What exactly makes (made) Harry Kim a senior officer?

He was given the title and position of CMO, but not a rank to back that up. Similarly, everyone calls him "Doctor" but he didn't attend or graduate from any institution that could grant him that certification - it was programmed into him.

The whole ECH thing was a pointless logic that served only as a story point. The instant Harry walked back on the bridge, the Doctor, citing the very regulations that allowed him to take command int he first place, should have handed command to Kim and moved to an advisory role. It's not like Picard handed command to Worf every time the Klingons showed up.

Mark

 

Friends with benefits?
Sorry, I"ll go now.

 

About the question of promotions ‎Janeway distributed to her crew during the long journey of Voyager, let's be honest, there was just a few. And if we look closely, the main recipients of the Captain's "generosity/recogniton", was mainly the Maquis*, even if it was clearly, a tactical choice to ensure the cooperation of its members and the ranks distributed so generously were provisional but on the principle, I'm not sure that the Captain sent the right message to her Starfleet crew, which worked hard to get them and jalousy or resentment from their part, would have been justified (in particular from Tuvok, Harry, Carey, etc...).

 

^for that matter, why did Tom receive that Lt. commission so easily in Caretaker? (and for a second time as well, in Unimatrix Zero?). It's nice that Janeway shows him her appreciation by making him a 'real' member of the crew, not just an observer, but why immediately thrust a Lt. rank on him and not just the ensign rank?

 

Well if anyone was, it wouldn't be Kim. He's not even lucky enough to get that.

 

Yet in Year of Hell the Doctor evoked being Chief Medical Officer to out command Janeway when she would not rest. She called him on it and won, but mainly because there wasn't security, as in enough able bodied people to back him up.

I guess he was indeed without a chain of rank.. much like Seven.

 

Under a normal command structure, on a normal day, even in the DQ, the Doctor could have put her on holiday, locked out her command codes, and given Chakotay Voyager's car keys.

It was infantile to play that card, when Voyager's crew was down to 16, and they were all a close shave away from certain death.

 

It was never going to work keeping Janeway down.. much like Seven advising they not move out of the Nebula until Voyager was at peak efficiency. Maybe there is something to be said for Academy training, sets a more practical mindset.

TUVOK: Remember this guideline. The captain is always right.
SEVEN: Even when you know her logic is flawed?
TUVOK: Perhaps.

 

Kathryn flew into dust without navigation deflectors, because she was so angered by her own impotence.

Imagine driving on the motor way at 300 mph with no windscreen.

Crew should have held Janeway down and sedated her.

She needed two weeks on the holodeck, which is not a bad thing.

 

"Watch yourself, hologram! Just a few simple commands to the computer, and you will cease to exist."

 

Tuvok post Suder meld?

 

Ya

 

Kim could have just been defacto department head by virtue of being only Survivor of the initial jolt from his department. Just like the Doc.

 

No "just" about it.

A lot of people must have gotten promotions that they did not deserve, but were real enough in the long run.

 

In the same time, Tuvok wasn't wrong about the Doctor... . His existence
hangs by a thread... or rather by a computer keyboard "delete" keys, no matter his newly sentienty!

 

Was Tuvok the only one to receive a 'real' promotion? I guess Neelix being appointed as Ambassador doesn't count.

 

Tom got a real promotion after having been demoted.

 

Tom had experience it always made sense to me he was the rank he was. I was watching.. can't remember now it was recently so leading up to Year of Hell' and Tom and B'Ellana were having a little play fight of sorts and he said he outranked her. She replied they were both lieutenants but he said he was three days more of one than her. I think time served (even if that was a joke with Tom and B'Ellana), counted. Tuvok put in the hard yards. Even Chakotay having achieved in the Federation made it easier to give him the rank he got on Voyager.

 

I think the original CMO's line about "a new Operations Officer" was simply a mistake, as that title exists as an official department head, using Lt. Cmdr. Data as an example.

As far as I know, no one graduates the Academy higher than Ensign rank, but it certainly appears they can be a department head if the ship they get assigned to has a small enough crew complement, like Voyager. (I realize that Bashir just got to DS9 as his first post, but I think he graduated the Academy first, and finished med school, which was why he got to be a Lt. junior grade from the jump. It definitely explains why he was 27 years old in the pilot.)

It's also possible, since Harry Kim obviously scored high among his class, that he got to have first pick of his assignment, which is indicated in "NON SEQUITUR" when he was reading his service record.