First season chief engineers

[Tomalak]

Is that how a [however pseudo]military would operate? I would think they would use the "chain of command" that they even reference in the show. Perhaps I misunderstand, but I understand the phrase "chain of command" to mean one person gets the talking-to from the boss and then has his underlings get it done.

But remember this is a ship full of enlightened Roddenberry super-humans. They don't need a "talking-to".

Presumably the "chief engineer" is the senior officer on duty at the time. If you want something done, to tell them to do it and they co-ordinate with their staff. When Argyle's shift ends, he hands over to MacDougal. One would hope they were competent enough officers to be able to continue a project after a mere shift change.

Even Geordi wasn't on duty 24 hours a day.

 

[Nero's Shadow]

Was argyle the guy with the beard I never thought he was a convincing chief and I always find it weird that laforge spent most of the 1st season on the bridge and then promoted to chief engineer in the 2nd season .?

 

[Rom's Sehlat]

Hypothesis: he had to become familiar with bridge operations first-hand before being promoted to a chief engineer. Real reason: the writers reassigned his character.

 

[Timo]

...From one classic black role (the driver) to another (the mechanic).

I like the idea of the E-D being a training vessel for Chief Engineers. I suppose that by the time of "The Last Outpost", the hardened Starfleet veterans like McDougal and Argyle had completed their training on the ship type and moved on, and there were second-rank people being processed now - which is why Picard would send LaForge down there in that episode, and have him stay there for much of the episode (he was already the best qualified engineer aboard), and why "Arsenal of Freedom" would feature a fairly junior CEO who seemed to be new to the ship and unfamiliar with its crew dynamics. By the end of the shakedown year, even all these second-raters had been processed (there being a limited number of Galaxies for them), and LaForge could start doing what he had been hired to do in the first place.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tomalak]

Geordi also gets very rapidly promoted, spending only a year as a full lieutenant, which is kind of odd. But then I guess Picard can do what he wants, and the chief engineer needs to be senior in rank to all those other lieutenants filling up the engineering decks.

 

[milo bloom]

The Picard focused novel The Buried Age also goes with the idea of the rotating chief engineers to train them for the Galaxy class fleet. And even before that, I've kinda had the idea that Geordie was doing a year on the bridge just to give him a little more overall systems experience before installing him as CHENG.

 

[KirkPicard]

Issue #76 of the TNG DC comic series entitled, "Suspect" is a tale that integrates all the former ENT-D chief engineers.

"All of the former Chief Engineers of the Enterprise have been murdered. Starfleet investigator Regina Campisi has identified a suspect, new Enterprise crewmember, Lt. Farrell. While LaForge watches his back, the command crew sets out to look for proof, with unexpected results."

 

[TenLubak]

Issue #76 of the TNG DC comic series entitled, "Suspect" is a tale that integrates all the former ENT-D chief engineers.

"All of the former Chief Engineers of the Enterprise have been murdered. Starfleet investigator Regina Campisi has identified a suspect, new Enterprise crewmember, Lt. Farrell. While LaForge watches his back, the command crew sets out to look for proof, with unexpected results."

Good stuff! One day maybe i will be able to find it and read all about them!
Thank for all the top notch responses.

 

[BillJ]

But wouldn't one person have to be in charge of it all? Picard has to be able to call up one person and chew him out because the warp drive is still offline. He doesn't want to call directory services and find out the officer of the day.

But I think the original intent was for Data to fill that role, hence the title 'Operations Manager'. Anyone responsible for ship resources would report up through him.

 

[Sam_I_Am]

But wouldn't one person have to be in charge of it all? Picard has to be able to call up one person and chew him out because the warp drive is still offline. He doesn't want to call directory services and find out the officer of the day.

But I think the original intent was for Data to fill that role, hence the title 'Operations Manager'. Anyone responsible for ship resources would report up through him.

Agreed. Perhaps why there was no 'chief science officer' equivalent to Spock too.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Is that how a [however pseudo]military would operate? I would think they would use the "chain of command" that they even reference in the show. Perhaps I misunderstand, but I understand the phrase "chain of command" to mean one person gets the talking-to from the boss and then has his underlings get it done.

But remember this is a ship full of enlightened Roddenberry super-humans. They don't need a "talking-to".

Presumably the "chief engineer" is the senior officer on duty at the time. If you want something done, to tell them to do it and they co-ordinate with their staff. When Argyle's shift ends, he hands over to MacDougal. One would hope they were competent enough officers to be able to continue a project after a mere shift change.

Even Geordi wasn't on duty 24 hours a day.

If this were really true, then why would a ship need a captain? Why wouldn't Picard simply hand over his pips and all authorization codes to his relief when it's time to get some shut-eye?

Chains of command also serve to make choices. This is especially critical when there is limited time to make a decision in an emergency based on incomplete information. It often comes down to a question of judgment, and selecting among alternatives regarding which the staff does not have unanimous agreement. One criterion for promotion is the ability to make good judgment calls.

In the case of engineering, in a crisis there may be competing priorities, and competing theories about what is really happening. As long as there is no trade-off involved in staff pursuing multiple alternatives, staff can function independently. But when it comes down to a question of opinion, competing theories, decisions about what systems are more important, and/or how to apply limited resources, historically people have employed a singular individual in command to make the judgment call. I don't see that "enlightened people" of the 24th Century would be any different, unless they all share the same opinions and always reach the same conclusions as each other.