What *was* Worf's post, anyway?

[Canadave]

So I've been slowly getting my girlfriend into Trek, and recently while watching either "1001101" or "Too Short a Season" (I forget which) she asked me what Worf's job was, and I... had no clue.

I mean, pre-"Skin of Evil," Tasha was obviously the security chief, which leaves Worf doing... what, exactly? He was wearing red, so he was a command officer, not security, despite hanging around in the back with Tasha a lot. Other times, he'd man the conn, but that was hardly a regular thing.

So yeah, in short, I have no clue what Worf did every day during the first season.

 

[EmperorTiberius]

Internship

 

[RoJoHen]

I think he was a bouncer.

 

[Mysterion]

He seems to have a a sort of general purpose bridge releif officer, there ot take over or do whatever needs to be done.

 

[Canadave]

Internship

"Mr. Worf, I'm going to need you to organize these files. But first, pick me up a tea, earl grey, hot."

 

[Smellincoffee]

I think he was a bouncer.

I second this: someone has to keep the kids off the bridge. Not even Wesley can take Mr. Worf's "Scary Face".

 

[Orac]

Wasn't he the tactical officer? Or was that his post on DS9?

 

[STR]

^He wasn't on TacOps until Yar got slimed.

 

[JoeP]

I would think that being a junior grade Lt. in the early seasons would mean he had a variety of jobs until he was assigned a permanent post when promoted to full Lt. Hell, he was even doing sensor maintenance in Lonely Among Us.

 

[Vanyel]

I would think that being a junior grade Lt. in the early seasons would mean he had a variety of jobs until he was assigned a permanent post when promoted to full Lt. Hell, he was even doing sensor maintenance in Lonely Among Us.

Sounds good enough for me.

 

[Trek Survivor]

I always thought this post was Mission Ops (it was mentioned in one of the early novels, or maybe the DC mini-series), and also providing relief for other positions when required.

 

[SmoothieX]

I would think that being a junior grade Lt. in the early seasons would mean he had a variety of jobs until he was assigned a permanent post when promoted to full Lt. Hell, he was even doing sensor maintenance in Lonely Among Us.

Sounds good enough for me.

That's how I saw him and Geordi the first year. Younger officers learning the ropes.

 

[Christopher]

First-season Worf was basically the bridge watch officer. A watch officer is basically the captain's representative, an extension of his authority. Worf's responsibility was not for a single station, but for the whole bridge, doing anything that needed to be done, handling whatever responsibilities might arise -- such as manning the typically unmanned aft stations, filling in at conn, ops, or tactical as needed, or commanding the bridge in the absence of the captain or first officer.

The original idea was that Worf was a junior officer on the command track, gaining broad experience through the multiple responsibilities of a watch officer. Personally, I'm disappointed that they ended up reducing him to the "Klingon = warrior" stereotype and narrowed his responsibilities to security/tactical alone.

 

[ClayinCA]

Somebody asked Dorn about this at a convention appearance between the first and second seasons. He quipped, "I was the janitor."

 

[C.E. Evans]

I always thought this post was Mission Ops (it was mentioned in one of the early novels, or maybe the DC mini-series), and also providing relief for other positions when required.

Yeah, that's how I thought of Worf in season one too.

 

[Trekker4747]

I think he was just a relief officer.

 

[milo bloom]

Internship

First-season Worf was basically the bridge watch officer. A watch officer is basically the captain's representative, an extension of his authority. Worf's responsibility was not for a single station, but for the whole bridge, doing anything that needed to be done, handling whatever responsibilities might arise -- such as manning the typically unmanned aft stations, filling in at conn, ops, or tactical as needed, or commanding the bridge in the absence of the captain or first officer.

The original idea was that Worf was a junior officer on the command track, gaining broad experience through the multiple responsibilities of a watch officer. Personally, I'm disappointed that they ended up reducing him to the "Klingon = warrior" stereotype and narrowed his responsibilities to security/tactical alone.

You know, when I started my current job, after a little while I started getting noticed and I started getting tasks and projects outside of my job description. After a little while, I realized they thought I was worth investing in and wanted me to have a well rounded view of our company, so I could be moved up in the ranks.

So, maybe it's just my personal experience, but when I see something like Worf not having one position in the first season, instead being given different tasks and projects, my mind automatically fills in the idea that he's being groomed for bigger things, just like Tiberius and Christopher point out. Has nobody else ever had that experience in their workplace? The fact that this question comes up with such regularity really makes we wonder about other businesses.

 

[Hober Mallow]

He was Picard's personal maid.

 

[Quantum_Penguin]

It's quite simple, really. You see, when some super strong alien starts getting rowdy on the ship, Worf isn't showing up to subdue the creature, he's delivering the mail.

According to the hypothesis formulated by Dachshund and Rottweiler in the early 22nd century, an alien invader aboard the ship has basically the same motivations and behavior as the Canis familiaris of Sol III. So, because Worf is the most resilient crew member, he prevents injuries to the others by appearing to be a mailman, drawing the attention of the creature until it can be neutralized.