Question about odo
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Well, his position was Chief of Security--and all securty on the station, Starfleet or Bajoran--answered to him (with the possible exception of the Eddington era).
As for rank...well, he wasn't a member of Starfleet, and I don't recall any establishement that he was a a member of the Bajoran Militia. So...I doubt he had a rank, per se.
As for rank...well, he wasn't a member of Starfleet, and I don't recall any establishement that he was a a member of the Bajoran Militia. So...I doubt he had a rank, per se.
Was he?
If Odo was in the Bajoran Militia, it was in a provisional capacity. He held no rank as evidenced by no insignia on his collar. He was certainly not a commissioned officer.
My reasoning for saying that he was not officially enlisted in the Bajoran Militia is that he was allowed to retain his duties as Chief of Station Security after the Cardassian withdrawal before the events of The Emissary.
He's basically a Mall Cop.
^Explain.
You're not in the Bajoran Militia, either, but you'd have to take orders from Major Kira when you're on her turf.
You'd also have to take orders from any Base Commander if you were to work as a civilian on any United States Military Base.
As far as the uniform, like I said. He wears no insignia. The only argument for him being in the Militia is if he is enlisted. He's probably wearing the uniform so that he can be recognized as authority. When he was working for the Cardassians, he wore a Cardassian uniform.
If you went to the mall, you wouldn't respect the authority of a mall cop who was wearing cutoff jeans and a Van Halen t-shirt.
I always assumed Odo and all his security staff belonged to the Bajoran Militia's equivelant to military police. It explains why their uniforms are different, their lack of rank insignia and their different rank structure. Yes, I know Constable was a nickname, but I think the ones referred to as "Deputy" actually held that rank.
EDIT: Just did some digging around Memory Alpha. Their page on Bajoran Militia uniforms indicates that Odo and his staff are Militia, while their page on the Bajoran Civil Police speculates Odo and his staff belonged to this organization.
EDIT: Just did some digging around Memory Alpha. Their page on Bajoran Militia uniforms indicates that Odo and his staff are Militia, while their page on the Bajoran Civil Police speculates Odo and his staff belonged to this organization.
No, he didn't. He wore some "drab," according to Garak, civilian green clothes.
That uniform in When it Rains... was a bit of a continuity error, because in Things Past, he wore a Cardassian uniform in the Terok Nor flashbacks.
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/File:Odo_during_occupation.jpg
Either that, or the "drab" civilian green clothes are what he wore when he lived on the station before being appointed to Security Chief in Necessary Evil.
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/File:Dukat_and_Odo_Occupation.jpg
That's not a Cardassian "uniform," it just resembles Cardassian armour in its design. So he did not wear the same thing the Cardassian military did.
And I discounted "Things Past" as it was not facts, but his vision. I can't be sure how accurate it was.
All those could be accurate, but none of those is Cardassian armour. We have no proof he ever wore it.
Besides, would the Bajorans trust him if he ever formally belonged to the Cardassian military? I doubt it.
Odo was just kind of... there. He got the respect of Bajorans & Cardassians as an astute, impartial, and grumpy investigator. Like his arch-nemesis Quark, when one regime went out and a new one came in, they remained on the station. Quark was a civilian from an non-involved race, so it wasn't an issue. Odo was literally an unknown race, so it wasn't an issue for him. He seemed to wear a Bajoran uniform because DS9 was a Cardassian-built Bajoran-owned Starfleet-administered space station.
I don't think he was in the Bajoran militia, he just seemed sort of informally be deputized since he was doing the role for longer than the existence of the Bajoran militia/security apparatus. The way his comm channel interactions with the Bajoran security/military officials went felt kind of like the way Odo's comm channel interactions went with some of his contacts/allies he traded information with. He came off like an independent agent more than anything.
DS9 & Voyager each threw the standard command chain/range of ranks for a loop:
DS9:
- Starfleet Captain, Doctor, Science Officer, Chief Engineer...
- ... but said Chief Engineer is an enlisted man (Chief Petty Officer) not an officer.
- and the Doctor has a staff entirely of Bajorans.
- number two is a Bajoran militia officer, an ex-terrorist/freedom fighter serving a government that is brand new and still trying to figure out what end is up. She takes orders from Sisko but not explicitly from Starfleet, but she can order around everyone of Starfleet under her rank.
- Odo wears a Bajoran uniform, though he may not be wearing anything (mimic clothes), has a made-up rank of Constable, and commands some Bajoran security forces and Starfleet security forces (except for the Eddington era). He's station chief of security that seems only nominally beholden to the Bajoran government (he serves at their pleasure).
- Quark is a prominent merchant. A businessman/schemer who often ventures into gray market territory with the occasional black market foray. Rarely used, but kinda interesting when they do use him for various missions/expeditions.
- Engineering seemed more Starfleet than Bajoran, Command, the Ops had a fair number of Bajorans though somewhere on that station were a bunch of redshirts. Certainly not helmsmen.
- And said captain is the front of Starfleet's effort to bolster the provisional government and act as a buffer from exploitation or threats from other powers (and subtlely to smooth the path for their Federation membership), essentially a benevolent that is supposed to protect Bajor's interests for them, but this all gets complicated by him being an Emissary, a religious role.
VOY:
- Only people with any legit rank are Captain Janeway, Lt. Tuvok & Ensign Kim.
- Tom Paris was a criminal on special parole because of paternal connections and piloting skill. He was given a field commission that ended up lasting a lot longer than intended.
- Chakotay, Torres and all the Maquis (something like 25% of the crew, often a significant chunk of Engineering and yellow-redshirts) all had provisional ranks. Essentially being deputized. Chakotay & Torres had previous Starfleet training to some degree, most Maquis didn't.
- The Doctor had no rank at all and was only Chief Medical Officer because the entire medical team was killed. Wasn't even recognized as a sentient being instead of a holographic automaton until a year or so in.
- Kes was defacto nurse (and Paris a field medic) because of said lack of department.
- Neelix was basically just a civilian cook round-the-clock who saw the gravy train roll on by and was able to hop aboard. Sold himself as a scout, a goodwill ambassador (like a Sacagawea to a Lewis & Clark expedition) but ultimately his skill at preparing real food at least edible in contrast to a crew raised on replicators was his real role (not Tom's Diner but Neelix's diner. Duh da duh dah, duh da duh dah, duh da da duh da da). Some of his salvage expertise probably came in handy (though the crew's harvesting of minerals and foodstuffs was always mentioned in passing after Season 1), though he seemed too good natured to be a real hustler.
- Seven of Nine was like Odo. She was not Starfleet but a civilian onboard, no rank, but based on who she took orders from and who she could boss around, she was functionally a Lt. She was a department head of astrometrics. If she was in Starfleet, she would've worn blue. They essentially let her specialize in whatever interested her. In a way, she was a Neelix 2.0 as well, a guide to space through her Borg knowledge (eps where she chimed in about said races or phenomena).
I don't think he was in the Bajoran militia, he just seemed sort of informally be deputized since he was doing the role for longer than the existence of the Bajoran militia/security apparatus. The way his comm channel interactions with the Bajoran security/military officials went felt kind of like the way Odo's comm channel interactions went with some of his contacts/allies he traded information with. He came off like an independent agent more than anything.
DS9 & Voyager each threw the standard command chain/range of ranks for a loop:
DS9:
- Starfleet Captain, Doctor, Science Officer, Chief Engineer...
- ... but said Chief Engineer is an enlisted man (Chief Petty Officer) not an officer.
- and the Doctor has a staff entirely of Bajorans.
- number two is a Bajoran militia officer, an ex-terrorist/freedom fighter serving a government that is brand new and still trying to figure out what end is up. She takes orders from Sisko but not explicitly from Starfleet, but she can order around everyone of Starfleet under her rank.
- Odo wears a Bajoran uniform, though he may not be wearing anything (mimic clothes), has a made-up rank of Constable, and commands some Bajoran security forces and Starfleet security forces (except for the Eddington era). He's station chief of security that seems only nominally beholden to the Bajoran government (he serves at their pleasure).
- Quark is a prominent merchant. A businessman/schemer who often ventures into gray market territory with the occasional black market foray. Rarely used, but kinda interesting when they do use him for various missions/expeditions.
- Engineering seemed more Starfleet than Bajoran, Command, the Ops had a fair number of Bajorans though somewhere on that station were a bunch of redshirts. Certainly not helmsmen.
- And said captain is the front of Starfleet's effort to bolster the provisional government and act as a buffer from exploitation or threats from other powers (and subtlely to smooth the path for their Federation membership), essentially a benevolent that is supposed to protect Bajor's interests for them, but this all gets complicated by him being an Emissary, a religious role.
VOY:
- Only people with any legit rank are Captain Janeway, Lt. Tuvok & Ensign Kim.
- Tom Paris was a criminal on special parole because of paternal connections and piloting skill. He was given a field commission that ended up lasting a lot longer than intended.
- Chakotay, Torres and all the Maquis (something like 25% of the crew, often a significant chunk of Engineering and yellow-redshirts) all had provisional ranks. Essentially being deputized. Chakotay & Torres had previous Starfleet training to some degree, most Maquis didn't.
- The Doctor had no rank at all and was only Chief Medical Officer because the entire medical team was killed. Wasn't even recognized as a sentient being instead of a holographic automaton until a year or so in.
- Kes was defacto nurse (and Paris a field medic) because of said lack of department.
- Neelix was basically just a civilian cook round-the-clock who saw the gravy train roll on by and was able to hop aboard. Sold himself as a scout, a goodwill ambassador (like a Sacagawea to a Lewis & Clark expedition) but ultimately his skill at preparing real food at least edible in contrast to a crew raised on replicators was his real role (not Tom's Diner but Neelix's diner. Duh da duh dah, duh da duh dah, duh da da duh da da). Some of his salvage expertise probably came in handy (though the crew's harvesting of minerals and foodstuffs was always mentioned in passing after Season 1), though he seemed too good natured to be a real hustler.
- Seven of Nine was like Odo. She was not Starfleet but a civilian onboard, no rank, but based on who she took orders from and who she could boss around, she was functionally a Lt. She was a department head of astrometrics. If she was in Starfleet, she would've worn blue. They essentially let her specialize in whatever interested her. In a way, she was a Neelix 2.0 as well, a guide to space through her Borg knowledge (eps where she chimed in about said races or phenomena).
It would make quite a bit of sense for the Bajoran militia to handle law enforcement, if not everywhere on the planet, then at least on the military orbital installation. A transitional regime trying to hold things together probably would not be bothered to create a separate civilian police force. (That would come later, resulting in multiple overlapping police organizations - which is fairly common today.)
Odo could well be a militiaman, then; the lack of insignia on his uniform would just tell us that he doesn't hold commissioned officer rank. He might be a noncommissioned officer, as the identifiers for those in the Bajoran scheme were never established, or he might be a simple grunt; the law-enforcing militias of today tend to give their policemen shiny and pompous identifiers for prestige reasons, but Bajorans might have opted otherwise. Or then Odo always wears the "serious work" duty uniform, which in law enforcement militias is subdued and practical, and refuses to don the silly hat and the foot-long epaulets that go with the more formal uniform style.
Sisko does consider Odo "one of his officers", say, in "The Die is Cast". We might take this to mean that Sisko considers Odo a "police officer", which need not mean he holds officer rank in the militia - he simply fills a slot that in another system might be filled by a Police Lieutenant. Or we might ignore it altogether, as Sisko is just making excuses for going after Odo.
DS9 is explicit about Bajor (eventually) having what they call a "civil police". There never was such a thing in the UFP, though, which makes one wonder where Sisko would have gotten the idea of Police Lieutenants if that's gonna be our excuse for the dialogue...
Timo Saloniemi
Odo could well be a militiaman, then; the lack of insignia on his uniform would just tell us that he doesn't hold commissioned officer rank. He might be a noncommissioned officer, as the identifiers for those in the Bajoran scheme were never established, or he might be a simple grunt; the law-enforcing militias of today tend to give their policemen shiny and pompous identifiers for prestige reasons, but Bajorans might have opted otherwise. Or then Odo always wears the "serious work" duty uniform, which in law enforcement militias is subdued and practical, and refuses to don the silly hat and the foot-long epaulets that go with the more formal uniform style.
Sisko does consider Odo "one of his officers", say, in "The Die is Cast". We might take this to mean that Sisko considers Odo a "police officer", which need not mean he holds officer rank in the militia - he simply fills a slot that in another system might be filled by a Police Lieutenant. Or we might ignore it altogether, as Sisko is just making excuses for going after Odo.
DS9 is explicit about Bajor (eventually) having what they call a "civil police". There never was such a thing in the UFP, though, which makes one wonder where Sisko would have gotten the idea of Police Lieutenants if that's gonna be our excuse for the dialogue...
Timo Saloniemi
