Why does Harry Kim never get promoted?

[Turd Ferguson]

I've been watching the Voyager episode Equinox. Ensign Kim's lucky he's serving under Janeway! At least she promoted Tuvok and Paris. Ransom doesn't give two fucks about keeping people at low ranks!

Lt. Max Burke - XO.
ENSIGN Marla Gilmore - Chief Engineer

So, besides the EMH, the three highest ranks on the ship are a Captain, a Lieutenant and an Ensign! LITERALLY the entire command crew died, and Ransom couldn't be bothered to promote anybody!

 

[Oddish]

But were they senior staff at the time? I don't think they became senior staff until they were chief engineer and head of security.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

Bridge crew certainly, arguably LaForge was "senior staff" if Sulu, Chekov, Paris and Mayweather were, but I'm less certain about Worf as he didn't have a specific role.

 

[Oddish]

Ok, Shamrock. But the bottom line is by the middle of the series (S4), the senior staff were one captain, two commanders (Riker, Beverly), three LCDR's (Deanna, Geordi, Data), and one Lieutenant (Worf). By the same point in Voyager, Harry and B'Elanna should have been brought up to LTJG and Lieutenant, respectively.

EDIT: For those who think Harry's non-promotion was possibly due to incompetence, here's a quote from "Twisted", an episode we've been playing with. Emphasis is mine.

JANEWAY: "Harry?"
KIM: "Yes, ma'am."
JANEWAY: "I just want you to know you've been one of the bright spots of this whole mission. You've exceeded any expectations I might have had of you."
KIM: "Thank you, Captain. I appreciate that."

 

[DonIago]

That could just mean Janeway had very low expectations of him.

 

[Oddish]

Dubious at best.

 

[jackoverfull]

Bridge crew certainly, arguably LaForge was "senior staff" if Sulu, Chekov, Paris and Mayweather were, but I'm less certain about Worf as he didn't have a specific role.

LaForge defines Worf and himself as Junior officers in Lonely Among Us.

 

[Guy Gardener]

LaForge defines Worf and himself as Junior officers in Lonely Among Us.

Less than a year later they were both department heads.

 

[jackoverfull]

Less than a year later they were both department heads.

correct.
Promotions are fast in Starfleet, especially when your boss is killed by a sentient pool of goo and your name is not Harry.

 

[Guy Gardener]

MacDougal; Argyle; Logan; Lynch.

Four Chief engineers in season 1.

Family shamily.

 

[Oddish]

correct.
Promotions are fast in Starfleet, especially when your boss is killed by a sentient pool of goo and your name is not Harry.

Oh, Harry got quite a few promotions, 17 if my count is right. He just never got to keep them, courtesy of the Reset Button.

 

[at Quark's]

I've been watching the Voyager episode Equinox. Ensign Kim's lucky he's serving under Janeway! At least she promoted Tuvok and Paris. Ransom doesn't give two fucks about keeping people at low ranks!

Lt. Max Burke - XO.
ENSIGN Marla Gilmore - Chief Engineer

So, besides the EMH, the three highest ranks on the ship are a Captain, a Lieutenant and an Ensign! LITERALLY the entire command crew died, and Ransom couldn't be bothered to promote anybody!

To be fair, a nova class ship crew complement is 78 , according to memory alpha. 39 of them died in their first week in the DQ during a confrontation with the Krowtonian guard. The years that followed must have been extremely hard on them. So it's probably safe to day there were 30 or less left by the time they met Voyager. So those promotions wouldn't really have meant that much, and I also think they had other things on their minds, trying to survive.

And of course, it's doubtful if Ransom himself even should have held the rank of Captain, being the CO of such a small vessel. (But that's the old rank vs position debate all over again.)

 

[Farscape One]

I honestly think there were less than 30, given how the ship was being pummeled and the crew being attacked, rightfully, by those aliens. Plus, Ransom went through a casualty list early in the episode for his recent losses.

If there were more than 20 people left, I'd be surprised.

 

[Oddish]

It would be irrelevant after this episode, of course. All remaining Equinox crew were either dead or the lowest possible enlisted rank. Possibly, since they were constantly under fire and more and more people were dying, the captain saw no point in filling in holes that would just be created again when someone else bought it.

Or, he might have shared a philosophy with Janeway, that field promotions were to be kept to a minimum.

Say what you want about Chakotay, he obviously understood the positive value of judicious field promotion. When he became captain in "Before and After", a number of his people had higher ranks: I think Tuvok was a commander, Tom was LCDR, and Harry was a full lieutenant.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

By the same point in Voyager, Harry and B'Elanna should have been brought up to LTJG and Lieutenant, respectively.

Makes sense to me.

 

[at Quark's]

It's weird though. Watching Parallax, the first Voyager episode after the pilot.In it they have a briefing for "the senior officers", which at this point in time apparently are Janeway, Chakotay, Tuvok, Paris and Harry Kim. Now, I understand the first three, and I also understand that not all "senior" positions were filled yet (such as chief engineer), but that out of the approx. 150 others on board, only Kim (fresh out of the Academy) and Paris (hasty field commission) would count as 'senior officers' and there are no others with more responsible positions stretches the bounds of credibility for me. So Kim apparently does very well for his first assignment, but is then stuck for seven years in it.

Also, sadly, the Chakotay we see in this episode (sticking out his neck for his Maquis crew) was all too quickly lost ...

 

[Oddish]

All things Maquis were too quickly lost.

 

[amp]

EDIT: For those who think Harry's non-promotion was possibly due to incompetence, here's a quote from "Twisted", an episode we've been playing with. Emphasis is mine.

JANEWAY: "Harry?"
KIM: "Yes, ma'am."
JANEWAY: "I just want you to know you've been one of the bright spots of this whole mission. You've exceeded any expectations I might have had of you."
KIM: "Thank you, Captain. I appreciate that."

"Twisted" is an early season 2 episode, so Harry was just over a year out of the Academy at that point. It's possible that Janeway soured on him at a later time.

(I actually had a real-life analogue to this. I once had a direct report fresh out of school who was really driven and on the ball early on, but after a while he stopped progressing and became lackadaisical. Early on I praised him to management and then had to walk it back when his performance didn't keep up.)

 

[Turd Ferguson]

"Twisted" is an early season 2 episode, so Harry was just over a year out of the Academy at that point. It's possible that Janeway soured on him at a later time.

(I actually had a real-life analogue to this. I once had a direct report fresh out of school who was really driven and on the ball early on, but after a while he stopped progressing and became lackadaisical. Early on I praised him to management and then had to walk it back when his performance didn't keep up.)

It could sort of be like the Trek BBS, too. I'm not sure how it is now, but if you wanted to be a moderator, the easiest way to NOT be one was to ask to be one. Maybe Janeway took that approach with Ensign Kim and his (lack of) promotion. I can see Janeway having a "Days Since Mr. Kim Asked for Promotion" counter in her office that periodically gets reset

 

[Oddish]

That also doesn't match what we see. Harry reminds her in "Nightingale" that it's been 7 years and he's still an ensign. She says "if this is your way of bucking for a promotion..."

Given that Janeway is unsure what he's trying to say, this suggests that they haven't had this discussion before. If Harry was bucking for a promotion, Janeway would have said something like "Harry, not this again."