Typical Rank Promotion Trajectory

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Picard became Captain and commanding officer of the Stargazer when he was 28. And that's canonical.

Although Picard's appears to have been more of the battlefield promotion variety; be that as it may, he was young when he become captain of the Stargazer. Will Decker was in his late-twenties/early-thirties when he replaced Kirk as Enterprise captain (assuming he was the same age as Stephen Collins, he would have been about thirty two at the time of TMP). Tryla Scott made captain younger than anyone in Starfleet history (and wasn't shy about it).

--Sran

 

[Nerys Myk]

In the US military, most medical students are commissioned as 2Lt (Army/Air Force) or Ensign (Navy), and upon graduation are immediately promoted to Captain (Army/Air Force) or Lt (Navy). They skip 1Lt (Army/Air Force) or Lt jg. (Navy). It's a pay grade thing. Doctors must be payed a particular minimum amount and the 1Lt/Lt jg pay grade is lower than that amount.

That must explain why the draftee doctors in M*A*S*H were all captains or above. I doubt Hawkeye or Trapper went to any kind of military academy.

I think Houlihan and Potter were the only "Regular Army" medical officers.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Between the dominion war and the Borg, people graduating in the 2370+ era are probably bad examples of career progression though.

That's a very valid point, as in times of War nations need the manpower more than the experience.

But considering that prior to the 2370's Kirk was the youngest Captain for decades, you've got to surmise that most people were not promoted to Captain until their 30's or 40's at the earliest.

Picard became Captain and commanding officer of the Stargazer when he was 28. And that's canonical.

And Tryla Scott made captain at a younger age than that, but we don't know how much younger.

 

[Jedi_Master]

One thing that seems to skew the promotion track is that Federation citizens that enroll in Starfleet are so often portrayed as intending to make it a lifelong career, while in the U.S. Armed Forces, "lifers" are far more rare.

So the concept seems to be that you have to either be an exceptional talent to get promoted or be diligent over a period of time.

In addition, what are the motivations for a Starfleet officer to accept a promotion? There is no financial incentive, so it would have to be personal "to improve oneself, to enrich oneself."

 

[Thrawn]

I kind of like that Star Trek shows a much more fluid approach to promotion. I like the idea that promotion can come purely based on merit at an extremely young age, that nothing matters except ability and desire.

 

[Idran]

On the other hand, though, Thrawn, I've heard that one of the reasons for regular promotion in the US military is to avoid the Peter Principle? Either someone qualifies for a promotion or they're out once the time comes around? If so, that's one point against the Starfleet system, as demotions only ever seem to happen when framed as punishments, never something like "you couldn't cut it as chief engineer, but you were a great engineer, so down you go where you'll do better". Even Kirk's could only happen when presented as ostensibly a punishment. So if the usual Starfleet path barring disciplinary action is "up until you can't go up anymore", then everyone should end up promoted until they hit the level where they start being mediocre enough at their jobs to plateau. Meaning that no one ends up where they can be the most effective.

 

[Sgt_G]

I posted this on another board about four years ago:

A few weeks ago, I was reading stuff on FanFic dot com. It annoys me when I read a fiction story and see "At age 28, he was the youngest Captain ever." Go to the next story, and the main character there was the youngest at age 27. Two stories later, someone else made their character a Captain at 26. I'm waiting to see the story in which teen-agers are commanding starships. {sigh}

Using real-world numbers, one cannot go to Academy or West Point until age 17. It takes four years to graduate ... none of this "Four years? I'll do it in three!" So an officer can be a 2Lt / Ensign at age 21. It takes two years to make 1Lt / LT-jg and another two for Capt / LT. That's pretty much set in stone.

Now, to move up to Major / LtCmdr and then to LtCol / Cmdr and again to COL / CAPT, the LAW requires three years time in grade for each promotion. Of course, no one is ever promoted at the minimum time, but let's say somehow someone does. They will be 17+4+2+2+3+3+3 = 34 years old when they make O-6 Captain.

In theory, you can have a child prodigy get his degree by age 18 and then get a direct commission via OTS / OCS. That shaves off three years, and it is legal to promote from 2LT to 1LT in 18 months vice 24. Ergo, the absolute youngest a person in modern-day US military can theoretically make O-6 is age 30-1/2 years.

 

[vegaslover62]

No question Ezri has the wisdom and the(Jadzia, Dominion War) experience, but hers was a battlefield promotion as well.

 

[Sci]

I think Trek's depiction of captains at age 28 is about as low as you can get the age and still have it be somewhat plausible. And of course, both Picard on the Stargazer and Ezri on the Aventine only became C.O. at age 28 because of extraordinary circumstances--Picard being the highest-ranking survivor aboard a ship far isolated from the UFP, and Starfleet facing an extinction-level invasion that prevented them from transferring a more senior officer to the Aventine. So even those examples occurred within some very extraordinary circumstances that don't happen in real life.

... and of course, the less said about "let's make the the guy who just graduated from the Academy into the captain," the better. (It's all the more galling because nothing about ST09's dramatic structure required Kirk to be a cadet during the bulk of the film. The script could easily have had him as a young prodigy, newly promoted to commander after having served long stints in space already, maybe going back for command training at HQ. But nothing about it required him to go from being a senior in Space College to captain.)

 

[Disco]

Picard commanded the Stargazer as Commander before he was made Captain.

 

[The Wormhole]

Picard commanded the Stargazer as Commander before he was made Captain.

While that would make a bit more sense, Star Trek rarely shows Captains on screen who actually hold a lower rank. Indeed, I think DS9 was the only time this was attempted on screen. Every other Starfleet Captain, even those commanding small ships with crews less than 100 have always been O-6 Captains.

Besides, Picard was definitely an O-6 Captain when the Stargazer was lost, if the rank insignia in his dream in The Battle is accurate.

 

[Christopher]

Besides, Picard was definitely an O-6 Captain when the Stargazer was lost, if the rank insignia in his dream in The Battle is accurate.

Yes, but that was 22 years into his command of the ship. He was the Stargazer's captain for a very long time -- a bit longer than he's commanded the Enterprise(s) as of the current novels.

Although there's been some confusion on this point. The original description of Picard in the TNG writers' bible said that he'd been aboard the Stargazer for 22 years, but doesn't actually say he was the captain for that entire time. But fans and writers have generally conflated the two and had him earn a battlefield promotion very early in his first year aboard the ship. The fact that he took over when his captain was killed is canonical, but the actual date of it is not -- just one of those bits of fan lore that's assumed to be canonical.

 

[Avro Arrow]

While that would make a bit more sense, Star Trek rarely shows Captains on screen who actually hold a lower rank. Indeed, I think DS9 was the only time this was attempted on screen. Every other Starfleet Captain, even those commanding small ships with crews less than 100 have always been O-6 Captains.

Not just on screen. Don't get me wrong, I love the Sagittarius gang, but I've never really understood why a ship of 14 people needs a full 2.5-stripe Captain.

 

[C.E. Evans]

While that would make a bit more sense, Star Trek rarely shows Captains on screen who actually hold a lower rank. Indeed, I think DS9 was the only time this was attempted on screen. Every other Starfleet Captain, even those commanding small ships with crews less than 100 have always been O-6 Captains.

Not just on screen. Don't get me wrong, I love the Sagittarius gang, but I've never really understood why a ship of 14 people needs a full 2.5-stripe Captain.

I think it's because a starship is as much a potential weapon of mass destruction as it is an instrument (and sometimes creator) of interstellar policy that could impact entire planets and maybe even entire sectors at times. Such a responsibility may warrant a starship to have a full captain as CO regardless of how big she and her crew are.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Tryla Scott made captain younger than anyone in Starfleet history (and wasn't shy about it).

Actually, Picard's dialogue goes like this:

PICARD: Tryla Scott. It's said you made Captain faster than anyone in Starfleet history, present company included. Are you that good?

Making Captain faster than anyone else isn't necessarily the same thing as making Captain younger than anyone else.

Tryla Scott could've entered Starfleet later than most or just looked young for her age. Without more definitive information about her & her career, we don't know what age she actually made Captain, just that it took her less time than anyone else.

 

[Disco]

Picard commanded the Stargazer as Commander before he was made Captain.

While that would make a bit more sense, Star Trek rarely shows Captains on screen who actually hold a lower rank. Indeed, I think DS9 was the only time this was attempted on screen. Every other Starfleet Captain, even those commanding small ships with crews less than 100 have always been O-6 Captains.

Besides, Picard was definitely an O-6 Captain when the Stargazer was lost, if the rank insignia in his dream in The Battle is accurate.

He was a Captain at the end of his tenure commanding the Stargazer but not at the start.

 

[The Wormhole]

Picard commanded the Stargazer as Commander before he was made Captain.

While that would make a bit more sense, Star Trek rarely shows Captains on screen who actually hold a lower rank. Indeed, I think DS9 was the only time this was attempted on screen. Every other Starfleet Captain, even those commanding small ships with crews less than 100 have always been O-6 Captains.

Besides, Picard was definitely an O-6 Captain when the Stargazer was lost, if the rank insignia in his dream in The Battle is accurate.

He was a Captain at the end of his tenure commanding the Stargazer but not at the start.

Is there any evidence, canon or otherwise of this? Like I said, it would certainly make sense, but I don't recall it ever being established. In fact, doesn't the Stargazer novel series have him as a full Captain?

 

[Christopher]

Is there any evidence, canon or otherwise of this?

Yes, there is, in "Tapestry." Q says that Picard "took charge of the Stargazer's bridge when its captain was killed." Which means he must've been aboard the ship as a junior officer at the time.

In fact, doesn't the Stargazer novel series have him as a full Captain?

Its "pilot" novel, The Valiant, depicts the event described in the above quote. Picard starts out as the second officer, but the captain and first officer are killed very early in his tenure and he's forced to take over. An ongoing thread in the novel series is Picard's conflict with an admiral who doesn't believe Picard deserves the command he's prematurely earned.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Not just on screen. Don't get me wrong, I love the Sagittarius gang, but I've never really understood why a ship of 14 people needs a full 2.5-stripe Captain.

I've been wondering about that myself; Terrell gained command of the Sagittarius after Nassir was killed, but was he actually promoted to captain, or did he remain a full commander? His being addressed as captain may have been a reference to naval tradition rather than actual rank. If that's true, could it be that his actual promotion to captain happens only when he's granted command of the Reliant sometime before 2282 (as he is captain of Reliant when he appears in Christopher's story)?

Khatami was promoted to captain after Zhao Sheng was killed, but it seemed as though she was more experienced than Terrell at that point in time--and as she was commanding a Constitution-class vessel, her being made captain made sense.

--Sran

 

[tomswift2002]

When you think of it, Sisko was both the "Captain" of a Starbase and a ship while he was still a Commander. But he was clearly in his thirties at the time.