What became of the role of yeoman after the TOS era? Did technological changes render their jobs obsolete? Did their job title change?
Where have all the yeomen gone?
- Thread starter Laura Cynthia Chambers
- Start date
Likely more use of computer programs and data managers to provide the automation to the day to day operations. Instead of a Yeoman or Secretary managing the captain's schedule, and bringing appropriate paperwork the job was moved to more electronic PADD type reports the captain would review from department heads and the executive officer.
Yeomen are probably more common with flag officers.
How come NX-01 didn't have them?
Probably because it wasn't recognized as an immediate need. Archer also launched earlier than planned and they had to learn as they went.
Tilly basically did act like a yeoman in S3 when she was Disco's XO.
And really, I suspect the main reason why we don't see yeoman in the modern shows is because the writers don't understand how to distinguish the role of an assistant from a second in command. I mean Damar was supposed to be Dukat's aide and then became Dukat's successor when he was removed from power.
And really, I suspect the main reason why we don't see yeoman in the modern shows is because the writers don't understand how to distinguish the role of an assistant from a second in command. I mean Damar was supposed to be Dukat's aide and then became Dukat's successor when he was removed from power.
Administrative assistant vs assistant manager? They can't delineate between the two?
IIRC, Rand was never shown to usurp Spock's job.
What exactly were Rand's duties supposed to be? Is a Yeoman like an Adjutant?
NM, I just Googled and found out. Admin and HR and not actually an officer. Huh.
NM, I just Googled and found out. Admin and HR and not actually an officer. Huh.
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They're basically clerical staff.
Think Radar on MASH.
An Adjutant is an officer level position that oversees all of the admin and clerical staff for a unit. wiki coverer Marines (No Navy entery)
Not something we normally see on Trek. But we've seen some XO perform these tasks.
wiki XO USN
I tend to think that the role of yeoman came about during TOS and left with the TOS movies. Starfleet may have went through a brief period in which it fancied itself a bit more on the Old British Navy, but by the time of TNG, the role "yeoman" may have been redesignated "clerical officer" or "clerical specialist," and was now mainly a below decks job. With improved intraship communications, there was no longer a need for a clerk to report to the bridge for the captain's signature on something, IMO. Additionally, replicators in a captain's ready room also made it unnecessary for someone to occasionally bring him or her coffee as well...
Beat me to it!"Long time passing . . . ."
Where have all the yeomen gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the yeomen gone?
I'd like to know
Where have all the yeomen gone?
To their stylists, every one
Oh, what did you do to your hair?
What did you do to your hair?
Was I the only one who was thinking;
Where have all the yeomen gone?
Where are the mini skirts?
Where is good old Janice Rand
With a hairdo that looks like it hurts?
I need a yeoman
I'm holding out for a yeoman till the end of the shift
She's gotta be strong, she's gotta be fast
And she's gotta bring me coffee.
(sorry, not good at rhyming/Englishis my second language haha)
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I think in addition to driving the ship Leslie Crusher might have made a good Yeoman for Picard. Kind of like an older version of Naomi's relationship with Janeway.
So because she'd be a girl/woman she has to become a yeoman and bring Picard his tea, while Wesley didn't have to do that? Hm?
Starfleet probably restructured. Not the first rank/job to disappear, probably won't be the last. For funsies I went and looked up other ranks that are no longer around in the US military. Just a few here:
Commodore
Sergeant-Major-General
Admiral of the Navy
Army Cornet
Ensign
Airman Third Class
Army Specialist Third Class
Airship Rigger Second Class
Commodore
Sergeant-Major-General
Admiral of the Navy
Army Cornet
Ensign
Airman Third Class
Army Specialist Third Class
Airship Rigger Second Class
Adjutants are a land-forces thing. In days long gone, army units had sub-units with their own officers that could be spread around quite widely, and someone needed to keep tabs on what all those units were doing, if they were well led, organized, drilled, disciplined etc, and to keep on top of all the reports and paperwork going back and forth between regimental HQ and the companies as well as with higher HQs. This evolved to where the adjutant was mostly focused on personnel matters. Today this position at the battalion and brigade level is "S-1" under the staff numbering system.
On a ship everybody was close together and much easier to keep tabs on, and the first (most senior) lieutenant handled most of the internal administrative stuff. The captain and his assistant, the clerk (a midshipman-level officer), handled the external correspondence. Yeomen were enlisted assistants to these officers, originally (when most of the crews were illiterate) known as "writers," which they still are in the British Royal Navy.
Since they often didn't literally hold the rank of lieutenant, the first lieutenant became the "executive officer" in the post-Civil War US Navy, and the first lieutenant became the title for the officer in charge of the deck department. In the Royal Navy, a big ship would have a second in command with the rank of commander, who was known as "The Commander," with the first lieutenant below that. On a smaller ship where the second in command was a lieutenant commander or lieutenant, they were (and are) still called the first lieutenant.
It was similar with supplies and logistics: Armies on the move had a lot more headaches as to where to camp, where supplies were, how to pay everyone etc, so they evolved a more complicated staff structure of quartermasters, paymasters, commissaries and so on. On a ship, you just found the right barrels in the hold, so a navy purser (later supply officer) pretty much handled it all.
It was similar with supplies and logistics: Armies on the move had a lot more headaches as to where to camp, where supplies were, how to pay everyone etc, so they evolved a more complicated staff structure of quartermasters, paymasters, commissaries and so on. On a ship, you just found the right barrels in the hold, so a navy purser (later supply officer) pretty much handled it all.
As a specialty, yeoman is not really comparable to that list except for airship rigger (which disappeared when the navy got out of lighter-than-air aviation). But they could certainly be retitled. As I said above, USN yeomen were originally "writers." What were originally yeomen became "storekeepers" and then "logistics specialists."
Computer Digital Assistants + basic AI took over scheduling and clerical duties.
No need for a organic to do that role anymore.
No need for a organic to do that role anymore.
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