Might be an artifact left over from a previous draft of the script. Like how UESPA and Starfleet are mentioned in Tomorrow is Yesterday.
Lt. Charlene Masters -- an explanation
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And ENT later retconned that seeming conflict to mean that UESPA was a controlling agency for Starfleet in the pre-Federation Era, so that indicates it still was under the aegis of the Federation Starfleet.
Oh that wasn't a failing I was pointing out about the TOS Phasers. Only that the opportunities for stun from orbit isn't that common and that they can stun from orbit (at least in TOS)
Exactly. You don't need the stun setting if you're firing on a ship.
It's certainly possible, but I feel like "the technicians" in "Wink of an Eye" wasn't referring to folks in grade. It's just too generic a term (like "officer", as it turns out...)
Oh that wasn't a failing I was pointing out about the TOS Phasers. Only that the opportunities for stun from orbit isn't that common and that they can stun from orbit (at least in TOS)
I totally got what you were saying, and it was well taken. Here's the main reason I have an issue with grades in TOS: if there are enlisted and officers, or probably less confusing to say ratings and ranks, then it follows there'd be a LOT more ratings than ranks on the Enterprise. I recognize that the show focuses on the officers, but we see lots of random people all the time in the show, particularly in landing parties, where we'd expect to find ratings if they exist. Yet, whenever anyone is named with a rank, with a literal handful of exceptions (as in five: Lawton, Harrison, Thule, Watkins, maaaybe Fisher), they're Ensign this or Lieutenant that--especially after Season 1.
That just seems statistically improbable if ratings are common, which they would have to be if they existed.
We see ratings just often enough to not be able to ignore their existence, but so rarely such that they must be rare at the period of TOS -- either for select subgroups of crew, or an older system being phased out. Your idea of a Yeoman/Technician/Engineering corps of folks in grades could work, but on the other hand, Janice Rand, who would presumably be a Yeoman 2nd or 1st Class, knows how to pilot a starship. That seems like something one wouldn't trust to anyone who isn't an officer. Certainly helmsmen/navigators with stated ranks were an Ensign or higher (or at the very least, rated a "Mister", generally reserved for officers).
So, recognizing there's a wide range of possibilities and no "right" interpretation, just ones that fit the facts as given, if I were to write an episode of TOS (or a tie-in novel, or a fanfic), I wouldn't include grades. At the very least, it fits the "spirit" of the creators, as stated in the Writer's Guide and by the show's creator, occasional slips notwithstanding.
You do if you plan to fire phasers at a continent full of soldiers that you don't want to necessarily kill. (And there were more than a number of episodes where the 1701 was planning on firing at planetary targets on the ground.)
Since the focus is not on the lower decks crew, statistically I would expect very few named ratings vs a majority named officers.
You should check out this catalog of unnamed personnel on Kirk's Enterprise. The ratio of unnamed enlisted to officers is a lot more balanced. Enlisted/rated are not rare at all.
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Unnamed_Starfleet_personnel_(23rd_century)
Regarding Yeoman Rand being able to pilot a starship I would expect everyone on the ship to be able to take over in an emergency.
Sure, but which episodes fit that criteria?
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If you total up all the named characters from the show, you get at least a hundred. That's a fair portion of the crew. And yet, there are just five who are ratings out of 100 episodes. It's still statistically rare.
That's a list of unnamed characters, not unnamed enlisted. That many of them are called "crewmen" doesn't mean anything -- the Lieutenants are called "crewmen" too.
You'll note, too, there are examples of people without braid on their sleeves showing up at other times with a Lieutenant's stripe. Did they jump from Ensign to Lieutenant or Sergeant to Lieutenant?
You expect a lot from your crew! There's a difference between a Yeoman serving as a makeshift security officer (Tamura) and a Yeoman driving one of Starfleet's most sophisticated vessels...
It sounds like you already have totaled up these named officers from TOS. Can you share this list as I'm curious as to who all the named officers are outside of the usual bridge crew and recurring officers.
That's a list of unnamed characters, not unnamed enlisted. That many of them are called "crewmen" doesn't mean anything -- the Lieutenants are called "crewmen" too.
As I pointed out in an earlier post - an officer can also be referred to as a crewman (in dialogue). The observation is that there are plenty of crewmen that do not have officer stripes that are unnamed. Since the story follows the bridge crew and not the lower decks crew then statistically you wouldn't see that many named enlisted personnel.
Starfleet has a robust cross training/job rotation and career development
See cross training comment above
EDIT: Another food for thought... there are examples of "officers" being referred to specifically. And in one instance "officers and crew" as separate groups. Wouldn't this tell you that if there are specifically "officers" that there are crew that are not officers?
"Turnabout Intruder"
SPOCK: The witness, sir. Bring on the witness. Let your officers put the questions.
"The Savage Curtain"
KIRK: Mister President, may I present my officers. Commander Spock, second in command, Engineering Officer Scott and Security Officer Dickerson.
"The Immunity Syndrome"
SPOCK: Personal log, Commander Spock, USS Enterprise. I have noted the passage of the Enterprise on its way to whatever awaits it. If this record should survive me, I wish it known that I bequeath my highest commendation and testimonial to the captain, officers, and crew of the Enterprise. The finest starship in the fleet.
"Breads and Circuses"
CLAUDIUS: Order your officers to come down.
"The Deadly Years"
STOCKER: Immediately, Mister Sulu. All officers are to return to their posts.
"Catspaw"
KIRK: If we weren't missing two officers and a third one dead I'd say someone was playing an elaborate trick or treat on us.
"The Return of the Archons"
Captain's Log. Stardate 3156.2. While orbiting planet Beta Three trying to find some trace of the starship Archon that disappeared here a hundred years ago, a search party consisting of two Enterprise officers were sent to the planet below.
"The Menagerie"
SPOCK: Sir, I must point out that there are three officers of command rank available. Yourself, Commodore Mendez, and Captain Christopher Pike.
"Court Martial"
Captain's Log, Stardate 2948.9. The officers who will comprise my court-martial board are proceeding to Starbase Eleven.
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I used to have a few. When I was a kid, I made one based on the Concordance, saved in an Atari Database! Later, I was methodically going through all the episodes, making a website and putting pictures of all the named and unnamed crew. I gave up after the first season, particularly when Memory Alpha was doing something similar.
Long story short, not at the moment.
But it was a long list.But we do see lots of unstriped people who get ranks, and they are (almost) invariably "Ensign" something-or-other, or at least "Mister" (implying an officer, not enlisted, rank).
Starfleet has a robust cross training/job rotation and career development
"Here at DeVry, I learned to heat coffee with a phaser AND drive a starship!"
It's certain that there are officers and crew in Trek. Your citations, and those of others in this thread (including the great reference to "The Immunity Syndrome") make that clear.
What isn't clear is that there are "enlisted" as opposed to "officers" (beyond a statistically anomalous handful of examples). It's confusing because "officers" is a word with two meanings. I'm solely (at this point) talking about rank vs. grade, not role.
Kinda like how Gary Gygax had to apologize for making "level" mean so many different things in D&D.
I take back my objection on this point. Take a look at this!
Long story short, Yeoman Third Class Alexandra Miller is a Master Helmsman on the Theodore Roosevelt. I wouldn't expect all Yeomen to be able to handle a ship, but it no longer beggars credulity that Rand couldn't.
(and she just inspired a minor character I'm writing into my third Kitra book as we speak.
)
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My take always was the UESPA was Earth based (obviously) and Starfleet was under Federation auspices. The service of Enterprise in Starfleet was analogous to a US army unit being detailed to the UN.
This viewpoint also can explain that awkward "twelve in the fleet" line.
I take back my objection on this point. Take a look at this!
Long story short, Yeoman Third Class Alexandra Miller is a Master Helmsman on the Theodore Roosevelt. I wouldn't expect all Yeomen to be able to handle a ship, but it no longer beggars credulity that Rand couldn't.
(and she just inspired a minor character I'm writing into my third Kitra book as we speak.
Nice find!
What isn't clear is that there are "enlisted" as opposed to "officers" (beyond a statistically anomalous handful of examples). It's confusing because "officers" is a word with two meanings. I'm solely (at this point) talking about rank vs. grade, not role.
Kinda like how Gary Gygax had to apologize for making "level" mean so many different things in D&D.
LOL - I'm not sure either if they are "enlisted" or something else other than there is another category of crew on the ship that are not officers which is why earlier it didn't look like Kirk's Enterprise was an only officers ship.
LOL - I'm not sure either if they are "enlisted" or something else other than there is another category of crew on the ship that are not officers which is why earlier it didn't look like Kirk's Enterprise was an only officers ship.
"Join Starfleet! We're an egalitarian group entirely composed of officers -- unless you carry a wrench or coffee..."
I take back my objection on this point. Take a look at this!
Long story short, Yeoman Third Class Alexandra Miller is a Master Helmsman on the Theodore Roosevelt. I wouldn't expect all Yeomen to be able to handle a ship, but it no longer beggars credulity that Rand couldn't.
(and she just inspired a minor character I'm writing into my third Kitra book as we speak.
I think that navigating a starship would be hard, but steering it would not be hard.
You might be interested in answers, including mine to:
https://history.stackexchange.com/q...owards-with-a-big-mast-in-his-fac/43637#43637
On Earth the sailing tradition has not involved high ranking crewmembers steering the ship for centuries.
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I'm remembering Jake and Nog trying to pilot a runabout...
As I mentioned earlier, there may be relatively few enlisted positions on a starship as compared with the base or ground side of Starfleet. This may be expected in more technologically advanced systems. A USAAF B-29 had four officers and seven enlisted, for instance; ten years later a B-52 had five officers and one enlisted. We'd also expect the scientific mission complement to be balanced more toward highly-qualified, officer-level individuals.
You seem to be saying that it's safe to assume that all those people walking around with no stripes were intended to be ensigns. I think that's possible, but I haven't seen enough evidence to support that assumption. I think it's also possible that was GR's retcon version of the intent.
I don't know... Most of the time staying on course through empty space shouldn't be that demanding. Really it seems pretty ripe to be automated, for regular transit. Having petty officers trained to substitute at the helm in emergencies doesn't seem that far out.
I wonder if something is missing from this story. What are the quartermasters in the navigation department doing while these petty officers are brought up from the operations or supply department or wherever to take the helm? What about the female QMs whose everyday job is the safe navigation of the ship?
The British Royal Navy, unlike the USN, didn't even have a helm-duty petty officer rating. Steering the ship was considered part of the basic skills of every able seaman.
wait…. What? Was Gene fueled by drugs? Holy cow.
FYI - So was Roddenberry (You think he wrote stuff like "Pretty Maids All In A Row" when sober?
)
Reading another article it was basically an advance training opportunity offered to several enlisted rates.
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Crikey! I had no idea. #imsonaiveFYI - So was Roddenberry (You think he wrote stuff like "Pretty Maids All In A Row" when sober?
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