Was Spock Kirk's Adjutant at Starfleet Academy?

[C.E. Evans]

Sorry, but it's not that important (and it never was).

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Kirk also said: "Spock, these cadets of yours, how good are they? How will they respond under real pressure?" Whether or not he knew them all personally, if he was an Academy commandant, you'd think he'd be at least passingly familiar with generally how "good" his fourth-year class is.

I've always interpreted that statement as Kirk saying, "I know what each cadet's transcripts say, but how will they apply their knowledge to a real situation?"

I think the comparison was more to illustrate that it isn't uncommon for a Commandant to personally oversee something involving a group of cadets, be it a training exercise or something more far serious.

Yes, that's what I meant. And Kirk certainly would've had discretion to decide which matters he dealt with himself as opposed to delegating them to someone else.

--Sran

 

[Use of Time]

Maybe somebody can help me with this. I went to a military college in Virginia. The Commandant wasn't even in the top three as far as rank. Our Super Intendant was a Major General, our Dean of Admissions was a Brigadier General and our Commandant was only a full bird Colonel. There was some other flag officer but I don't recall his role. Admiral Brand in TNG was a Two-Star Admiral IIRC and held the role of Super Intendant as well. We also see ADM Quinn offer to promote Picard to Admiral and fulfill the role of Commandant as a One-Star ADM I would assume.

Also, wouldn't going from the Starfleet Chief of Operations to Commandant of Starfleet Academy be a step backwards for Kirk? Kirk liked to be around the action so I have a hard time seeing him opting for the Academy over controlling Starfleet Operations. My guess is that his friendship with Spock motivated him to offer his time to mentor some of Spock's cadets when his OPS duties allowed. As far as Genesis goes I'm going to agree with BillJ's theory on this one.

Oh and anyone familiar with the Lost Era novels can recall that Kevin Riley served as his aide/adjutant as a LCDR and eventually CDR.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Also, wouldn't going from the Starfleet Chief of Operations to Commandant of Starfleet Academy be a step backwards for Kirk?

It would had he served as Commandant immediately after serving as Chief of Starfleet Operations, but that's not what happened. Kirk regained command of the Enterprise in TMP and remained the ship's commanding officer for an unspecified period of time (we've no idea how long) before returning to the admiralty full time by TWOK. Commandant of Starfleet Academy would have been a step up from command of a single vessel.

Now, the circumstances surrounding Kirk's return to Starfleet Command aren't clear, nor is it clear why the Enterprise is a training vessel at the outset of TWOK. Many have speculated that Kirk took the ship on another extended mission after TMP, a mission that ended badly and resulted in Kirk's being booted upstairs and Spock promoted to captain. Perhaps relegating the ship to training duty was the only way to keep it in service.

--Sran

 

[The Old Mixer]

According to Generations, Kirk also left Starfleet for a time in the era between the first two films.

 

[J.T.B.]

Also, wouldn't going from the Starfleet Chief of Operations to Commandant of Starfleet Academy be a step backwards for Kirk? Kirk liked to be around the action so I have a hard time seeing him opting for the Academy over controlling Starfleet Operations.

It's impossible to know their relative status from the information given. Chief of Operations sounds pretty high up, and if you go by the T/O in the FJ Technical Manual it is just below Starfleet's Chief of Staff (presumably Nogura in TMP). OTOH Kirk was apparently only a rear admiral at the time, and probably a fairly junior one, so Chief of Operations could be a mid-level staff post at Starfleet HQ. But, there is no reason to assume Kirk's position in TWOK was superintendent of the Academy, either, so there's not much that can be pieced together about Kirk's career progression at the time.