NX Ranks and crew occupations

[JJohnson]

I'm looking to gather information on what those 85 crew would be doing on the ship, and what kind of rank structure we'd see on the ship, as if it were a real starship. Specifically, what positions should the first Warp 5 ship have, what ranks would you need to hold to have specific positions, and which ratings would the ship have? I'm trying to tie it in to The Cage and TOS, so there will be yeomen to assist the captain, and I'm trying to tie it more closely to the modern Navy, so there should be enough enlisted to do most of the heavy lifting. I just want to make sure there are enough people do do all the jobs needed.

So far:

Bridge crew:
Position - minimum rank
Captain - Captain
First Officer - Commander
Chief Engineer - Lt Cdr
Science Officer - Lt Cdr
Chief Medical Officer - Lt Cdr
Communications Officer - Lt
Tactical Officer - Lt
Helmsman - Lt
Navigation (added to tie into TOS) - Lt.

Departments:

Command:
-Captain (1) - captain
-First Officer (1) - CDR
-Second Officer (1) LT CDR
-Chief of the Boat (1) - SPO
-anything else?

Engineering - headed by Chief Engineer, Lt Cdr
-chief (1) - Lt Cdr
-assistant chief (1) - Lt
-damage control specialist
-computer system specialist
-environmental system specialist
-warp drive system specialist
-impulse drive system specialist
-sensor system specialist

Operations?
-Chief Operations Officer (1) - CPO? Lt?
-Assistant Chief (1) - PO1? Lt JG?
-shuttle operations officer (1) - PO1?, runs shuttle launch/retrieval
-quartermaster (1) - PO2? - supplies, ship's stores
-yeoman (1) - CN1? - secretary

Communications - headed by communications officer, Lt
-chief (1) - Lt
-assistant chief (1) - Lt JG
-Linguist
-

Sciences - headed by Chief Science Officer, Lt Cdr
-chief (1) - Lt Cdr
-assistant chief (1) - Lt.
-biologist
-botanist
-archaeologist
-stellar cartographer
-minerologist
-chemist

Medical - headed by Chief Medical Officer, Lt Cdr
-CMO (1) - Lt Cdr
-Assistant Chief (1) - Lt
-Doctor
-Nurse (2)

Security - headed by Chief of Security, Lt.
-Chief (1) - Lt
-Assistant Chief (1) - Lt JG
Tactical - headed by Tactical Officer, Lt Cdr

Flight Operations
-Chief Helmsman (1) - Lt
-Assistant Chief Helmsman (1) Lt JG
-Helmsman (2)
-Chief Navigator (1) - Lt
-Assistant Chief Navigator (1) - Lt JG
-Navigator (2)



Crew can be enlisted or officers, ranks as in the US Navy. Have I missed any positions/ranks there should be on a starship?

 

[Melakon]

I've no military experience. But how many workshifts are there? Three 8-hour, or four 6-hour? Determine how many you need per shift to come up with 85.

Is this for a story? Fan film?

 

[JJohnson]

I've no military experience. But how many workshifts are there? Three 8-hour, or four 6-hour? Determine how many you need per shift to come up with 85.

Is this for a story? Fan film?

I'll probably go with either the 3-section submarine watch system or the one-in-two. It seemed the captain had breakfast in the mornings, so I'm thinking the traditional 3-section watch he'd be on team 1 from 0800-1200 or team 2 on the Royal Navy watch. I'm just not sure which of the various watch schemes would work best.

It's for a story I'm writing. It's not a main point of the story, but when I have a shift transition shown, I just want to be consistent as to which officer's passing off to whom.

 

[SchwEnt]

FJ's TOS Enterprise plans had a breakdown of that ship's complement, much as you are doing for the NX Enterprise. You could check it out to get some general ideas.

 

[jespah]

There's a chef, and there's at least one steward. I'd highly recommend a sous-chef (who can usually be the steward, but it's better if there are two of them). This is the most efficient way to get 85 or so people fed, as food can be brought out while other dishes are being cooked, and dirty plates retrieved (and put into and removed from a dishwasher) and food waste recycled. This is the NX era, so someone probably has to wipe down tables and clean the floor.

I realize it's not the most glamorous detail on board, but a chef and at least one steward are canon.

 

[T'Girl]

First Officer - Commander

T'Pol's Vulcan rank of sub-commander might more closely be related to the US/British naval rank of lieutenant commander (or corvette captain in most navies) and not commander.

 

[R. Star]

Really in a real military structure a naval vessel with only a 100 people, maybe ten at most would be officers. You'd probably have a lieutenant commander or maybe even a lieutenant as the commanding officer.

But Star Trek has always been officer heavy to say the least, couple that with you'd probably have a bloated rank structure given it's the first long range vessel too.

 

[C.E. Evans]

First Officer - Commander

T'Pol's Vulcan rank of sub-commander might more closely be related to the US/British naval rank of lieutenant commander (or corvette captain in most navies) and not commander.

It's likely a different kind of navy. For example, in the Romulan forces, commanders were equivalent to Starfleet captains:

• Commander Toreth from TNG
• Commander Tomalak from TNG
• Commander Donatra from Star Trek X

There mighty be parity in between the Romulan military and the Vulcan High Command as both have the rank of subcommander.

 

[nightwind1]

Really in a real military structure a naval vessel with only a 100 people, maybe ten at most would be officers. You'd probably have a lieutenant commander or maybe even a lieutenant as the commanding officer.

But Star Trek has always been officer heavy to say the least, couple that with you'd probably have a bloated rank structure given it's the first long range vessel too.

Just for comparison's sake, on my USCG cutter, we had a crew of 69.

The only officers were:
Captain, whose rank was Commander
XO, whose rank was Lieutenant
Two Ensigns

We had a Warrant Officer 2, two CPO's, three PO1's, I don't remember how many PO2's and PO3's, and the rest were non-rates from E1 to E3.

The ship was USCGC Sundew (WLB-404), a 180' buoy tender/icebreaker (the only one on all of Lake Superior) that was built in 1946.



nightwind1, PO3, USCG, 1988-1993

 

[T'Girl]

A few opinions on this matter.

With a crew of about 85 (and going by modern navies) the Enterprise should have 8 or 9 officers, 11 chiefs and the rest junior petty officers and crew.

If the ship does run on three shifts, that only 28 people on duty at any one time.

The Engineering department, under the supervision of the Chief Engineer (Trip), is responsible for the reactor, warp engines, impulse engine and generally maintaining the ship itself.

The Ordinance department is managed by the Ordinance Officer (Malcom) and it maintains the ship's torpedoes, phase canons, armory, internal security (until the arrival of the MACOs) and ship's sensors.

Operations department is managed by the Operations Officer. From the show it not obvious who this person is, possibly someone we've just never seen. The helm (Travis) and communications (Hoshi), navigational and communications equipment are part of this. On modern ships I believe the communications personel work directly for the ship's navigator.

Supply department manages the ship's stores, spare parts, laundry, and kitchen/galley. Possibly run by a CPO and not a officer. Chef and the stewart are part of this, the galley would have at least 9 people and be in operation for 2 shifts.

Flight department, a relatively small department, under the charge of a junior petty officer. In addition to maintaining the shuttles and the flight deck area's immediate equipment, they might be responsible for things like landing party supplies and equipment, the ship's air locks, pressure suits and the decon chamber.

Medical department. The NX-01 Enterprise has a civilian "contractor" in this position, but if the Enterprise's departure hadn't been rushed that might not have been the case. Realistically there should at least one nurse and one (or two?) assistant/paramedic. Given the technology of the 21st century, perhaps no lab technicians. Technically only one shift, but always on call.

Science department is managed by the Science Officer (T'Pol), something of a wild card as to how many people would be in it. Many of these people might not be full time sciences personel, like during time periods when the ship is crusing between stars, and would have other duties aboard ship when not otherwise occupied with "science" activities.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

For my fanfics I always like to work out the department allocations and duties, and generally always work on a three-shift rotation as it seems to be standard in Trek.

Command – Headed up by the CO and XO, the Second Officer is also technically part of the department but is always a department chief in their own right. I always like to include a Watch Officer for the other two shifts, younger officers with command potential who are qualified enough to supervise the normal day-to-day running of each shift that the CO is not present for. Administration staff are also included here, which would include legal/personnel/protocol officers and admin assistants (yeomen).

Engineering – Chief Engineer in charge with two assistants/deputies to supervise the other shifts. In the list of specialties listed there you might also want to include: Diagnostics, Power, and Structural.

Operations – In this timeframe I would call them Services, which would cover things such as cargo bays, the hangar deck, transporters, as well as the Chef and Stewards. Basically all the little tasks that need doing but aren’t exactly glamorous.

Communications – I’d assume most comm officers were skilled linguists, maybe one has a background in cryptography. You would also need technicians on hand to see to proper workings of the equipment, beacons, and all that.

Sciences – I split my Science Department into five sections: Life (eg biology, ecology), Physical (eg chemistry, physics), Planetary (eg geology, mineralogy), Social (eg anthropology, archaeology), Stellar (eg astrophysics, stellar cartography). Depending on the field you might only need one expert, whilst others would demand more. As well as several labtechs who would assist with research projects and do the menial labour.

Medical – With only 85 crew you don’t really need a huge medical staff, one doctor and no more than four nurses/corpsmen/medtechs would be sufficient.

Security – I always like to work with four-man security teams, not sure why. These would be in addition to bridge tactical staff.

Flight Operations – You might like to have a designated shuttle pilot per shift as well as a navigation systems specialist. Just curious, but will the helmsman/navigator control weapons, or are you having a separate officer on the bridge for that?

 

[T'Girl]

You might like to have a designated shuttle pilot per shift

Might need to keep coming back to "there's only 85 people on board."

While Will Riker and Tom Paris were said to be extraordinary pilots, Star Trek seem to show that being able to handle a shuttle isn't really an unusual skill. Less piloting a high performance jet, and more just taking a van out of the motor pool. Chef might be able to pilot a shuttle.

The NX-01 could have NO designated shuttle pilots.

 

[R. Star]

You might like to have a designated shuttle pilot per shift

Might need to keep coming back to "there's only 85 people on board."

While Will Riker and Tom Paris were said to be extraordinary pilots, Star Trek seem to show that being able to handle a shuttle isn't really an unusual skill. Less piloting a high performance jet, and more just taking a van out of the motor pool. Chef might be able to pilot a shuttle.

The NX-01 could have NO designated shuttle pilots.

Yeah, I'd see a lot of overlap. Okay, our chemist can work in operations when there's not a science mission going on. Our security officer can fly a shuttle when there's need and so forth.

 

[JJohnson]

My first post gave 42 people; I added a few to get 85. This is assuming the first and second officers are filled by the Chief Engineer and Chief Science Officer, so they don't double-count:

Command:
-Captain (1) - captain
-First Officer (1) - CDR
-Second Officer (1) LT CDR
-Chief of the Boat (1) - SPO

Engineering (12)
-chief (1) - Lt Cdr
-assistant chief (1) - Lt
-damage control specialist (1)
-computer system specialist (1)
-environmental system specialist (1)
-warp drive system specialist (1)
-impulse drive system specialist (1)
-sensor system specialist (1)
engineering officers (4) CN-PO3

Operations (8)
-Chief Operations Officer (1) - CPO? Lt?
-Assistant Chief (1) - PO1? Lt JG?
-shuttle operations officer (1) - PO1?, runs shuttle launch/retrieval
-chef (2) PO1, PO2
-steward (1) - CN1
-quartermaster (1) - PO2? - supplies, ship's stores
-yeoman (1) - CN1? - secretary

Communications
-chief (1) - Lt
-assistant chief (1) - CPO
-Linguist (2) - PO2, PO2
-cryptologist (1) PO3

Sciences (21)
-chief (1) - Lt Cdr
-assistant chief (1) - Lt.
-biologist
-botanist
entomologist
anthropologist
-archaeologist
-stellar cartographer
astrophysicist
geologist
-minerologist
physicist
-chemist
science officers (8)

Medical - headed by Chief Medical Officer, Lt Cdr
-CMO (1) - Lt Cdr
-Assistant Chief (1) - Lt
-Nurse (2)

Security - headed by Chief of Security, Lt.
-Chief (1) - Lt; Major Hayes
-Assistant Chief (1) - CPO
-security officers (16) CN to PO1

Tactical
-Chief (1) Lt Cdr Reed
-Assistant Chief (1) CPO
-tactical officers (2) PO2


Flight Operations
-Chief Helmsman (1) - Lt
-Assistant Chief Helmsman (1) Lt JG
-Helmsman (2) - PO3
-Chief Navigator (1) - Lt
-Assistant Chief Navigator (1) - Lt JG
-Navigator (2) - PO3
shuttle pilot (2) PO2

 

[Nerys Myk]

Why are Hayes and Reed the only specific officers mentioned? Security seems over manned with 18 members. What exactly are they securing?

 

[Melakon]

I've always figured the security guys had some sort of rotating shift, where they worked a different department on some days. Can't imagine them sitting around in the ward room all day waiting for someone to invade the ship.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Might need to keep coming back to "there's only 85 people on board."

While Will Riker and Tom Paris were said to be extraordinary pilots, Star Trek seem to show that being able to handle a shuttle isn't really an unusual skill. Less piloting a high performance jet, and more just taking a van out of the motor pool. Chef might be able to pilot a shuttle.

The NX-01 could have NO designated shuttle pilots.

I did say "might" . With just 85 crew on board it is doubtful to have a non-com just there ready to fly a shuttle.

JJohnson, looking at your departmental breakdown, you could save on a few positions if you removed the separate COB and made the most senior Non-Com hold that role in addition to other duties (like the First/Second Officers).

Likewise for the damage control specialist. Unless you expect them to get damaged a lot, lol. The Assistant Chief could cover this role, overseeing damage control teams and leaving the Chief free to focus on other matters in a crisis. Also to me just 4 general engineers seems a little light.

In Operations, the Chief and Assistant Chief could also be held in addition to other roles (eg one is the Shuttle Controller and another is the quartermaster). It would free up two more spaces for other crewmembers.

You could probably lose a communications specialist, four would be plenty (one per shift and then someone to cover the Chief when they are called away).

A quarter of the crew being scientists is understandable on an exploratory vessel. Given the importance of the NX-01 mission many would have multiple degrees/doctorates so you could in fact have more specialities covered.

Security could probably be scaled back slightly, perhaps down to twelve, giving you four per shift (including the Chief). They could then be on duty in the armoury when not training, running drills or security sweeps. All Starfleet personnel would be cleared for weapon use and basic self-defence, with others being better trained than others through experience. They would also work in tandem with Tactical, covering when/where needed.

These cuts would free up eleven posts, which could then be redistributed where needed. Just some thoughts though.

 

[R. Star]

I'd say science is overmanned. A quarter of the crew? To say nothing I think your structure is way too officer heavy. Heck even the canon Enterprise wasn't quite so much,

 

[Melakon]

JJohnson, if you're needing names to assign to those positions, Memory Alpha might help. I can't seem to link to the list, but if you look up People, there's a listing for Starfleet Personnel (22nd Century). You'll have to sift through them to find who's alive or dead.

 

[JJohnson]

Melakon, that's pretty much the same idea I had I was using this from Memory Alpha to assign faces and names to positions as needed.

Bry, I based security on having 2 squads of 8, which may or may not be totally necessary on an ongoing basis. The first mission is escorting Earth's President, so a few extra that transfer off just on that mission might be ok.

Your other suggestions sound pretty good, and I think I'll make the Operations Officer the Chief of the Boat as a way to save some space. He can be the Boyce for Archer's Pike to give him some grizzled veteran advice when the time comes. Aside from the crew I've already posted in the story in the fan fiction segment, I've assigned a few of the unnamed crew by their real names, so you can check against Memory Alpha who's where. I'm going to take the MACOs and assign them as security officers - for the purpose of my story, MACOs are integrated into Starfleet and are used to explain the dual exploratory/military role Starfleet seems to serve.

Here's how it stands at the moment:

Captain (1), Archer
First Officer (1), Trip
Second Officer (1), Sarah DeLaney (or Reed?)

Engineering -
-chief (1) - Lt Cdr Tucker
-assistant chief (1) - Lt John Jurgens
-damage control specialist
-computer system specialist
-environmental system specialist
-warp drive system specialist
-impulse drive system specialist
-sensor system specialist
deflector system specialist
electrical system specialist
engineering officers (9)

Operations
-Chief Operations Officer (1) - MCPO Robert Rivers, Chief of the Boat
-Assistant Chief (1) - PO1? Lt JG? 1
-shuttle operations officer (1) - PO1
-chef 2
-steward 1 - CN1 Adam Anello
-quartermaster (1) - PO2?
-yeoman (1) - CN1?

Communications -
-chief (1) - Lt (currently ensign) Kayla Randall
-assistant chief (1) - Lt JG Hoshi Sato
-Linguist 2 - Phillip Boyd, Amy Connolly
-cryptologist 1

Sciences -
-chief (1) - Lt Cdr Sarah DeLaney
-assistant chief (1) - Lt. Cesar Rodriguez
-biologist 1
-botanist 1
entomologist 1
anthropologist 1
-archaeologist 1
-stellar cartographer 1
astrophysicist 1
geologist - CN1 Jack Guzman
-minerologist - CN1 Alexander Chance
physicist 1
-chemist 1
science officers 10

Medical - headed by Chief Medical Officer, Lt Cdr
-CMO (1) - Lt Cdr Trish Haley
-Assistant Chief (1) - Lt Aouri Makhlouf
-Nurse (2) 2 - CN1 Linda Yee (Cricket), CN3 Jamison Yang

Security - headed by Chief of Security, Lt.
-Chief (1) - Lt 1
-Assistant Chief (1) - Lt JG 1
-security officers 12
Tactical -
-Chief Tactical Officer - Lt Cdr Reed
-tactical officers 2
-ass't chief tactical 1

Flight Operations
-Chief Helmsman (1) - Lt Mayweather
-Assistant Chief Helmsman (1) Ensign Willie Tanner (Evan English)
-Helmsman (2) 2 PO3 Monica Parnett, Jessica Vash
-Chief Navigator (1) - Lt Martin Ko
-Assistant Chief Navigator (1) - Ensign Eric Lemler
-Navigator (2) 2 CN1 Lin Oeding, CN2 Henry Farnam