Starfleet Enlisted

[Shamrock Holmes]

Despite that "fourth grade" thing, it might be aesthetically pleasing to decide that Starfleet believes in three of everything: three grades of crewman (3rd/apprentice/whatever, 2nd, 1st), three grades of Petty Officer (3rd, 2nd, 1st), and three grades above that (Chief, Senior Chief, Master Chief). Crewmen would get no outward signs of their grade, as is consistent with the visuals; Petty Officers might in turn be relatively rare things, sporting either one (Petty Officer 3,2,1g) or two (CPO, SCPO, MCPO) dark pips in most environments (the ones we "mistook" for bright officer pips in TNG).

Or then those "dark" pips are the very same as the pips on O'Brien's collar plate, and he lost one when moving from E-D to DS9 but then regained it. The three levels of Petty Officer would then go unmarked for whatever reason (even though "officially" they would have 1, 2 or 3 chevrons, respectively), while the three levels above that would either wear the full thing on a plate, or then the abbreviated form lacking the triple chevrons and just showing the pips.

Considering he clearly moved up in responsibility, there is no logical sense (on-screen evidence to the contrary) in the notion that an enlisted O'Brien would demoted by moving to DS9 (on the other hand, a temporary field commission (Brevet Lieutenant?) tied to the Enterprise would sort of make sense tho an awkward kind of one) and I think that the cloth "plate" (being the only rank designator specifically applied to enlisted personnel in the TNG Era) should be regarded as the highest 'canon' in regard to enlisted ranks of the era with only the 'blank' collar (best left to Recruits, Trainees and uniformed "civilian" advisors IMO) as having more than one grade, especially the middle grades, unmarked would seem to be a recipe for confusion and potential disaster.

It's a matter of personnel taste whether you want to use those six "ranks" to have three distinct categories (crewman (CR + CR1, petty officer/specialist (PO/SP2 & PO/SP1) and chief (CHF & CHF of OPS) of two ranks each or whether you want to split it into two categories (as the officers mostly are) of crewman and chief split (CR, CR1, Leading CR/PO/Specialist v CHF, SCHF & MCHF). Personally I favour the latter approach

On the other hand you could posit a four rank system using the three pips of Crewman/Specialist (none, difference shown by uniform colour or department insignia), Chief (one), Senior Chief (two), Master Chief (three).

Shamrock Holmes

 

[Pauln6]

There were a fair few petty officers in the RecDeck scene but TMP was very inconsistent about demonstrations of rank.

 

[Timo]

Considering he clearly moved up in responsibility, there is no logical sense (on-screen evidence to the contrary) in the notion that an enlisted O'Brien would demoted by moving to DS9

Well, the logic is right there, sort of - he got a meatier job, so he might accept a demotion as the price to be paid for it, in this weird Starfleet meritocracy where promotions in rank clearly don't carry a pay raise and aren't particularly coveted.

But it would be much more pleasing to think that O'Brien was literally promoted in rank/rating when moving from E-D to DS9. He was a Chief Petty Officer of some color in TNG "Family" already, so the promotion would have to come within that framework. And since he's "Senior Chief, Specialist" in "Playing God" already, the best bet is from CPO to SCPO in "Emissary" and then no further promotions during DS9.

(It's too bad that O'Brien has but one dark pip in "Emissary"; it would have been lovely for him to at least retain two. As matters stand, we can't even pretend that the dark pips are the same as the ones on the collar plate, because then there'd have to be a promotion between the early, single-pip seasons and the first appearance of the twin-pip plate, and that in turn would mean O'Brien with the plate ends up as Master CPO while Senior CPO would be much more fitting. Oh, well.)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

Well, the logic is right there, sort of - he got a meatier job, so he might accept a demotion as the price to be paid for it, in this weird Starfleet meritocracy where promotions in rank clearly don't carry a pay raise and aren't particularly coveted.

But it would be much more pleasing to think that O'Brien was literally promoted in rank/rating when moving from E-D to DS9. He was a Chief Petty Officer of some color in TNG "Family" already, so the promotion would have to come within that framework. And since he's "Senior Chief, Specialist" in "Playing God" already, the best bet is from CPO to SCPO in "Emissary" and then no further promotions during DS9.

(It's too bad that O'Brien has but one dark pip in "Emissary"; it would have been lovely for him to at least retain two. As matters stand, we can't even pretend that the dark pips are the same as the ones on the collar plate, because then there'd have to be a promotion between the early, single-pip seasons and the first appearance of the twin-pip plate, and that in turn would mean O'Brien with the plate ends up as Master CPO while Senior CPO would be much more fitting. Oh, well.)

Timo Saloniemi

I think the best thing to do if we're using 'dark pips' for enlisted is to assume that O'Brien permenant rank is a one pip ("Chief") in the TNG-era (rated as Transporter (Specialist) Chief similar to Chiefs Brossmer & Kelso, and "Ensigns" Collins/Hutchinson, "Ensign" Harbert, "Ensign" Maggie Hubbell, BG Robinson being the only TNG Transporter Chief other than O'Brien with two pips, no Voyager transporter chiefs are linked through the Memory Alpha article) until his transfer to DS9 with two pips and the substantive rank/rate of Operations (Specialist) Senior Chief and the position of Chief of Operations (presumably analogous to Command Senior Chief (USN/USCG) or Chief of the Boat (USN Submarine Service).

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

I've been doing a little more research and it's interesting to note that the current Royal Navy/Royal Australian Navy system is some what close to both the Fletcher and Blackman/TNG+ systems (at least up to Chief Petty Officer, it gets a bit complicated at that point, but I think we all broadly agree about Chief, Senior Chief and Master Chief being the 'top three'):

- Able Seaman (Basic Training and "A" School-qualified enlisted man) = Equivalent of Ables'man on the Fletcher System, and Crewman on the TNG+ uniforms. (Roughly equivalent to a US Army Specialist or USN/CG Seaman (E3). Also ranks as a Specialist Grade 4 on the US Army WWII scale.). At least in Royal Navy, the first rate held by deployed personnel.
- Leading Hand/Seaman (Experienced Seaman, leads small (short-term?) teams) = Terminology is closer to the Crewman 1st Class of the TNG+ era, but as a Junior NCO (various insignia but RCN uses "Corporal's >>") is closer to the Petty Officer 2nd Class of the Fletcher system in role. Perhaps the term used depends on how specialised the rating is? Complex ratings like Engineer or Medic (who have more interactions with the officers promote to 'management' slower subjectively less complex (but no less vital) Admin or Deck ratings like Yeoman? Also ranks
- Petty Officer (Junior NCO, first universal 'management' rate, RCN usage roughly Sgt or Staff Sgt so ">>>") = Generally equivalent to Petty Officer 1st class (Fletcher) or Petty Officer (TNG+ era, may also referred to as Specialist (TNG+ era, possibly If qualified for Independent Duty?), but some sources suggest the RW RN/RAN/RNZN PO often performs functions more in line with USN Chiefs especially on smaller vessels.)
- Chief Petty Officer (Senior NCO) = Known to exist in both the Fletcher and TNG+ eras. Though in the RW as with PO(1), appears straddle both the CPO & SCPO rates (USN/USCG) in Commonwealth usage due to the phasing out of the WO2 rating in most Commonwealth navies, with WO (Royal Navy) being roughly in parity with Master Chief Petty Officer (US Navy) with the billet of Executive Warrant Officer in place of Command (Master) Chief/Chief of the Boat.

The logic behind relegating the Ordinary Seaman rate (roughly the USN/CG E1-E3 rates) to a 'school rate' to the Royal Navy being that the "increasing technical specialism and ability of RN personnel" (plus staff cuts/recruitment issues) warranted the change. Which sounds like something that would resonate with Starfleet SOP?

 

[Captain Rob]

So would Starfleet have a "Spaceman First Class" rating or would that just exist in cartoons.

 

[C.E. Evans]

So would Starfleet have a "Spaceman First Class" rating or would that just exist in cartoons.

The term "crewman first class" was used in TNG and "crewman second class" was mentioned once in ENT. "Crewman" was used several times to address several characters in TOS who might have been enlisted personnel ("Crewman Darnell, Crewman Green, Crewman Jackson").

 

[CAPTRousseau]

That is an odd thing to think, given Starfleet Academy's seal even has the Golden Gate Bridge on it.


Even the novels shy away from the idea of other Academy campuses, the only time one was mentioned in the novels it was Luther Sloan who attended it (on Earth's moon) so for all we know that's actually a Section 31 training compound.

I vaguely remember a novel set between the TOS series and the MotionPicture suggesting that Chekov attended Starfleet Security training at what is currently the USN Academy. Does that ring a bell for anyone else?

 

[Raymond Pritchett]

I think Levi almost nailed it, but I think others are correct as well pointing to the rules of three that would almost certainly be in play given how everything in Trek always seems to default to the rule of three. I also don't see the disparity between the comments regarding rule of three and Levi's general outline.

Levi laid it out like this:

A Starfleet Enlisted Rank System, Basic outline.

Recruit - Members who are in process of being sworn in and sent to Basic Training

In just about any military organization a recruit is exactly that, and it is not a rank, it is a pay grade, or could be described as a rate. Because there are no pay grades in Star Trek, it would constitute a rate at the same credit grade as a crewman. You don't actually have a legitimate rank until you pass this level.

Crewman - After training is complete, crewmen are assigned to a department, and being on-the-job training under supervision.
Senior Crewman - Promoted once a supervisor is satisfied with the level of training a crewman has received.
Master Crewman - Promoted once a supervisor is satisfied with the level of training a crewman has received.

This is where the 'rule of three' starts. A "Crewmen" usually do a basic school followed by a trade school (or technical proficiency).

Petty Officer 3rd Class - After time in service is satisfied, competent crewmen may be promoted to Petty Officer (PO)
Petty Officer 2nd Class - Rate/Rank assigned for duty/service requirements, and/or time in service.
Petty Officer 1st Class - Rate/Rank assigned for duty/service requirements, and/or time in service.

Again, 'rule of three' but now we are getting into higher levels of experience and training. Isn't there a DS9 book that references an Engineering specialty schools in San Francisco attended by O'Brien, or I am remembering incorrectly? You would have to imagine that in the way Star Trek seems to have ships that keeps crews together over long periods of time, at least half the enlisted crew on any Federation starship over 10 years old would be a Petty Officer.

Chief Petty Officer - POs who have served xxx years advance to Chief and are able to work alone. By this time, Chiefs are expected to know most, if not all jobs and duties specific to their department.
Senior Chief Petty Officer - Rate/Rank assigned for duty/service requirements, and/or time in service.
Master Chief Petty Officer - Chiefs serving in senior positions or jobs that require them to oversee their respective departments.

These are ranks. On a starship it is easy to see how each Department might have 1 Chief Petty Officer, and each Section might have one Senior Chief Petty Officer.

An example might be how a ship has multiple Engineering Departments responsible for different Engineering requirements on a starship (the IT guy, the Warp Core guy, the Transporter guy, etc.); and each distinct Engineering Department would have a Chief Petty Officer led by a Department head being a LT. In that context, the primary role of the Chief Petty Officer would basically be to teach the Ensigns and help the LT lead the enlisted men in the Department. The entire Engineering Section of the ship would like be led by a Senior Chief, with the Chief Engineer represented as a LCDR or CDR, depending up on the vessel size/type. Just as there is one Captain per ship, there is only one Master Chief per ship - basically the senior enlisted officer.

Command Master Chief (of the Ship/Station) - The most senior serving Chief onboard a Starship or Spacestation.

This is where I would deviate from Levi. "Command Master Chief" is usually associated with a command element, and that command element would be a Flag Officer (Admiral rank). A "Command Master Chief" would be more likely found in a squadron command associated with a Commodore (a title, not a rank), or within the organization of a command structure rather than as part of a ship or bases command structure. Logistics Command for a Sector Block or Starfleet Security for a Sector, if either was led by an Admiral, would have a Command Master Chief, but the general idea is you would have a Command Master Chief as the enlisted counterpart to a Flag Officer (Admiral) or Commodore (Senior, post-Command Captain), not a station or ship command (Captain, CDR).

Fleet Command Master Chief - The most senior serving Chief within a Fleet. This is an appointment, not a rank.

Agreed. And there would only be one per fleet. And that final rate filling out the 'rule of three' would be Master Chief Petty Officer of Starfleet, essentially the senior non-commissioned officer rank in Starfleet. In my opinion, the story of the Master Chief Petty Officer of Starfleet... probably the best Trek story Simon and Schuster hasn't considered telling.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

In just about any military organization a recruit is exactly that, and it is not a rank, it is a pay grade, or could be described as a rate. Because there are no pay grades in Star Trek, it would constitute a rate at the same credit grade as a crewman. You don't actually have a legitimate rank until you pass this level.


Crewman - After training is complete, crewmen are assigned to a department, and being on-the-job training under supervision.
Senior Crewman - Promoted once a supervisor is satisfied with the level of training a crewman has received.
Master Crewman - Promoted once a supervisor is satisfied with the level of training a crewman has received.

This is where the 'rule of three' starts. A "Crewmen" usually do a basic school followed by a trade school (or technical proficiency).

Petty Officer 3rd Class - After time in service is satisfied, competent crewmen may be promoted to Petty Officer (PO)
Petty Officer 2nd Class - Rate/Rank assigned for duty/service requirements, and/or time in service.
Petty Officer 1st Class - Rate/Rank assigned for duty/service requirements, and/or time in service.

Again, 'rule of three' but now we are getting into higher levels of experience and training. Isn't there a DS9 book that references an Engineering specialty schools in San Francisco attended by O'Brien, or I am remembering incorrectly? You would have to imagine that in the way Star Trek seems to have ships that keeps crews together over long periods of time, at least half the enlisted crew on any Federation starship over 10 years old would be a Petty Officer.

Taking bits and pieces of dialogue from various sources (Crewman First Class Tarses, Yeoman 3rd Class Tina Lawton, Yeoman (Crewman) and one reference to an Engineer Grade 4 (which under the WWII Specialist System would be roughly equivalent a navy PO3, US Army Specialist or RN Able Seaman), make me favor a six-rank "rule of three" following roughly the RN model, rather than a USN/CG-esque 9-rank model:

Crewman (Specialist Grade 4) - US Army "Specialist" or USN/CG "striker". First substantive rank. Recruits and uniformed advisors would wear no insignia.
Crewman 1st Class/Petty Officer 2nd Class (Specialist Grade 3) - roughly PO3-PO2 (know as Leading Crewman/Hand in RN language), like US Army Specialist v Corporal, which rank is used may depend on rating, for example Yeoman or Mess Specialists might be PO2s, whereas Medics and Engineers (who require more advanced training), would still be regarding as "advanced trainees" and would therefore be "Crewman 1st Class"?
Petty Officer [1st Class] (Specialist Grade 2) - Equivalent to Petty Officer 1st Class (USN) or Petty Officer (RN).

Assuming you meant that the ship or mission was "ten years old" rather than the crewmen in question, I agree that most enlisted personnel would rank with modern Petty Officers within ten years of enlisting (though in the scheme above this would also be dictated by the "promotion slot" availablity in all likelihood)

Chief Petty Officer - POs who have served xxx years advance to Chief and are able to work alone. By this time, Chiefs are expected to know most, if not all jobs and duties specific to their department.
Senior Chief Petty Officer - Rate/Rank assigned for duty/service requirements, and/or time in service.
Master Chief Petty Officer - Chiefs serving in senior positions or jobs that require them to oversee their respective departments.

These are ranks. On a starship it is easy to see how each Department might have 1 Chief Petty Officer, and each Section might have one Senior Chief Petty Officer.

An example might be how a ship has multiple Engineering Departments responsible for different Engineering requirements on a starship (the IT guy, the Warp Core guy, the Transporter guy, etc.); and each distinct Engineering Department would have a Chief Petty Officer led by a Department head being a LT. In that context, the primary role of the Chief Petty Officer would basically be to teach the Ensigns and help the LT lead the enlisted men in the Department. The entire Engineering Section of the ship would like be led by a Senior Chief, with the Chief Engineer represented as a LCDR or CDR, depending up on the vessel size/type. Just as there is one Captain per ship, there is only one Master Chief per ship - basically the senior enlisted officer."

I mostly agree with this, other than to suggest that the Section Leading Specialist would be the Chief (Specialist Grade 1), with the Department Leading Specialist would be the Senior Chief or even Master Chief depending the size of the Department/Ship (no longer a Specialist per se but with a decent understanding of all jobs within the Department). Department Officers to my mind would be two to three ranks below the rank of the Commanding Officer, depending on whether they are also Bridge Officers (So LCDRs on Explorers, LTs on medium-sized Cruisers/Frigates, LTJGs or even experienced ENSs on Escorts/Science Vessels/Auxiliaries)

Command Master Chief (of the Ship/Station) - The most senior serving Chief onboard a Starship or Spacestation.

This is where I would deviate from Levi. "Command Master Chief" is usually associated with a command element, and that command element would be a Flag Officer (Admiral rank). A "Command Master Chief" would be more likely found in a squadron command associated with a Commodore (a title, not a rank), or within the organization of a command structure rather than as part of a ship or bases command structure. Logistics Command for a Sector Block or Starfleet Security for a Sector, if either was led by an Admiral, would have a Command Master Chief, but the general idea is you would have a Command Master Chief as the enlisted counterpart to a Flag Officer (Admiral) or Commodore (Senior, post-Command Captain), not a station or ship command (Captain, CDR).

According to USN policy a "Command Master Chief" should be assigned to any command of 250 personnel or more. Which would include all the Enterprises (apart from NX-01), but not Voyager or Defiant (which would rather have a Command Senior Chief or even a Command Chief). O'Brien's title of "Chief of Operations" might be the Starfleet equivalent via the Submarine Service's "Chief of the Boat" title. The Senior Enlisted Advisor to an Admiral (rather an temporary Commodore/Taskforce Commander) would be an Area CMC, Force CMC or even Fleet CMC depending on assignment, with the 'CMC of the Starfleet' as the terminal title (though somewhat in line with current policy in the DoD (US) and MoD (UK), additional personnel with the same rank might be held by the SEA to the Head of Starfleet Operations, Starfleet Intelligence, Starfleet Corps of Engineers et al.

 

[Griffeytrek]

I think the best thing to do if we're using 'dark pips' for enlisted is to assume that O'Brien permenant rank is a one pip ("Chief") in the TNG-era (rated as Transporter (Specialist) Chief similar to Chiefs Brossmer & Kelso, and "Ensigns" Collins/Hutchinson, "Ensign" Harbert, "Ensign" Maggie Hubbell, BG Robinson being the only TNG Transporter Chief other than O'Brien with two pips, no Voyager transporter chiefs are linked through the Memory Alpha article) until his transfer to DS9 with two pips and the substantive rank/rate of Operations (Specialist) Senior Chief and the position of Chief of Operations (presumably analogous to Command Senior Chief (USN/USCG) or Chief of the Boat (USN Submarine Service).

I may be remembering this wrong, but the reason O'Brien accepted the posting to DS9 was it gave him a full promotion from enlisted NCO to Lieutenant. He got a commission as part of the transfer, so desperate where they to hold that station together. That's why he dragged Keiko and Molly all the way across the galaxy to that broken down trash heap of a station. The reward being offered was a once in a lifetime shot at the big leagues. Things gets a little weird as both his earlier rank and his later job Titles all use Chief. So he is just known as Chief O'Brien. I think his final transfer to the academy gave him the rank of Lt. Commander.

 

[Avro Arrow]

^ Sorry, but I don't think that is correct. O'Brien was more consistently portrayed as an NCO in DS9 than he was in even n TNG. They even (eventually) gave him an actual NCO rank insignia that looked like it could be logically part of a system, rather than just a hollow pip because "it's lower than ensign".

The move *may* have come with a promotion from Chief to Senior Chief, though, since he was never explicitly mentioned as a Senior Chief in TNG. Plus the fact that he was (for some reason) in charge of the entire engineering department on Deep Space 9, which was certainly a step up from being in charge of all of Transporter Room 3!

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

^ Sorry, but I don't think that is correct. O'Brien was more consistently portrayed as an NCO in DS9 than he was in even n TNG. They even (eventually) gave him an actual NCO rank insignia that looked like it could be logically part of a system, rather than just a hollow pip because "it's lower than ensign".

The move *may* have come with a promotion from Chief to Senior Chief, though, since he was never explicitly mentioned as a Senior Chief in TNG. Plus the fact that he was (for some reason) in charge of the entire engineering department on Deep Space 9, which was certainly a step up from being in charge of all of Transporter Room 3!

In fact, O'Brien was always portrayed as an enlisted man through DS9, and (counting the flashback scenes in All Good Things) was always referred to by Captain Picard as "Chief" although he wore two pips of a "lieutenant" (and was referred to as such once verbally by Riker (in Where Silence Has Lease) from The Child through Realm of Fear (but was apparently outranked by Chief of Security (Lt-JG) Worf (in The Emissary) and Engineer (Lt-JG) Barclay in Realm of Fear, despite both visually holding lower rank.

Possibly the most compelling evidence that O'Brien (from Family onwards, when they started writing material for O'Brien specifically) was intended as enlisted is a statement by Ronald D. Moore in 1998 during an AOL chat that "O'Brien was originally just a day player on TNG and very little, if any, thought went into his rank or background for quite a while. He officially became a Chief Petty Officer in "Family" when I wanted he and Worf's adoptive father to both be non-coms in contrast to Worf. Making him an enlisted man seemed to give us another color in the show and to open up another window into Starfleet that we hadn't explored before." (bolded mine for emphasis) http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Memory_Alpha:AOL_chats/Ronald_D._Moore/ron121.txt

 

[The Wormhole]

I may be remembering this wrong, but the reason O'Brien accepted the posting to DS9 was it gave him a full promotion from enlisted NCO to Lieutenant. He got a commission as part of the transfer, so desperate where they to hold that station together. That's why he dragged Keiko and Molly all the way across the galaxy to that broken down trash heap of a station. The reward being offered was a once in a lifetime shot at the big leagues. Things gets a little weird as both his earlier rank and his later job Titles all use Chief. So he is just known as Chief O'Brien. I think his final transfer to the academy gave him the rank of Lt. Commander.

That is completely wrong. Look no further than the opening scene of Past Tense where O'Brien even states "That's why I stay and enlisted man." Or then there's Hippocratic Oath where one of the Jem'Hadar looks at O'Brien's rank insignia and identifies him as a "non-com."

And then, his rank insignia makes it damn clear he's not an officer throughout DS9. In the first three seasons he wears a single hollow pip, which he actually began wearing in TNG's Realm of Fear. Then from season 4 onwards he wears a new rank pin consisting of three chevrons and two circles, which seems based on the US Navy's insignia for a Master Chief, three chevrons and two stars. Of course, were O'Brien a Master Chief, he would be required to be addressed to as "Master Chief" that rank doesn't get abbreviated to simply "Chief."

 

[trekshark]

I think he took the DS9 position both for a promotion and he figured a station in orbit of a planet might be a better place to raise a family than a ship that constantly encountered "random threat of the week" although DS9 turned out to be fairly dangerous too
And he definitely was not promoted to Lt since he said on screen that when Nog graduated and became an ensign he'd have to call Nog "sir"

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

I think he took the DS9 position both for a promotion and he figured a station in orbit of a planet might be a better place to raise a family than a ship that constantly encountered "random threat of the week" although DS9 turned out to be fairly dangerous too
And he definitely was not promoted to Lt since he said on screen that when Nog graduated and became an ensign he'd have to call Nog "sir"

Which, IMO, raises the question of where Cadets on "Field Duty" would sit in the rank order from a practical standpoint (officially they would "outrank" enlisted due to being "trainee officers" but in practice I fell it is unlikely that cadets [esp Engineering or Operations cadets like Nog, rather than 'fast-track' Command School Cadets like Saavik and Kirk (esp Nu!Kirk)] would be in authority over Chiefs (O'Brien seems to suggest this is the case re: Nog) but probably have "positional authority" in line with petty officers/specialists (two or three stripes) [with the Watch Officer delegating the 'leader' if needed], but outranking the regular crewman (no or one stripe)?

 

[The Wormhole]

^^I don't get the impression cadets on field duty hold any kind of authority over anyone. Take for example, the exchange between O'Brien and Nog in Behind the Lines about a ship's commanding officer being addressed as "Captain:"

Nog: "So, if I had to take command, the crew would address me as Captain?"
O'Brien: "Cadet, if you had to take command, there wouldn't be a crew to address you as anything."

 

[T'Girl]

I don't get the impression cadets on field duty hold any kind of authority over anyone.

Officer cadets are little more than civilians. While they have taken a oath, they hold no commission.

In just about any military organization a recruit is exactly that, and it is not a rank,

In the US Air Force, a recruit is a E1 airman basic, which is a rank. IIRC, you can enter the service as a E2 airman under some circumstances, like if you have college credits.

+

 

[fireproof78]

^^I don't get the impression cadets on field duty hold any kind of authority over anyone. Take for example, the exchange between O'Brien and Nog in Behind the Lines about a ship's commanding officer being addressed as "Captain:"

Nog: "So, if I had to take command, the crew would address me as Captain?"
O'Brien: "Cadet, if you had to take command, there wouldn't be a crew to address you as anything."

I wonder if that is impacted by a field promotion, which can occur. I think the Red Squad situation fall under that idea, with the other instances like Riker's promotion in Best of Both Worlds being cited as well.

As for cadets, I couldn't find any real world precedence but I always think of "Starship Troopers" when it is discussed. The section is too long to write out, but the basic concept is that cadets may receive promotions (in the book to third lieutenant) at the end of their course of instruction, which puts them in the chain of command. So, I imagine that cadets can be field promoted if the situation warrants it.

 

[Timo]

I may be remembering this wrong, but the reason O'Brien accepted the posting to DS9 was it gave him a full promotion from enlisted NCO to Lieutenant.

This misconception probably comes from the early episode "A Man Alone" where Miles O'Brien discusses the posting at the hind end of nowhere thus:

Miles: "Look, I'm willing to ask for a transfer if that'll make you happy."
Keiko: "That's not fair either. You'd have to give up your promotion."

Nowhere do we hear it established what rank/rating Miles was promoted to, or for that matter from, in connection with his transfer. We just know from mid-TNG dialogue that he used to be a Chief Petty Officer ("Family"), and from early DS9 dialogue that he is now a Senior Chief, Specialist ("Playing God"), after which a Jem'Hadar labels him as Chief Petty Officer ("Hippocratic Oath"). None of that requires any sort of change in O'Briens status - he could have been a Senior CPO, Specialist all the time for all we care.

And then we know that his position on the E-D was Transporter Chief, while his position on DS9 is Chief of Operations. Is that the "promotion" Keiko speaks of? Miles does say that his "rank" is Chief of Operations when interrogated by Cardassians ("Tribunal"). Perhaps Keiko is using informal civilian terms, and Miles is just being obtuse to his torturers, but both feel that in practical terms CoO is better than TC.

The career progression of Miles O'Brien isn't really the mess it sometimes is made to be. Dialogue consistently keeps him a lowly positioned subordinate, and only twice hints at potential officer status ("The Wounded" - he once was a Tactical Officer on the Rutledge; "Where Silence Has Lease" - Riker addresses either O'Brien or Worf as Lieutenant, Worf actually being the likelier character).

What's messed up is the rank insignia - at first obscure and indecipherable, then fairly obvious but lacking in context, with the number of pips or whatever going up and down without rhyme or reason. And that's not a phenomenon limited to Miles O'Brien, but touches upon the general issue of rhyme or reason lacking from enlisted identifiers in everything but the Bob Fletcher era.

Timo Saloniemi