Least Favorite Flag Officer

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Per R. Star's request, here's the "Least Favorite Flag Officer" thread. The focus of this thread/poll will be the various flag officers we've seen throughout Star Trek. Vote for as many options as you want, provided the officer is someone you dislike.

--Sran

 

[BillJ]

The only one I really disliked was the one from Ensign Ro. Admiral Kennelly.

I see Admiral Kennelly is missing.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I thought Admiral Nogura was only mentioned very briefly in passing in TMP, but didn't make an actual appearance.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

I thought Admiral Nogura was only mentioned very briefly in passing in TMP, but didn't make an actual appearance.

Correct. But he's mentioned enough in TMP that he manages to have a presence in the film despite never being on screen.

--Sran

 

[M'Sharak]

I thought Admiral Nogura was only mentioned very briefly in passing in TMP, but didn't make an actual appearance.

I think you're right.

Also: Commodore Stocker (who figured prominently in "The Deadly Years") is not included in the poll. Mendez is missing as well.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I went for Kirk, Jameson and Dougherty.

I'm not he hugest Kirk fan, but he was insufferable as an Admiral who spent more time trying to relive his glory days commanding a ship than focusing on commanding Starfleet Operations--I hope he had an amazing deputy chief who picked up all his slack.

Jameson violates the Prime Directive to begin with, and then driven by vanity and ego sets about trying to kill himself with weird and wacky drugs to cover up the mess he made in the first place.

Dougherty just came across as petty (when Picard called him on the mission) and pretty incompetent (he didn't seem to read anything on the Son'a and after working with Ru'afo for a while totally missed that he wasn't going to be talked out of their plan).

Now if there is a poll for Best Flag Officer then Nechayev would definitely get my vote.

 

[Pondwater]

Nechayev was an itch with a capital B in front.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Mendez is missing as well.

No, he's not. He's the first option in the poll.

--Sran

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

I'm not he hugest Kirk fan, but he was insufferable as an Admiral who spent more time trying to relive his glory days commanding a ship than focusing on commanding Starfleet Operations--I hope he had an amazing deputy chief who picked up all his slack.

To be fair, Kirk was only Chief of Starfleet Operations in TMP. The rest of the films, he was Commandant of Starfleet Academy. I didn't mind his commanding the Enterprise in TWOK, but I didn't agree with his taking the ship away from Decker at TMP's outset. Decker's detractors like to point to his reluctance to enter the cloud as a reason why he shouldn't have led the mission, but there's no way to know that's what he'd have done had he been in Kirk's place and had the weight of the mission on his shoulders.

I actually think Kirk's decision to throw away his career to save Spock would have come across much more powerfully had he been fully committed to the admiralty rather than cruising around with the Enterprise as his flagship. As everyone knew he wasn't happy in a desk job, his eventual demotion to captain became a reward rather than a punishment. There were extenuating circumstances, of course, but that doesn't change the fact that his time as an admiral was forgettable.

Now if there is a poll for Best Flag Officer then Nechayev would definitely get my vote.

Glad to see there's another Nachayev fan around here besides me. I didn't agree with her initial criticism of Picard, but I liked her handling of the Cardassian situation in "Chain of Command." Jellico was the right man for that mission, no matter what Riker and others might think.

Nechayev was also responsible for bringing Mackenzie Calhoun back to Starfleet for the New Frontier series, which earns her a great deal of street credit in my book.

--Sran

 

[M'Sharak]

Mendez is missing as well.

No, he's not. He's the first option in the poll.

--Sran

Oops, you're right. Don't know why I missed it.

 

[R. Star]

Glad to see there's another Nachayev fan around here besides me. I didn't agree with her initial criticism of Picard, but I liked her handling of the Cardassian situation in "Chain of Command." Jellico was the right man for that mission, no matter what Riker and others might think.

Nechayev was also responsible for bringing Mackenzie Calhoun back to Starfleet for the New Frontier series, which earns her a great deal of street credit in my book.

--Sran

I voted for Necheyev. Not because she's corrupt or ineffective(quite the opposite) but simply because she's a complete.... well itchy with a B.

I'd also probably vote for her in a most effective admiral poll too. They did seem to tone her tone in the few novels I've read that feature her.

 

[Use of Time]

I put Nechayev as well. I mean at least with the others they had an agenda whether it be sinister or selfish or whatever. With Nechayev I just sat there thinking, "what is her problem?" She was an asshole from the get go and it didn't really make any sense.

 

[BigJake]

Admiral Marcus is a clear winner for me, but admittedly it's on account of his crossing the line from Curtis "Bombs Away" LeMay-style nuttiness to outright Eeeevil.

My second choice would have been Commodore Stocker, because his mere existence is an affront to Starfleet's honor. A flag officer with zero experience on a starship? Organians preserve us.

Nechayev was always a bit of a prig but always had clear "party line" policy justifications for what she was doing, and was sometimes enough in the right to give Picard convincing reasons to doubt his own judgment. (As in "why the effing hell didn't you destroy the Borg when you had a chance?!" Perfectly understandable, in her position I would be asking that question myself.)

Admiral Pressman likewise had clearly justifiable (albeit at odds with the TNG Federation's hyper-pacifism) reasons for what he was doing.

 

[bbjeg]

My top three were; Erik Pressman, because he was heartless and developed weapons he wasn't supposed to; Matthew Dougherty, for being manipulative and clueless; and Alexander Marcus, for being a warmonger.

I think Janeway should be an Admiral after all she went through and has knowledge of.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Admiral Marcus is a clear winner for me, but admittedly it's on account of his crossing the line from Curtis "Bombs Away" LeMay-style nuttiness to outright Eeeevil.

I second this.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I get why some are against Nechayev, as this is your "least favourite" admiral and she was never out to win any popularity contests, but if this was a "who was the most effective admiral" then she would have to win. She focuses on the bigger picture, the interstellar politics, and the consequences for what might happen, rather than being Picard and Co's buddy, all without corrupt or evil. Yes she is never that friendly to the E-D crew, but she could be the one who orders them on a mission that would see the ship destroyed and the crew killed, so she can't let herself get too emotionally attached.

I'd loved to have see her as a Captain.

 

[bbjeg]

I didn't vote for Nechayev because she was efficient but it wouldn't have hurt her to be a little nicer.

 

[jpv2000]

Now if there is a poll for Best Flag Officer then Nechayev would definitely get my vote.

Agreed. I love Nechayev and Akaar as well.

I couldn't vote for any in this poll. I was looking for Admiral Jellico as I can't stand him.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I could not possibly vote for Nechayev in a poll like this. Not only because she was actually a very good officer, but I had a white-hot crush on her ever since she appeared.

 

[Green Shirt]

I'm not he hugest Kirk fan, but he was insufferable as an Admiral who spent more time trying to relive his glory days

I can picture him barging into Nogura's office with the "Glory Days" Springsteen song stuck in his head.