Speculation: Starfleet membership and species lifespan

[alpha_leonis]

What are people's thoughts regarding the commissioning of different species into Starfleet, especially in regards to the various lifespans of the different races? (In Trek, at least, it seems that most aliens are presented as having significantly longer lifespans than humans.) How would this play out?

The typical Starfleet career track seems geared towards the average human lifespan. Four years at the academy, a period which commences soon after the individual reaches adulthood. The officer spends a few years at each rank, and could potentially retire an Admiral by the age range of 60-80.

At the longer-lived extreme would be species like the Vulcans, of which we know of two notable examples. Spock seems to have followed the normal human timeframe, making Captain at about the same time as a human would have. I don't recall hearing that he was ever promoted to Admiral, but ended up leaving Starfleet and starting a second career as an Ambassador, which he held for decades. Last we saw him was when he migrated over to the Kelvin timeline, at the age of approximately 150 (out of an average lifespan of 200 years.) By contrast, Tuvok was 100 years old yet "only" a Lieutenant. He'd had an alternate career outside of Starfleet but then came back to it, which is one explanation for his low rank. (Also to consider: as a Vulcan, ambition to get continually promoted would not be a logical consideration for him.)

At the other potential extreme: could a short-lived species like the Ocampa even *consider* joining Starfleet, even considering the accelerated pace of her species' educational abilities? Would Starfleet include special considerations for that type of species? Considering that if the human standard was enforced, Kes would reach adulthood by age 1, but then four years of academy training would have her already middle-aged at graduation, and then she wouldn't even be able to serve long enough to be promoted before she ages out and retires. (Or the other side of that, if Starfleet made special considerations due to their short lifespans, would somebody like O'Brien be willing to take orders from an Ocampa admiral who was around the same age as his daughter?)

Other thoughts?

 

[Timo]

One thing to take into account is that contrary to appearances, the Academy is not a four-year-long ordeal for its students.

Rather, it appears to be a flexible institution, offering different combinations of courses (typically not including the no-win scenario test that apparently adjoins command-path studies). There's no known entry age limit. Somebody flunking on his fifth year is no biggie ("Bread and Circuses"); somebody doing the full deal including undergraduate command courses is fine, too (the 2009 movie). An Ocampa doing it all in one year or less would probably be okay, then.

Also, the Ocampa are not just fast learners, they conduct their entire lives, all the aspects thereof, in seven years or so. While it might take a mere human four years to "gather practical experience" or "form relationships" or "gain respect" or generally "acclimatize", the Ocampa obviously know the trick of doing all that much faster, too.

In contrast, we don't learn that Vulcans (or, say, Klingons) would be slackers, despite living longer.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[alpha_leonis]

One thing to take into account is that contrary to appearances, the Academy is not a four-year-long ordeal for its students.

Rather, it appears to be a flexible institution, offering different combinations of courses (typically not including the no-win scenario test that apparently adjoins command-path studies). There's no known entry age limit. Somebody flunking on his fifth year is no biggie ("Bread and Circuses"); somebody doing the full deal including undergraduate command courses is fine, too (the 2009 movie). An Ocampa doing it all in one year or less would probably be okay, then.

Timo Saloniemi

And yet, we know that Data went through the Academy in four years, even though he could learn all the academic material in literally seconds. Go figure.

 

[Tim Thomason]

And yet, we know that Data went through the Academy in four years, even though he could learn all the academic material in literally seconds. Go figure.

And Data was a lieutenant for twelve years and a Lt Commander for 19, with no sign of imminent promotion in his future. He was in no hurry to rush up the chain of command, and if early TNG is any indication, Data circa 2341 was probably not well-versed in the application of his insta-knowledge and it is said on multiple occassions that he lacked any social skills in his earliest years, and that's probably what hindered him in his otherwise long career.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

It gives other people a chance to get to know him. Plus, just as The Doctor's program had to grow and develop for him to become more like a crew member and less like a program you can turn on and off like a light switch, so Data has to develop his abilities in real-world, non-positronic-brain-run scenarios.

 

[F. King Daniel]

And yet, we know that Data went through the Academy in four years, even though he could learn all the academic material in literally seconds. Go figure.

It's more than learning, it's knowing how to apply that knowledge correctly. You can't download good judgement.

 

[BillJ]

It's more than learning, it's knowing how to apply that knowledge correctly. You can't download good judgement.

That and he had to learn to interact with others.

 

[Riker'sMailbox]

Knowledge =/= experience.

Starfleet officers undergo the education and hands on training they do for more than just an increase in knowledge. They need that experience to deal with the unpredictable nature of space travel. Starfleet Academy can't teach you that with books, a multi-discipline approach is required.

I don't see how long life spans would make a difference, but it is interesting to think about how a species with a very shortened life, like the Ocampa, would be dealt with. I do not think that Starfleet would ever view a super accelerated program as being enough of a training experience for a SF officer, but they may allow for shorter courses of study for nonofficer positions.

Neat question.

 

[johnnybear]

I think the average age for human beings in the twenty third century from what we've seen is probably around one hundred and forty to fifty years! Although McCoy did kind of look really worn out at one hundred an thirty seven in TNG so maybe I've over estimated it a bit! Klingons and Vulcans of course must live much longer of course due to comments made about Spock and Sarek in various episodes and the three Klingons from TOS turning up in DS9 a century or so later!
JB

 

[Timo]

It's more than learning, it's knowing how to apply that knowledge correctly. You can't download good judgement.

Well, the Ocampa somehow can. Evidently they just live faster. And reputedly they are sponges for, oh, pretty much everything, including experience and its application. Even though nobody could tell from their day-to-day interactions with us slow people... I wonder what Kes did after another working day wasted - studied six new skills, memorized the social patterns of five new crewmen, went through two phases of life?

Starfleet just doesn't seem to sweat careers. It's enough for there always to be somebody for Slot X, and a fifty-nine-year-old Ensign will do just as well as a seventeen-year-old one. Although how this works with the apparent idea that Starfleet uses promotions as rewards the way modern militaries use decorations and commendations...

Timo Saloniemi