Doctor Crusher being chief medical officer of all of Starfleet?

[J.T.B.]

Which doesn't mean anything as far as Starfleet Medical is concerned, because it doesn't have to be run the exact same way (and likely isn't, IMO).

Sure, I was just pointing out that the Bethesda CO was higher than O-6 as Red Ranger mentioned.

Past chief of staffs, however, have been navy captains, which was my real point there.

Yes, the chief of staff to a rear admiral or vice admiral almost always holds the rank of captain.

--Justin

 

[StarfleetBarber]

I registered just so I could reply to this thread, because I was thinking about just this topic tonight, stumbled across this board, and it struck me that it's actually pretty easily explained just what is meant by Crusher "heading" up Starfleet Medical. I can think of a few analogous situations in the Trek canon off the top of my head: recall, for instance, how a young but ambitious Lt. Commander Shelby was "heading up" Starfleet's Borg business prior to the first Borg incursion because of her apparent expertise on the Borg--Admiral Hanson makes note to Picard of how she "took charge" and "put them on track" or something along those lines. After the first Borg threat was eventually squashed, Shelby was then given some kind of important position overseeing the rebuilding of the fleet, similarly because of her experience with the anti-borg defenses and weapons she and her team had been devising--she may have even been responsible for including Sisko in those efforts, himself probably still a relatively young Lt. Commander at the time (as he was on the Saratoga at Wolf 359), who helped design the Defiant prototype. Years later, Sisko convinces Starfleet Brass to make Lt. Commander Worf the Chief of Strategic Operations for the sector (a sector that was strategically vital to the security of the Federation) during the Klingon conflict, because of Worf's expertise with Klingon culture and military practices. And Captain Sisko, because of his experience with the Dominion, was made Acting Head of Starfleet Security on Earth by order of Admiral Leyton (albeit in Leyton's unlawful attempt to place Earth and the Federation under martial law), not to mention Admiral Ross and Starfleet delegating much of the strategic planning to him during the Dominion War. Similarly, Picard was given authority over the entire task force assigned to negating the Romulan involvement in the Klingon Civil war, presumably because of his experience with the cat and mouse games the Romulans had played with the Enterprise since first re-appearing at the end of season one. Now, based on these examples, we can probably assume that Dr. Crusher was asked to "head up" Starfleet Medical because of some particular expertise of hers that was relevant to a pressing issue that Starfleet Medical was facing at the time, perhaps a threat that she herself had encountered in her first year on the Enterprise (the Tarellian Plague for instance, or the Tsiolkovsky Virus). Whatever it was, it doesn't seem to be unheard of in the Trek universe that a lower-ranking officer would be, at least temporarily, put in charge of high-level operations!

 

[RoJoHen]

That...is a helluva a paragraph.

 

[inflatabledalek]

you know, I'd never read that whole story before, but if McFadden really got treated that shabbily by the show's producers, who not only didn't help her when she was being sexually harassed, but then she got fired because of it, I think it's amazing she'd want to come back to the show.


I'd have had nothing but anger and resentment toward the producers of the show if I were her.

I suspect pragmatism played a part, an actor needs to be acting to earn the money and she didn't do very much in her year off (a mostly cut out role in The Hunt for Red October being the highlight). If Hurley's departure was due to him falling out with the rest of the behind the scenes people she'd have likely felt very vindicated as well.

Plus, her original contract was presumably terminated with her departure, meaning she would have been able to do something the rest of the cast wouldn't have been able to do till season 6, negotiate a decent pay rise based on the fact she was signing up for a successful established TV show.

 

[Anwar]

Well, Kirk was the Head of Starfleet Operations when he was just a 1-Star Rear Admiral (the same as a Commodore), so Crusher as Head of an important Medical facility as a Commander isn't unbelievable.

 

[Deckerd]

Many academic establishments have a time-limited tenure for Heads of Department. I don't see that this is any different.

 

[Timo]

Well, Kirk was the Head of Starfleet Operations when he was just a 1-Star Rear Admiral (the same as a Commodore)

To be sure, Kirk wore braid suggestive of two stars: he had the "basic flag braid" (the broad thing, or the "triple" braid), familiar from all the TOS Commodores, plus one extra braid.

Whether Kirk ever wore a "star" is debatable. His shoulder epaulets held a single round piece of brass, but that could have been a generic flag rank symbol, or a SF Command symbol, such as the one painted on his executive shuttle. We didn't spot other flag officers in that movie, now did we?

Still, "Head of SF Operations" does sound like a top job, especially if we decide it's the same job described in Franz Joseph's tech manual where so many TMP things were lifted from - essentially the first job down from the Chief of Staff and his deputy. For a junior flag officer to get that job might suggest either that Kirk was an exceptionally treated individual, or that the position was rotated between various people, young and old, adventurous and meticulous, radical and conservative, and perhaps fairly frequently at that.

so Crusher as Head of an important Medical facility as a Commander isn't unbelievable.

An individual facility, no matter how important, would probably be a fairly minor thing anyway as opposed to a branch of the entire Starfleet. In terms of personnel, the difference between a hospital known as Starfleet Medical and the entire Medical Division of Starfleet might be thousandfold!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[apollo1984]

What is the difference between rank and position, Take la forge for example except from the first season he held the chief engineer position of the federation flagship, firstly as a lieutenant eventually being promoted to full commander by the time of nemesis while still holding the position of chief engineer.

His technical ability was more important for the role of chief engineer than his rank was, perhaps it is similar to crushers position her ability as a doctor far outweighed her rank, besides she was very rarely called commander crusher anyway it was always Dr or chief medical officer.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Even though i do like the eye candy that is Beverly Crusher, I think Pulaski was the better doctor because she doesn't let her vag get in the way of medical decisions like crusher often does.

Excuse me?!

That...is a helluva a paragraph.

My sentiments exactly.

Between the two, this... is a helluva a thread.

 

[Freman]

she doesn't let her vag get in the way of medical decisions like crusher often does.

ROTFLMAO!!!