Is promotion "Sometimes" a bad thing?

[JirinPanthosa]

In the general case, no. Mariner is a case of someone who hates being in Starfleet and is pressured into it by her mother, so it's bad for her. And certain Captains who are only happy being out in the field. For just about anyone else it's a good thing.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

6 for 2!

 

[The Wormhole]

Unless you're the Department Chief or Department Chief's XO, there is no reason why you can't continue your promotion upwards. The only really limited number of slots seem to be "Department Heads".

And what about the department heads, then? Aside from Worf, everyone from TNG spends fifteen years doing the same job, blocking anyone else from moving up. Hell, the Enterprise D and E are supposed to be Starfleet's flagships staffed by Starfleet's best of the best, but instead they all languish in the same job for over a decade and a half.

 

[Charles Phipps]

Mariner should never be promoted to anything resembling leadership position but would probably do well as a Chief.

Get her in the Enlisted ranks.

In the general case, no. Mariner is a case of someone who hates being in Starfleet and is pressured into it by her mother, so it's bad for her. And certain Captains who are only happy being out in the field. For just about anyone else it's a good thing.

Mariner doesn't seem to hate Starfleet. She just hates anything resembling bureaucracy or the chain of command.

She likes being an Ensign, which confuses the hell out of her career minded mother.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

And what about the department heads, then? Aside from Worf, everyone from TNG spends fifteen years doing the same job, blocking anyone else from moving up. Hell, the Enterprise D and E are supposed to be Starfleet's flagships staffed by Starfleet's best of the best, but instead they all languish in the same job for over a decade and a half.

You do know that StarFleet has many more StarShips / StarBases / PlanetaryBases, so the odds of that being the end of your promotion path is unlikely.

And once you're Commander Rank and Department Chief, the only way up after that is to 1st Officer, and Captain. And the only ranks after that are Flag Officer ranks.

And you know how competitive those spots are.

And not everybody wants to go the "Command Path"

 

[dupersuper]

Don't let them do anything that takes you out of that chair.

 

[BillJ]

only way up after that is to 1st Officer, and Captain. And the only ranks after that are Flag Officer ranks.

These are the only career paths we see, but there are likely many career paths that take one up the ranks.

 

[Sgt_G]

Mariner should never be promoted to anything resembling leadership position but would probably do well as a Chief.

Chief Petty Officer *IS* a leadership position.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

You do know that StarFleet has many more StarShips / StarBases / PlanetaryBases, so the odds of that being the end of your promotion path is unlikely.

Yeah, I mean look at Reg Barclay... the entire plot of his first episode was that he was a screw-up, but he was able to transfer into not one but two high-projects (the EMH & Pathfinder), then (at least in TrekLit) two different Second Officer billets (defacto on the Glenn, officially on the Challenger).

 

[Tenacity]

the Enterprise D and E are supposed to be Starfleet's flagships

Only the D was the flagship of the federation, there's no mention of the E being such.

 

[1001001]

You'll get T'Boz job soon enough, be patient

Very unlikely.

There would have to be a Battlestar Galactica-Level blowout of the line of succession to get down to me.

 

[fireproof78]

Chief Petty Officer *IS* a leadership position.

And a good officer would listen to their chief.

Very unlikely.

There would have to be a Battlestar Galactica-Level blowout of the line of succession to get down to me.

Well, it is 2020...

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

These are the only career paths we see, but there are likely many career paths that take one up the ranks.

I concur, we've seen Flag Officers coming in from different positions in their past.

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Katrina_Cornwell
She was a "Therapist" before she became a Flag Officer

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Toddman
Vice Admiral Toddman was head of StarFleet Security

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Oh
Admiral Oh was head of StarFleet Security

Kathryn Janeway comes from a Science Background before she made Admiralty.

So obviously everybody can get up there, but it seems like everybody takes a short trip to the Captain's chair before going on up to Flag Officer.

 

[BillJ]

So obviously everybody can get up there, but it seems like everybody takes a short trip to the Captain's chair before going on up to Flag Officer.

There's also Commodore Stocker from "The Deadly Years", who is a starbase CO with no starship experience. Gets in over his head taking command of the Enterprise.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Only the D was the flagship of the federation, there's no mention of the E being such.

The Enterprise-E was also "not invited" to be part of the first wave to stop the Borg during "First Contact".
Captain JLP had to invite himself, disobeying direct orders to save the day.

I wouldn't be surprised if they moved "The FlagShip" to another ship at the time.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

There's also Commodore Stocker from "The Deadly Years", who is a starbase CO with no starship experience. Gets in over his head taking command of the Enterprise.

I'm sure commanding a "StarBase" is quite different from commanding a "StarShip"

Same with "PlanetaryBase".

All teaches you quite different things.

But I bet when you have family and children, many "StarShip" captains opt for "StarBase/PlanetaryBase" duty because it helps with stability in raising children.

 

[BillJ]

But I bet when you have family and children, many "StarShip" captains opt for "StarBase/PlanetaryBase" duty because it helps with stability in raising children.

We've seen multiple examples of starship captains who leave their families behind. Ben Maxwell left his family behind on Setlik III (TNG "The Wounded"), Edward Jellico's family was either left behind on the Cairo or lived somewhere else (TNG "Chain of Command"). Also, the presence of Jake at DS9 didn't keep Ben Sisko from commanding the Defiant.

 

[Tim Thomason]

The Enterprise-E was also "not invited" to be part of the first wave to stop the Borg during "First Contact".
Captain JLP had to invite himself, disobeying direct orders to save the day.

I wouldn't be surprised if they moved "The FlagShip" to another ship at the time.

Maybe, but then he saves Earth. By the Jim Kirk precedent, he gets to stay in command.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

We've seen multiple examples of starship captains who leave their families behind. Ben Maxwell left his family behind on Setlik III (TNG "The Wounded"), Edward Jellico's family was either left behind on the Cairo or lived somewhere else (TNG "Chain of Command"). Also, the presence of Jake at DS9 didn't keep Ben Sisko from commanding the Defiant.

True, SOME Captains opt to live the StarShip life with their families.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Maybe, but then he saves Earth. By the Jim Kirk precedent, he gets to stay in command.

You save Earth / UFP, your minor transgressions usually gets forgiven because you did a very important thing, like "Saving Humanity" & the UFP.

Violating orders to "Stay on the Romulan Neutral Zone and monitor for Romulan activity" seems minor in the grand scheme of things.