he didn’t?
Tarsus IV
- Thread starter VSAFaculty
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That's the way it seemed when he had to have an academy expression explained to him.
I think in both the 60s and today it's more likely to go to civilian university/med school and then join the military.
Yes it's always been that way. Providing medical care is essentially the same in the military or out; sourcing medical professionals from civilian schools is not a problem. The US has actually had its own uniformed services medical school for about 50 years, but it only supplies about a quarter of armed forces physicians.
interesting, thanks, don’t remember this at all. Couldn’t it be an expression that wasn’t in use when he wasn’t at the academy, Thoth, since he’s older than Kirk?
In the Abrams movies he goes to the academy, by the way, but only after having been a civilian doctor for a while.
TOS pretty consistently implied that McCoy didn't attend the Academy, although they never stated it outright. He's unfamiliar with Academy slang term "Dunsel" in "The Ultimate Computer," and in "The Menagerie" he asks if confinement to quarters is sufficient punishment after Spock hijacks the ship (Notice how angry Commodore Mendez is after he hears this, as he obviously doesn't agree. Yes, we learn later that this isn't the real Mendez, but we as viewers don't know that yet). McCoy was always pretty obviously a civilian at heart.
I also like this backstory for Scotty quite a bit, as it gives him a more varied background than most ST characters. In my mind Scotty was shipping out on civilian and merchant ships as soon as he was able, and then he was granted credit for that experience when he entered Starfleet. There's some TOS episode or another where Scotty mentions making a particular supply run himself a time or two, but I'm forgetting which one right now. In my headcanon that was from before he entered Starfleet.
I assume this is reference to Bread and Circuses:
SPOCK: SS Beagle. Small class four stardrive vessel. Crew of forty seven, commanded by. Jim, I believe you knew him. Captain R M Merik.
KIRK: Yes, at the academy. He was dropped in his fifth year. He went into the merchant service.
KIRK: Yes, at the academy. He was dropped in his fifth year. He went into the merchant service.
If correct, then Chekov must have been exceptional being a commissioned Ensign on the Enterprise at age of 22. He must have started the academy at age 17 to get his five years in. Spock and Kirk could have had a similar path.
I guess as you don't usually get plunked into full-on combat service in your first year, attending the Academy at a younger age isn't so bad - after all, teens attend military-style academies now, but they don't go to war, just train and learn.
Kelvinverse Kirk crammed 4 years into 3, just about.
Kelvinverse Kirk crammed 4 years into 3, just about.
In my mind the fifth year Kirk refers to in "Bread and Circuses" was a year of command school after the standard four year training at the Academy. You could take it directly after you graduate or come back and take it later if you wish to command a ship someday. That also explains why they'd have something as intense sounding as the psycho-simulator test.I assume this is reference to Bread and Circuses:
SPOCK: SS Beagle. Small class four stardrive vessel. Crew of forty seven, commanded by. Jim, I believe you knew him. Captain R M Merik.
KIRK: Yes, at the academy. He was dropped in his fifth year. He went into the merchant service.
If correct, then Chekov must have been exceptional being a commissioned Ensign on the Enterprise at age of 22. He must have started the academy at age 17 to get his five years in. Spock and Kirk could have had a similar path.
Good thing for Kirk he wasn't taking a psycho-simulator test during all the TOS episodes where he was struggling with his decisions!
Same here. The fifth year post-grad command school includes thing like the Kobayashi Maru and teaching assignments. Which explains why Saavik and Kirk(s) were at the Academy while holding the rank of Lieutenant.In my mind the fifth year Kirk refers to in "Bread and Circuses" was a year of command school after the standard four year training at the Academy. You could take it directly after you graduate or come back and take it later if you wish to command a ship someday. That also explains why they'd have something as intense sounding as the psycho-simulator test.
Good thing for Kirk he wasn't taking a psycho-simulator test during all the TOS episodes where he was struggling with his decisions!
(Dying) SPOCK: Or the one. ... I never took the Kobayashi Maru test ...until now. What do you think of my solution?
So, Spock never had a fifth year of command school and hence never took the Kobayashi Maru test...no wonder it took him so long to get officially promoted to Commander rank. Explains why Spock's first command was in The Galileo Seven since he was unqualified for command prior to this episode. Good thing they eventually waved the Command School requirement for Spock due to his extended time-in-grade.
Kelvinverse Spock helped create the test. Maybe Prime Spock did, too. But still, you'd think the team that worked on the KM would take it at least once, even just to test it for bugs.
Prime-Spock left Starfleet Academy to serve as a science officer on the Enterprise under Captain Pike, so, some other team developed the KM test after he left. Kelvin-Spock stayed on at Starfleet Academy (giving him the opportunity to lead the KM test team) since the Enterprise was still being built, and Pike was mentoring him to be his First Officer.
my interpretation is that not everyone does all the same tests. They could be related to optional courses or, more likely, extracted among a roster of possible tests: Saviik didn’t seem to be aware of the nature of the test she was undertaking.(Dying) SPOCK: Or the one. ... I never took the Kobayashi Maru test ...until now. What do you think of my solution?
So, Spock never had a fifth year of command school and hence never took the Kobayashi Maru test...no wonder it took him so long to get officially promoted to Commander rank. Explains why Spock's first command was in The Galileo Seven since he was unqualified for command prior to this episode. Good thing they eventually waved the Command School requirement for Spock due to his extended time-in-grade.
Maybe the nature of the test is a closely guarded secret (worst kept, though). Maybe there are alternate beginnings for the same test, to keep cadets on their toes.
Perhaps the test wasn’t in effect until after his last year?
Yes, exactly. I also theorize that when Spock says Valeris was "the first Vulcan to graduate at the top of her class in Starfleet Academy," he's talking about Valeris graduating from Command School. Because IMO it's absurd that Valeris would be the first Vulcan to graduate from the top of her class if Vulcans are the intellectual giants of the UFP we've always been led to believe.
Yeah. I think there's a variety of "no win scenarios" that serve as the KM test at the Academy. A distressed ship is just one of the variables. Other options could be the test that Wesley took in "Coming of Age" where he had to rescue the guy or the command test Troi took in "Thine Own Self" where she had to order Geordi to his death. All of those serve as tests of character.
Thankyou, that line about Valeris has always seemed very odd!
not necessarily “no win” there are probably several types of command tests and the student won’t know in advance what kind of test they will be subjected to.
Of course they can also request a specific test afterwards, as Kirk tried the KM three times.
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