Worst command decisions by Captain James T. Kirk

[Gary7]

Overall, I'd say that Captain Kirk was a very effective, successful captain. He and most of his crew survived, with the exceptions of the Enterprise B, where he was sucked into the Nexus.

But he did make some mistakes along the way. Some more grave than others.

In TOS:
From what I've seen, I'd say that one of his worst was in the Immunity Syndrome, where he took the Enterprise into the "zone of darkness." A probe was launched to investigate and they lost it. Vanished. No trace. They could have even programmed a probe to penetrate and then immediately reverse course to return... and they'd have found nothing coming back. So... taking the Enterprise into it was an enormous risk. For all they knew, it could have been "space quicksand," with no means of getting out. Or it could have been some manifestation surrounding a black hole, where entry would mean being drawn into it, never to escape.

Given what was at hand, what was known about the phenomenon, I think Kirk made a huge mistake going into the zone. It would have been far safer to have one or more additional ships in the area attempting to deal with this phenomenon. Perhaps they could have come up with a specially prepared probe with greater power and attempt a partial penetration to see if they could at least test the limits of the barrier.

Had the Enterprise not entered the zone and waited for a couple more ships to assist, it is possible that the space organism might have divided and become two. But the method of destruction devised in the episode showed that they could have applied it to both organisms.

Kirk and his crew got lucky... very lucky, with Spock's major risk to explore the organism (discovering that it's ready to reproduce and suggesting they destroy it) and McCoy's idea about anti-bodies. And Scotty's engineering fortitude keeping the Enterprise intact.

In Bread and Circuses, I was also quite amazed that Kirk took his risk of heading into the city in search of Captain Merik without much more cautious surveillance. They got caught pretty easily, when they had tricorders capable of detecting life forms from miles away. They could have also communicated with the Enterprise to scan the surface and give them a better path to at least investigate possible ways to assess the city perimeter. Given when took place after being captured, they could have all ended up dead by that grave mistake.

Another mistake I'd say Kirk made was with Lazarus, in The Alternative Factor. Far too trusting of the guy. Had he been under closer surveillance, they'd have figured out his agenda much sooner.

In the Movies:
He was far too trusting of the Reliant's silent approach in The Wrath of Khan. What an absolutely dreadful error. And it not only cost many lives, but also caused the death of Mr. Spock. You'd have thought at that point, Kirk would've been smarter... and even Spock, who would've been less punitive with Saavik and have suggested shields be raised.

Any other critical mistakes you think Kirk made during his command?

 

[BillJ]

Allowing Khan access to the Enterprise technical library in "Space Seed". Stranding Khan and his followers.

General lack of security on the Enterprise.

 

[Methuselah Flint]

A Taste Of Armageddon they were warned to stay away. Granted he had his orders, but they didn't need to get involved.

 

[Gary7]

A Taste Of Armageddon they were warned to stay away. Granted he had his orders, but they didn't need to get involved.

My problem with this episode is how long it took for Kirk & co to make the realization that the war being fought was a theoretical one. Firstly, it was quite stupid for Anan7 not to mention it much earlier on... as certainly their theoretical war was highly unusual and would be unknown to outsiders.

ANAN: Welcome to Eminiar Seven. Well, Captain, what can we do for you?
KIRK: My mission is to establish diplomatic relations between your people and mine.
ANAN: That is impossible.
KIRK: Would you mind telling me why?
ANAN: Because of the war.
KIRK: You're still at war?
ANAN: We have been at war for five hundred years.
KIRK: You conceal it very well. Mister Spock?
SPOCK: Sir, we have completely scanned your planet. We find it highly advanced, prosperous in a material sense, comfortable for your people, and peaceful in the extreme. Yet you say you are at war. There is no evidence of this.
ANAN: Casualties among our civilian population total from one to three million dead each year from direct enemy attack. That is one reason, Captain, why we told you to stay away. As long as your ship is orbiting our planet, it is in severe danger.

As soon as Kirk said "You conceal it very well," Anan should have certainly informed him about how the war is all managed by computer and attacks are launched theoretically. Next, he should have said "Your ship and crew are valid targets while in our space." And at that point Kirk could ask "What would be the safe distance for my ship to no longer be a target?"

But then... things just go on and then there's an attack a few minutes later. The Enterprise is "theoretically" destroyed.

Of course, the whole thing is just outright stupid. The Enterprise has nothing to do with Eminiar Seven. No registry of the crew with either side of the war. It's presence is completely irrelevant. So, in essence, the ship should have been disqualified from being a target or an attacker. Anan claiming otherwise... well, made a very stupid mistake. An enormous diplomatic blunder.

Getting back to the main point, I think Kirk failed to push on getting a clear understanding of what was going on and the risk to his ship and crew. If he'd done that, he would have had the Enterprise move to a safe distance. And he'd have a minimal landing party on the planet as well.

 

[Nyotarules]

Overall, I'd say that Captain Kirk was a very effective, successful captain. He and most of his crew survived, with the exceptions of the Enterprise B, where he was sucked into the Nexus.

To be fair and accurate Kirk was not the Captain of that ship, he saved the crew from a Captain who froze on the spot, Captain Harriman.

 

[Galileo7]

In the Movies:
He was far too trusting of the Reliant's silent approach in The Wrath of Khan. What an absolutely dreadful error. And it not only cost many lives, but also caused the death of Mr. Spock. You'd have thought at that point, Kirk would've been smarter... and even Spock, who would've been less punitive with Saavik and have suggested shields be raised.

WOK

 

[Gary7]

To be fair and accurate Kirk was not the Captain of that ship, he saved the crew from a Captain who froze on the spot, Captain Harriman.

I was only pointing out that Kirk was adept at survival and getting out of scrapes with minimal loss of life, including his own... up until that point (presumed dead). He wasn't the captain, but he was the senior officer aboard as Admiral Kirk. And of course, this was the right decision -- he saved all their lives.

 

[Gary7]

WOK

I don't get your point.

 

[Galileo7]

I don't get your point.

I'm sorry. I agreed with you regarding WOK as your quote stated in your quote I posted.

 

[MacLeod]

I was only pointing out that Kirk was adept at survival and getting out of scrapes with minimal loss of life, including his own... up until that point (presumed dead). He wasn't the captain, but he was the senior officer aboard as Admiral Kirk. And of course, this was the right decision -- he saved all their lives.

Krik was only a Captain in GEN. And wasn't it Scotty's plan to use the Deflector dish to simulate a torpedeo detination to save the ship? Kirk just used the tools and people and his disposal to save the ship.

 

[Gary7]

Krik was only a Captain in GEN. And wasn't it Scotty's plan to use the Deflector dish to simulate a torpedeo detination to save the ship? Kirk just used the tools and people and his disposal to save the ship.

You're right... he was admiral only once (WOK). Yes, it was Scotty's idea, but Kirk volunteered to go instead of Harriman. He didn't have to. But, he probably knew the equipment better than Harriman and would get the job done faster.

 

[Tenacity]

he was admiral only once (WOK)

And TMP.

A Taste Of Armageddon they were warned to stay away.

Fox had command authority, it wasn't Kirk's call.

Had the Enterprise not entered the zone and waited for a couple more ships to assist

Kirk: "There must be another starship in that sector. "
Starfleet: "Negative."

A probe was launched to investigate and they lost it. Vanished. No trace.

Which means they couldn't use that method from outside the zone of darkness.

They could have even programmed a probe to penetrate and then immediately reverse course to return

The ship (once inside) was unable to reverse course, or even come to a stop.

 

[Poltargyst]

Galileo 7: He should have gone and taken care of the crisis that Commissioner Pain-In-The-Ass wanted him to take care of rather than launch the Galileo to study the Whatever Phenomenon. The Whatever Phenomenon would still be there when they got back. "Oh, we have a spare three days." Yeah, because nothing EVER goes wrong that could require more than three days to rectify. He almost lost the Galileo and all hands because of having to leave to take care of the crisis.

 

[Spock's Barber]

In Mudd's Women, Kirk allows himself to be blackmailed by Mudd. Harry says that the Enterprise has only 3 days of power left before it starts spiraling down, and that Kirk will have to give in to Mudd's demands. All Kirk has to say is "Harry, you're stuck here on the Enterprise with us. If you don't give me those Dilithium Crystals then you die, too."

 

[φ of π]

Any time they went down on to a pre-warp planet.

What's the point of a prime directive if you constantly ignore it?

 

[retroenzo]

You're right... he was admiral only once (WOK).

And TMP.

And in Search for Spock and Voyage Home. He wasn't busted back down to Captain until the end of Voyage Home.

 

[Gary7]

And in Search for Spock and Voyage Home. He wasn't busted back down to Captain until the end of Voyage Home.

Thanks - you're right. My Trek memory has become a bit stale... have to admit it. Time to freshen up!

 

[Spock's Barber]

Thanks - you're right. My Trek memory has become a bit stale... have to admit it. Time to freshen up!

The Agony Booth for you. Full duration.

 

[Greysun]

Allowing Lt. Bailey to be a bridge officer in The Corbomite Maneuver, he never should have been assigned there in the first place. I don't know how he ever got to be a Lieutenant, given how hard it's supposed to be to get through Starfleet training. The man was obviously unhinged and McCoy was right when he pointed out that Bailey shouldn't be in that position. It puts the whole ship in danger if a command isn't carried out because a bridge officer is having a psychotic episode, screaming at everyone.

 

[Timo]

Agreed with Tenacity that timidity in "Immunity Syndrome" would have served no purpose. Sure, probes were disappearing into the zone of darkness and not returning - but that would have been a valid way for Kirk's ship to operate, too. Just go in and kill the thing, since it needs killing and since there's nothing visible to fire at from the outside. Survival would be optional.

As for "The Galileo Seven", the very fact that the Murasaki phenomenon was there and wasn't going anywhere was telling enough - despite this, Starfleet had not been able to study it. Apparently, Kirk was taking a rare shortcut (supposedly because of the medicine delivery mission) and going where nobody would go again in years. Starships are busy things, after all. If Kirk has three days to use, why not use them? It's not as if the medicine mission would have been endangered in any way - Kirk made sure of that by only sending a shuttle.

What's odd about the episode is that Kirk stays there to search for the shuttle party. Why not leave them, since they aren't going anywhere, either? It's not as if they would have been in any sort of danger, equipped as they were with plenty of water and food and weapons. If they survived the supposed crash at all, they'd be fine. Just deliver the medicine and then return to continue the search. Heck, the other shuttle(s) could keep on searching while Kirk was delivering the medicine. Kirk could get tither and yon in the allocated three days, or at least in the episode he very much acts as if he can.

Note also that the mission was cleverly written as a rendezvous. The suffering masses would not suffer more if Kirk delayed, or less if Kirk hurried: they would only get their medicine after the three days were up and the second leg of the voyage of the vital vials began.

Kirk's ship not being a valid target in the virtual war? Why not? Surely the Vendikans would wish to shoot down any ship attempting to make friends with the Eminians, knowing that outsiders would swing the balance of the war. And while they'd actually do well to shoot at Kirk with live ammo there, they could also sort of rest assured that Anan 7 would do their dirty work for them - just like his granddad had done with the Valiant as far as the episode insinuates.

Timo Saloniemi