.

edited because I can't touch type and the software of this new computer keeps edited names and making them lower case.
 
FWIW, in the script for "In Thy Image" for the aborted "Star Trek Phase II" series that evolved into "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," Decker is a Commander is pulled from commanding his own ship (a destroyer, called the Boston) to serve on the Enterprise. Similarly, several other destroyers in the script have Captains that are explicitly referred to as Commanders.

Further, in DS9's "Second Sight," it's possible that the Nebula-class Prometheus was commanded by a Commander, as no Captain was shown. Data also previously commanded the Sutherland temporarily in "Redemption" as a Lieutenant Commander and was addressed as Captain.

I don't see a problem with there being Commanders or Lieutenant Commanders in charge of smaller starships. It's the way of the real world.

And, regarding TOS, the issue of the rank braid is only IMO made dicey by the fact that Spock wears two solids and in one episode is referred to as "Lieutenant Commander" while wearing those braids. We never officially hear that he's gotten a promotion, so for all we know Commander Spock was Lieutenant Commander Spock all along and Kirk was a Commander who was properly addressed by the title of Captain. This would, of course, bump everyone else down a notch and indicate the liklihood that we never saw a "real" Captain, who would have worn three solid stripes.

This might also (coincidentally?) jibe with the fact that TOS was inspired by "Forbidden Planet" and the fact that the C-57D's CO was a Commander too...
 
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