Trip as 3rd in command

[ItIsGreen]

A chief of security who is also secretly part of section 31 would seem like someone who should be more qualified than a boat mechanic to be 3rd in command.

I get the analogy, but Chief Engineer on a starship surely must be closer to rocket scientist than boat mechanic. Or at least equal parts mechanic and physicist.

I agree with your point though, Reed would have made more sense than Trip.

However, there's obviously a hole in this theory because Troy took the command test but never ditched the blue shirt (when she chose to wear a uniform).

And we see folks in red who are in command of nothing as well - conn officers and the like. There's also one instance of an Admiral in gold. Beverly Crusher is also a command-grade officer and she still wears blue too. The problem with having so many jobs and only 3 uniform colours is that lots of jobs get lumped into the same 'box' that don't necessarily belong together. The colour of your uniform doesn't necessarily denote your ability to command, just what your 'day job' is.

 

[Lance Charger]

Isn't Crusher wearing Red in that episode where Picard is 90 and he needs her to give him a lift back to a space time anomaly to fix whatever time travel thing was making him jump around in time?

 

[eyeresist]

I agree with your point though, Reed would have made more sense than Trip.

Malcolm would have been good for the pew-pew stuff, but I think Trip would have made a better diplomat.

 

[ItIsGreen]

Isn't Crusher wearing Red in that episode where Picard is 90 and he needs her to give him a lift back to a space time anomaly to fix whatever time travel thing was making him jump around in time?

In that 'possible' future timeline created by Q, yes, because by that time she was a full-time Captain. However she's been a bridge officer since TNG S1 (full Commander, same rank as Riker and even points this out in "Farpoint") and commanded the Enterprise while everyone was out looking for Data in "Descent".

 

[Nerys Myk]

In that 'possible' future timeline created by Q, yes, because by that time she was a full-time Captain. However she's been a bridge officer since TNG S1 (full Commander, same rank as Riker and even points this out in "Farpoint") and commanded the Enterprise while everyone was out looking for Data in "Descent".

Is she a Bridge officer? As CMO she probably has access, but I don't think she has a position there. Being a full Commander doesn't qualify her for command. It's a rank not a position. Scanning the transcript for "Farpoint" I saw this exchange:

RIKER: I'm willing, Doctor. Although we're not officially part of the Enterprise, I thought there might be something useful we can do while we wait.
CRUSHER: Useful? How, Commander?
RIKER: Investigating some things that I've noticed since I've been here. The last was a piece of fruit.
CRUSHER: (examining a bolt of cloth) Gold would be lovely with this. I am sure, Commander, there are reasons for a first officer to want to demonstrate his energy and alertness to a new captain. But since my duty and interests are outside the command structure

So at that point she didn't think of herself as part of the command team and probably hadn't qualified to run a bridge shift.

 

[ItIsGreen]

Is she a Bridge officer? As CMO she probably has access, but I don't think she has a position there. Being a full Commander doesn't qualify her for command. It's a rank not a position. Scanning the transcript for "Farpoint" I saw this exchange:

So at that point she didn't think of herself as part of the command team and probably hadn't qualified to run a bridge shift.

Fair enough, I may have mis-remembered that then. I'm sure she states somewhere that she's a qualified bridge officer, though. Of course it's equally possible that I'm accidentally making the whole thing up.

Edit: Found the reference I was thinking of, it's actually from "Thine Own Self", the same episode where Troi takes the test herself:

TROI: Fine. It was good to see some old friends. I'd lost touch with most of them. It's interesting to see the different paths some of their lives have taken. Beverly, you don't usually stand a watch on the Bridge even when Data's not here.
CRUSHER: I volunteered tonight. I like to put in a little Bridge time now and then, stay on top of operations, tactical procedures. The truth is, I like it. It's not every doctor who gets to command a starship, even if it is the night shift.
TROI: May I ask you a personal question? Why did you decide to become a Commander? I mean, you didn't need the rank in order to be Chief Medical Officer, so why put yourself through all the extra work?
CRUSHER: Oh, I don't know. I never even thought about my rank for a long time. It seemed pretty trivial compared to being a doctor. But then, about eight years ago, I started to feel like I wanted to stretch myself a little.

'Eight years ago' would place the time she took the test as a year or two prior to the start of season one. Perhaps she meant that she had no overwhelming desire to give up being a doctor to be part of the command structure full-time?

 

[MacLeod]

In a battle situation, Malcolm would be an excellent commander, agreed. But given that he is even more socially awkward than Archer, I think he would struggle with the broader "management" of a ship that a captain is required to do. ENT does repeatedly show that Malcolm is more concerned with effectiveness and efficiency than morale, whereas I'd say morale is the foundation on which everything else is built.

But we are talking about 3rd in Command not CO, socially awkward people can make very effective deputies or even do well in the Leader role sure it might not come naturally to them but it doesn't mean they can't do it.

 

[e3jeremey]

And we see folks in red who are in command of nothing as well - conn officers and the like. There's also one instance of an Admiral in gold. Beverly Crusher is also a command-grade officer and she still wears blue too. The problem with having so many jobs and only 3 uniform colours is that lots of jobs get lumped into the same 'box' that don't necessarily belong together. The colour of your uniform doesn't necessarily denote your ability to command, just what your 'day job' is.

Let's not forget Data as well who is Second Officer on the Enterprise and serves as a Captain at one point during the Klingon Civil War while still wearing his gold uniform.

 

[Nerys Myk]

That goes all the way back to Spock, who was an XO and wore blue. Position is more important than rank or uniform color when it comes to command. Wearing command colors doesn't mean you're more qualified than a blue shirt or gold shirt who's actually in the chain of command.

 

[saladdays]

Let's not forget Data as well who is Second Officer on the Enterprise and serves as a Captain at one point during the Klingon Civil War while still wearing his gold uniform.

Yes, but this was for a very short period of time, and wasn't supposed to be a promotion of any sort. I wouldn't expect anyone serving as a captain for something like that to automatically change his uniform.