What was Kim's Rank when he Retired?

[Guy Gardener]

Some people cry that this hero was under appreciated, that he should have been promoted at some point. He complained when Tom got re-promoted back to Lieutenant, and he bitched that back home he would have been a Commander by then in Nightingale... We're not certain how long he stayed in the fleet or if he stayed n the fleet... Or if his jacket was spiked for breaking the all those silly laws about how time travel destroys the universe so shouldn't be used for petty reasons... What was his final rank?

 

[number6]

Ensign.

 

[Ro_Laren]

Definitely Ensign! Harry Kim got the shaft, lol!

 

[sbk1234]

Sorry. I liked the guy. I could see him being the consumate career officer, who ends up as a captain of his own ship, much like what was shown in Endgame. The truth of the matter is, 7 years is not THAT long a time that it would put his career behind. In fact, I'd think that his stint on Voyager would have ended up helping his career.

As an aside, Barkley did really shitty in the promotion department, according to Endgame. After all those years, and only a lt. commander?

 

[BlazerBoy]

Harry would make an excellent ineffectual desk admiral, but he'll at least make Captain I say.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Yeah, but if Admiral Janeway even mentioned once to anyone in the present during the rest of End Game before she died even once that the only reason she got to go back in time is because "A" Harry Kim didn't blow her little ship out of space because of some sense of loyalty to her which resulted in the annihilation of 20 years of future history all across the complete universe entirely...

Not the sort of cat out of the bag, if it got out, which would inspire Starfleet to give this guy a first chance again if he's going to let the universe be destroyed every time Janeway wants a do-over...

Did the Admirals shuttle survive the adventure? The ships log would have shafted Harry as much as the "letter" another future Harry sent Janeway 3 years earlier.

 

[Keith1701]

Commander

 

[Guy Gardener]

Well, I said Lieutenant (JG), but only because they usually give you an automatic promotion upon retirement to boost your pension, but since there's no money in the future it's possible they don't do that any more?

 

[Bill Morris]

The question implies that Kim is retired by now in the Trekiverse timeline, where he would now be 38 years old and probably a captain, a long way from retirement age.

 

[Matt]

Kim was sort of immature for a starfleet officer. I don't blame it on his age, really. He showed the same sort of maturity as Wesley Crusher, who was ten years younger than Kim.

I'd say Kim wouldn't make it past Lieutenant. I doub't he's got the stuff to be LTCmdr.

Of course his experience in the delta quadrant is a big plus, but there were more than a few times when he bucked antlers with the Captain.

 

[CDP]

On a serious note, he would probably have struggled at first.

Taking the VOY Relaunch to one side, as he was still an ensihn when he ot back, he would have missed the Dominion war, and therefore would probably have been stuck well behind other officers on the command track, as they would have been promoted above him to fill dead mens shoes.

His career was probably set back about 3-5 years.

However, I believe that in the VOY:R, everyone was moved up two grades in rank when they got back.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

The poor dope is promoted only once. Sadly, it is to the rank of Butler (Junior Grade)-- a meaningless reward for serving fifty-two years as a loyal assistant-secretary to Fleet Admiral Naomi Wildman.

I kid Harry, though. With the senior staff of Voyager remaining stable for those seven years in the Delta Quadrant, there wasn't much need-- or room-- for promotion. Now that they've returned home, an officer as experienced as Harry will shoot up through the ranks. I wouldn't put it past him to make it through the Lieutenant ranks in record time.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Nearly 30 (I think the actual number is 27.) people died or left Voyager "onscreen" after the tragic events in Caretaker when a 1/4 the crews of two ships died and they amalgamated.

Of course 7, Icheb and the Equinox 5 did bolster the numbers a little, but a hell of a lot of extra's with superior rank to Harry died during te course of the show, not that anyone working for Voyager was keeping track of these things like some of the crazy websites I've run across keeping track of NPC's and mortality rates.

Here's the argument against Kim's promotion while on Voyager. His job at Operations didn't call for a greater rank. To get a greater rank he would have needed a to move to a different position or speciality, at which point a different Ensign" would have been given the "chief of Ops" job.

 

[Harvey]

Ensign.

If he couldn't get promoted with all the experience he received on Voyager with fellow crew members dying off left and right, he certainly couldn't get promoted back on Earth.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Kim is an ensign. He has always been an ensign. He will always be an ensign. The great and powerful Oz has spoken.

 

[Niemz]

Commander?