How did Bones join Starfleet?

[Jefferies]

Do we have any information on how Bones joined Starfleet?

Personally, I always had the impression he was commissioned after he had been a doctor for some time. This also led me to believe that he never attended Starfleet Academy but went to a civilian medical school.

However, some of the promotional images released for the new movie show the new actor playing McCoy in a cadet’s uniform along side the actor playing Kirk, who is also in a cadet’s uniform. People seem to be speculating that both attended the academy together.

However, this just doesn’t seem right to me, because McCoy has been firmly established as being a good deal older than Kirk and as having extensive medical experience before he joined the crew of the Enterprise, or so I thought.

Have I made too many assumptions with regard to McCoy’s past? Or is it a bit of a stretch having Kirk and McCoy as academy class mates?

 

[BillJ]

I guessing it is possible for McCoy to have attended the academy at the same time as Kirk and still be a good deal older. We know that he had a marriage that didn't last and went to school at Ole Miss according to DS9's 'Trials and Tribble-ations'.

So if he went to Med School as a civilian he would be a good deal older than Kirk, even if they were at the academy at the same time.

 

[Jefferies]

But why would Bones, as a doctor, go to Starfleet Academy? Are you suggesting he did some kind of induction like a one year course of basic Starfleet training? If that were the case, surely he wouldn't end up being taught with the undergrads? There must be some kind of special programme for professionals who want to join without making them cadets. How do the armed forces deal with this situation today, if say a trained surgeon or engineer decided to join the navy?

 

[maryh]

But why would Bones, as a doctor, go to Starfleet Academy? Are you suggesting he did some kind of induction like a one year course of basic Starfleet training? If that were the case, surely he wouldn't end up being taught with the undergrads? There must be some kind of special programme for professionals who want to join without making them cadets. How do the armed forces deal with this situation today, if say a trained surgeon or engineer decided to join the navy?

Supposedly Bones joined the Fleet to escape the pain of a bitter divorce (The Making of Star Trek). I suppose that this might have been something he had always wanted to do and intrigued by, and when his marriage and stable base broke, he went ahead and just did it. Perhaps he did have a daughter and the ex-wife turned her against him. Perhaps the Ex got remarried and he didn't want to be in the way. Maybe he started drinking because of this, saw himself going downhill so he joined the Fleet to get out of his rut. Who knows but, it's fun to speculate.

I think there are differences between practicing medicine in the Star Fleet verses on Earth. They might need to learn a little more alien anatomy and treatments before they can be put on a Star Ship. Also all entering Star Fleet would probably need the equivalent of "basic training", especially if they are to go on a 5 year mission into the unknown. They might need things like Self Defense, Physical Combat, Weapons Training, Survival, Alien Cultures etc. Never been in the service but if someone joined when they were older they would still be put in for the basic training with everyone else. That is probably the way the Army does it now. I know physicians in the reserves still have to go to basic training yearly and there are various ages there. I think McCoy's training would be short though since he already is a physician.

There is so much leeway in the history of the characters that the writers can do anything they want - they can put everyone at the academy together, or they can split them up. I'm looking forward to finding out how these writers handle it.

 

[Jefferies]

Okay, sounds logical what you are saying that a civilian human doctor would require extra knowledge for treating aliens, in addition, to learning about Starfleet protocol and survival etc.

But becoming a cadet? I’m a medical student and the idea of an experienced doctor or surgeon serving as a lowly recruit sounds unrealistic to me. I’m sure they would be in a class of their own. They would have to be, because otherwise this might be a real deterrent for professionals joining. I am pretty certain that none of the doctors who are teaching me would want be my class mates, if you know what I mean?

Shouldn’t they have some kind of provisional rank maybe? I just can’t see how a first year ensign could be their superior. One would think Starfleet would value their skill and ability more highly.

 

[McCoy]

Yes, perhaps they all wear the same uniforms in the Academy, but with different insignia. Can you tell from any of the pictures so far if that may be the case?

 

[maryh]

I suspect that McCoy does join at an elevated position or rank but we can't tell all that much from the picture. He would need some training. In TOS we don't really see that much attention being paid to their ranks though. Except for colors, and a few stripes around their wrists it's hard to tell their ranks in TOS.

Also he might be promised the higher rank at the completion of his basic training. That would prevent someone from receiving a nice sounding rank, then quitting a few days later and before the completion of his training while being able to lay claim to an undeserved title.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Okay, sounds logical what you are saying that a civilian human doctor would require extra knowledge for treating aliens, in addition, to learning about Starfleet protocol and survival etc.

But becoming a cadet? I’m a medical student and the idea of an experienced doctor or surgeon serving as a lowly recruit sounds unrealistic to me. I’m sure they would be in a class of their own. They would have to be, because otherwise this might be a real deterrent for professionals joining. I am pretty certain that none of the doctors who are teaching me would want be my class mates, if you know what I mean?

Shouldn’t they have some kind of provisional rank maybe? I just can’t see how a first year ensign could be their superior. One would think Starfleet would value their skill and ability more highly.

Starfleet could possibly have some sort of OSC program like the Navy and other military branches. It could be a shorter duration of course work compared to the four-year SF Academy program. Perhaps, it's even held at the Presido campus alongside the four-year cadets. McCoy would then be given the rank of either Ensign or Lieutenant (I think, but I'm not sure, that Doctors recieve the rank of LT in the Navy).

See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Officer_Candidate_School_(U.S._Navy)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Officer_Candidate_School

In the never-produced The First Adventure, McCoy was to have already been a doctor and thus an older cadet, having run off to Starfleet after the assisted suicide of his father, David. Perhaps a similar story is being used for this coming Trek movie, but using the divorce instead of his father's death as McCoy's reason for joining Starfleet. After all, the writers have mined the novels for source material as well as the series.

 

[Jefferies]

Thanks middyseafort, that’s the kind of explanation I was looking for. I think it makes a lot of sense to infer that Starfleet has an Officer Candidate School and that this is the route through which McCoy became a Starfleet Officer.

 

[J.T.B.]

In the US armed forces, people with medical degrees can generally enter active duty after a few weeks of orientation courses. If they have been in practice and have attending physician experience, they will start out at O-4 (major/lt. commander). Other specialized training may follow, of course, depending on their field.

--Justin

 

[PalmerEldritch]

i'd imagine that McCoy would need basic (or emergency) training on several Starship systems just in case he ended up being the guy in the corridor over from a hull breach. or if he happened to be on the bridge when the helmsman was incapacitated during ship to ship combat. or if he was in the engineering section during a coolant leak.

it's probably important to have some level of cross-training on a starship just in case you end up the only guy (or girl) nearby when it hits the fan. i dont think everyone would need to be an expert (or even good) at everything. but if i were stuck on a starship millions of miles from help, i'd like to know that Crewman #15 would know how to react in the event of an emergency.

i imagine that submarines are a tad like that. if something happens, you need to act fast to save lives. and if you lose crewmen, someone has to fill in until you reach port.

so, McCoy spending a semester or two (or more) at the Academy works for me. although, i'd always imagine that he'd been at the Starfleet Medical Officer thing for a while before he met Kirk and the gang.

 

[Jefferies]

In the US armed forces, people with medical degrees can generally enter active duty after a few weeks of orientation courses. If they have been in practice and have attending physician experience, they will start out at O-4 (major/lt. commander). Other specialized training may follow, of course, depending on their field.

Actually, this is what I thought had originally happened to McCoy. But the fact that we now have pictures of him in a cadet's/trainee's uniform being toured around with undergrads seems to suggest he was in a more extensive programme which put him at a lower level in the hierarchy. Maybe in the future, where high level degrees have become more ubiquitous, there are less perks for this type of specialised skill and education?

 

[Lieut. Arex]

McCoy never attended the Academy, hence his ignorance of the meaning of "dunsel" in "The Ultimate Computer". Kirk, Sulu, Chekov, and Spock all knew the meaning as evidenced by their reactions to Wesley's comment.

 

[Basil]

I suspect that McCoy does join at an elevated position or rank but we can't tell all that much from the picture. He would need some training. In TOS we don't really see that much attention being paid to their ranks though. Except for colors, and a few stripes around their wrists it's hard to tell their ranks in TOS.

Also he might be promised the higher rank at the completion of his basic training. That would prevent someone from receiving a nice sounding rank, then quitting a few days later and before the completion of his training while being able to lay claim to an undeserved title.

The rank system was pretty obvious to me, the only problem being that the dialogue was sometimes inconsistent with what we saw on screen. I found both the non-TMP movie rank insignia and TNG/DS9/VOY more confusing or hard to read than TOS's.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

McCoy never attended the Academy, hence his ignorance of the meaning of "dunsel" in "The Ultimate Computer". Kirk, Sulu, Chekov, and Spock all knew the meaning as evidenced by their reactions to Wesley's comment.

Well, it's also possible that the term "Dunsel" is something known among the Line Officers and not the Staff Officers, i.e. McCoy.

 

[Kelso]

McCoy never attended the Academy, hence his ignorance of the meaning of "dunsel" in "The Ultimate Computer". Kirk, Sulu, Chekov, and Spock all knew the meaning as evidenced by their reactions to Wesley's comment.

Or it could just mean that he was never a 'midshipman' while at the academy. Spock did specifically state that it was 'midshipman' who used the term. Though, I am admittedly ignorant on the exactly what a midshipman is.

Also, the only pic we've seen of McCoy in an academy uniform is in the shuttle with Kirk... who presumably would also be an officer at the academy undergoing his command level training (as Lt. Saavick was during TWOK).

 

[Lieut. Arex]

Today, a midshipman is a student at the Naval Academy. One would presume the term applies to the students at Star Fleet Academy as well. That's certainly how it's used.

I'll admit it's possible, even likely, McCoy took his Star Fleet basic training and orientation course at the Academy. Such a short stay, weeks say, might mean he wouldn't encounter anyone using dunsel, but I'd argue against any longer training than that and certainly no stint as an instructor there prior to his service aboard the Enterprise.

As to the rebooted history of the character for STXI... who knows. It's up for grabs.

 

[Kelso]

^ If he was at the academy for a week or less then he would have needed additional training at a different facility (IMO). I find it hard to believe that he could learn everything he would need to know for active Starship service in such a short amount of time.

 

[Jefferies]

^ But he's a doctor not a [insert random Starfleet position]. This is one thing he was quite adamant about.

Okay, he sometimes serves as biologist on away missions but I think he only does that because it interests him. Seriously, this notion that every officer, even the specialists like doctors, should be a jack of all Starfleet trades makes no sense to me.

It would also be impossible to learn in just a few weeks and afterwards they would have to constantly refresh their knowledge. Otherwise they would forget it pretty quickly as they never engage with it outside of staff shortages during emergencies. I’m sure that in such unlikely events (e.g. doctor at the helm or dealing with a warp core breach, after every techy onboard has been killed) the computer will tell them which buttons to push at least that sounds more reliable to me.

Other than that a doctor will have his hands full during an emergency, you know treating the wounded, saving lives and all that.

 

[BillJ]

Yeah.

But then again he wasn't just a doctor, he was the Chief Medical Officer of a starship (with the authority to remove a captain from his post). This is probably a bit more education required for this position as opposed to just serving as a doctor.

Maybe he's already been to Med School, done some time active time in the field (Cappella IV) and goes back to do some post-graduate work. Including classes that train him in the administrative duties of a CMO.