| Revision as of 07:18, 13 March 2005 editHusnock (talk | contribs)12,977 edits →Alternate and conjectural ranks: updated pics← Previous edit | Revision as of 07:25, 13 March 2005 edit undoHusnock (talk | contribs)12,977 edits →Star Trek: The Next Generation: gold/silver discussedNext edit → | ||
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| When ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' was first aired, enlisted personnel were again a very ambiguous subject. Apart from occasional dialogue addressing an extra as “Crewman”, no set of enlisted ranks or insignia was established in the first two seasons of the Next Generation. By the third season, the character of ] had been developed into the first recurring enlisted role since Yeoman Janice Rand of the Original Star Trek series. The rank insignia worn by O’Brien was confusing, however, in that he was often addressed as “Chief”, but appeared to wear the insignia of a Lieutenant (in one episode he is actually addressed as “Lieutenant”). | When ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' was first aired, enlisted personnel were again a very ambiguous subject. Apart from occasional dialogue addressing an extra as “Crewman”, no set of enlisted ranks or insignia was established in the first two seasons of the Next Generation. By the third season, the character of ] had been developed into the first recurring enlisted role since Yeoman Janice Rand of the Original Star Trek series. The rank insignia worn by O’Brien was confusing, however, in that he was often addressed as “Chief”, but appeared to wear the insignia of a Lieutenant (in one episode he is actually addressed as “Lieutenant”). | ||
| By the fifth season of the Next Generation series, a system of rank insignia for enlisted personnel had at last been established. Such insignia was actually identical to officer pips, with a variation in the number of pips displayed depending on an enlisted member’s status as a Petty Officer, Chief Petty Officer, or the higher CPO ranks. | By the fifth season of the Next Generation series, a system of rank insignia for enlisted personnel had at last been established. Such insignia was actually identical to officer pips, with a variation in the number of pips displayed depending on an enlisted member’s status as a Petty Officer, Chief Petty Officer, or the higher CPO ranks. The rank pips in the Next Generation series also were displayed in silver and gold with silver worn by officers and gold for the enlisted ranks. Later Star Trek productions would eliminate this gold/silver distinction and establish gold pips as the standard insignia for all grades. | ||
| ====Star Trek: Deep Space Nine==== | ====Star Trek: Deep Space Nine==== | ||
Revision as of 07:25, 13 March 2005
Ranks and insignia of Starfleet are fictional military badges and titles which are portrayed in the science fiction universe of Star Trek. The ranks listed below are those which are used by the Starfleet of the United Federation of Planets. The ranks indicated have evolved through both live action productions, Star trek fanon, and official Star Trek publications and literature.
Officer Ranks
Flag Officers
Officers
Rank information
Fleet Admiral
The rank of Fleet Admiral, apparently the highest commissioned rank in Starfleet, was first mentioned in Star Trek: The Original Series, in the episode "Space Seed" when Doctor Leonard McCoy, observing a dinner set for Khan Noonian Singh, commented that the ship must be expecting a Fleet Admiral for dinner. However, other than this one remark, an actual Fleet Admiral was never seen in the Original Series and the highest rank appearing on camera was that of Commodore (A few Admirals did appear in 3rd Season episodes, but their rank insignia was not visable).
It was not until Star Trek III: The Search for Spock that an actual Fleet Admiral was seen on camera. Fleet Admiral Morrow, played by actor Robert Hooks, was the first Fleet Admiral of Star Trek to actually be seen by the viewing audience. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, the rank of Fleet Admiral became generic, often used to describe any Admiral appearing on the show. However, in Star Trek publications, the rank of Fleet Admiral was established with an insignia of five gold pips within a gold collar rectangle.
Admiral
When Star Trek was first aired, the nature of the episode plots did not have the crew of the USS Enterprise coming into frequent contact with senior officers of the Starfleet Admiralty. The first such instance was in the episode The Menagarie when the viewing audience was introduced to Commodore Mendez. A full Admiral, however, was not seen on camera until the third season of Star Trek and then only via long range communications on a viewscreen and at such an angle where sleeve insignia was not visable. It is for this reason that, during the time frame of Star Trek: The Original Series, all insignia above the rank of Commodore remains unknown.
It was not until Star Trek: The Motion Picture that an actual Admiral's insignia was seen on camera, that being the insignia for Rear Admiral James T. Kirk. In the film, Kirk speaks of meeting with more senior Admirals, but these persons are never seen and the viewing audience is left to speculate how the senior Admiral insignia may appear. In the next feature film, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Kirk is the only Admiral seen in the entire film. Kirk's actual rank in the film is also questionable, as he is addressed simply as "Admiral", however publications regarding the film (as well as information from costume designers) indicates Kirk may have been a Vice Admiral or perhaps even still a Rear Admiral. It was not until later feature films that additional Admirals were seen on camera and the full scope of the "movie rank pins" was established.
The first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation was slow to introduce Admirals and, in fact, the first time an Admiral's uniform is seen it is being worn by Q who is impersonating a Starfleet Fleet Admiral (it should be noted that this false uniform is never again seen in any subsequent show of Star Trek). In the first season Next Generation episode Too Short a Season, a 24th century Starfleet Admiral is at last seen on camera, introducing the viewers to a strange form of insignia that did not last past the show's first season. In the second season of the Next Generation series, as well as all subsequent productions, Admirals appear much more frequently with a simplar system of pip insignia worn within "rank boxes" on both collars of a uniform.
When Star Trek Enterprise debuted, the pilot of the series introduced the viewers to an Admiral in the very first episode establishing how the 22nd century Admiral insignia appears. Later publications from the producers of the show established the complete system of Admiraly ranks in use during the time frame of Star Trek Enterprise. Oddly enough, however, there appear to be more Admiral ranks than there are regular officer positions since the ranks of Lieutenant Commander and Lieutenant Junior Grade do not appear in the Enteprise television series.
Commodore
The rank of Commodore was often mentioned in Star Trek: The Original Series; however the title fell into disuse in the feature films and follow-on series. A Starfleet Commodore is briefly seen in the Federation Council Chambers of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, but the later Star Trek television series have never had a Commodore appear on camera.
A first season episode of Star Trek:The Next Generation, entitled "Conspiracy", gave indication that by the time frame of the 24th century Commodore might no longer have been a rank of Starfleet. This is taken from a line of dialouge where Captain Jean Luc Picard is told that he is to be promoted to the rank of Admiral and assume duties as Commondant of Starfleet Academy. Since promotion to Commodore is not mentioned, it may be assumed that the rank was no longer in service.
Star Trek publications, as well as information publuished by series producers, has since indicated that Commodore is still a rank of Starfleet as of the late 24th century. The insignia for Commodore is indicated by a single pip insignia enclosed within an Admiral "rank box", worn on both collars of a uniform. This insignia, however, has never appeared on camera and may only be found in literature sources.
Fleet Captain
There have only been two Fleet Captains shown in the entirety of Star Trek, both from the Original Series. Garth of Izar and Christopher Pike are the only Star Trek characters to have ever held the rank of Fleet Captain and neither of these characters was shown wearing Fleet Captain insignia. Star Trek publications, however, have established Fleet Captain as being a rank between Captain and Commodore with an insignia of three sleeve braids.
An episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, entitled "Inquisition", may have shown a modern Fleet Captain insignia, that being four collar pips worn with a gold bar base. The insignia was worn by Section 31 Operative Luther Sloan. In the episode, Sloan was referred to as "Deputy Director".
There is ample evidence that Fleet Captain may be an honorary title, bestowed upon highly senior and successful Captains. This would explain instances where regular Captains have been shown promoted to the Starfleet Admiralty, apparently skipping the rank of Fleet Captain. In such cases, it can be assumed that Fleet Captain is not a prerequiste for promotion but rather a special rank bestowed under certian circumstances.
Warrant Officer ranks
Until the time frame of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Starfleet rank of Warrant Officer was never mentioned or discussed and it is not known if the rank existed prior to the late 24th century. The only Warrant Officer who has ever been seen in Star Trek was Kosinski, in the Next Generation episode Where No One Has Gone Before. Kosinski wore a type of rectangular collar insignia that was never again seen in Star Trek. Later publications and literature indicate that Kosinki was a Warrant Officer, however due to his attitude in the episode (as well as his highly disrespectful demeanor towards commissioned officers) many have assumed he was a civilian granted a warrant rank due to the nature of his assignment.
While the rank of Warrant Officer was never again seen after the Next Generation episode, publications from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine would establish a set of Warrant Officer insignia. In addition, the first two seasons of Deep Space Nine gave speculation that the character of Miles O'Brien was in fact a Warrant Officer, however later seasons made it clear that O'Brien was a Senior Chief Petty Officer. It is for this reason that, other than Kosinki, no Warrant Officer has ever appeared in Star Trek.
Enlisted ranks
Enlisted rank insignia
| Rank | Star Trek Feature Films | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | |
| Master Chief Petty Officer | File:STMCOPin.jpg |  File:Tng gold pip.pngFile:Tng gold pip.png
|
File:StarfleetEnlist1.gif | |
| Senior Chief Petty Officer | File:STSeniorCPO.jpg | File:Tng black pip.pngFile:Tng gold pip.png
|
File:StarfleetEnlist2.gif | |
| Chief Petty Officer | File:STChief.jpg | File:Tng gold pip.png
|
File:StarfleetEnlist3.gif | |
| Petty Officer 1st Class | File:Yellowrec.jpg | File:Tng black pip.png
|
File:StarfleetEnlist4.gif | |
| Petty Officer 2nd Class | File:Greyrect.jpg | File:Tng black pip.png
|
File:StarfleetEnlist5.gif | |
| Petty Officer 3rd Class | File:Bluerect.jpg | File:Tng black pip.png
|
File:StarfleetEnlist6.gif | |
| Crewman 1st Class | File:Blackrect.jpg | No Insignia | File:SFCrew1.gif | |
| Crewman | No Insignia | No Insignia | File:SFCrew2.gif | |
| Recruit | No Insignia | No Insignia | No Insignia |
Enlisted rank information
Star Trek Pilots
When Star Trek was first created, Gene Roddenberry allegedly had stated that, within Starfleet, there were no enlisted ranks since all personnel onboard a starship were trained astronauts and thus had the education required of officers. This comment, however, is quickly contradicted by characters which appear in the first pilots of Star Trek, such as the Captain’s Yeoman, who bear titles of enlisted positions.
The question of enlisted rank insignia is largely unanswered in the early days of Star Trek, due most significantly to the fact that no enlisted Starfleet member was ever shown wearing rank insignia of any kind. The one exception to this was a bridge officer, seen briefly in the unaired pilot The Cage. In the pilot episode, a communications technician (referred to as “Chief”) is shown wearing a modified officer rank stripe. This stripe, however, is unique to the pilot episode and never again appears in Star Trek.
The Original Series
During the time frame of Star Trek: The Original Series, several enlisted Starfleet members are shown on camera however none of these persons wear any type of insignia. Through an examination of the dialogue in the episodes, a rank system for enlisted personnel develops and, by the third season of the original Star Trek, it can be safely assumed that the following are early enlisted ranks of the Starfleet.
- Chief Petty Officer
- Petty Officer
- Technician First Class
- Technician Second Class
- Technician Third Class
- Crewman
- Recruit
It should be noted that the ranks listed above do not take into account Starfleet Enlisted Rates. Such rates are titles that enlisted personnel hold, depending upon their career field. The most common rate mentioned in the original Star Trek is Yeoman with several other minor characters referred to “Medical Technician” and a third season enlisted engineer addressed as “Engineer’s Mate”. The concept of Starfleet Enlisted Rates, however, is widely unexplored and no official publication or television series has ever addressed this area. Starfleet Dynamics, an unofficial Star Trek technical manual, is the only publication to date which gives a complete listing of possible Starfleet Enlisted Rates, however this publications is considered fan literature and not deemed official by the producers of Star Trek.
Star Trek Feature Films
Within the Star Trek feature films, enlisted personnel first make a brief appearance in Star Trek: The Motion Picture with a small number of extras addressed as “Chief” and “Crewman”. No such characters wear any type of insignia, however, and it can generally be assumed that the enlisted ranks of Star Trek: The Motion Picture are similar, if not identical, to those mentioned in the Original Series.
With the debut of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, a new uniform and insignia pattern was introduced and for the first time an enlisted uniform was established separate from the uniform worn by officers. This uniform, commonly referred to as the “space cadet jumper” was originally seen worn by Starfleet cadets and it is not until Star Trek III: The Search for Spock that the enlisted jumper is seen worn by actual enlisted personnel, i.e. crew members of the starship Excelsior.
It is not until Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country that a clear pattern of enlisted insignia emerges for the feature films after Star Trek II. Enlisted personnel are shown to wear a variety of colored shoulder tabs which indicate their seniority as Petty Officers, with regular crewmen wearing bare black shoulder tabs. No Chief Petty Officers are ever seen in the feature films, however publications by the film producers indicate that Chief Petty Officers wear officer uniform jackets, minus gold trim, with shoulder pins similar to the well known officer versions. This would correlate with uniform regulations of the United States Navy, where Chief Petty Officers wear officer uniforms with CPO insignia.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
When Star Trek: The Next Generation was first aired, enlisted personnel were again a very ambiguous subject. Apart from occasional dialogue addressing an extra as “Crewman”, no set of enlisted ranks or insignia was established in the first two seasons of the Next Generation. By the third season, the character of Miles O'Brien had been developed into the first recurring enlisted role since Yeoman Janice Rand of the Original Star Trek series. The rank insignia worn by O’Brien was confusing, however, in that he was often addressed as “Chief”, but appeared to wear the insignia of a Lieutenant (in one episode he is actually addressed as “Lieutenant”).
By the fifth season of the Next Generation series, a system of rank insignia for enlisted personnel had at last been established. Such insignia was actually identical to officer pips, with a variation in the number of pips displayed depending on an enlisted member’s status as a Petty Officer, Chief Petty Officer, or the higher CPO ranks. The rank pips in the Next Generation series also were displayed in silver and gold with silver worn by officers and gold for the enlisted ranks. Later Star Trek productions would eliminate this gold/silver distinction and establish gold pips as the standard insignia for all grades.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
In the first seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, there were no established enlisted ranks in use. Miles O’Brien, whose character had crossed over from Star Trek: The Next Generation, now wore a single collar pip and was referred to variously as “Chief of Operations”, "Chief", and some scripts and publications indicated his character was a Warrant Officer. The novelization of the episode "Emmisary", refers to O'Brien by a never-before-heard rank known as “Ensign Junior Grade”.
In the fourth season of Deep Space Nine, the character of Miles O'Brien was the first enlisted character of Star Trek who was addressed as a recognizable enlisted title and given an insignia which was clearly established as an enlisted rank. From this point on, Miles O'Brien was referred to as Senior Chief Petty Officer with the dialogue of Deep Space Nine making it clear that he was an enlisted member of Starfleet. The insignia worn by O’Brien was the basis for the first complete enlisted rank insignia pattern shown in Star Trek.
Star Trek Voyager and Enterprise
The most recent series of Star Trek, Star Trek Voyager and Star Trek Enterprise, have not addressed the question of enlisted ranks nor has any insignia ever been seen on camera. Due to the plot of Star Trek Voyager, it can perhaps be assumed that the ship has very few enlisted crew members with the majority of the ship manned by Starfleet officers and provisional Maquis personnel.
Within the time frame of Star Trek Enterprise, enlisted personnel are often seen and addressed by such titles as “Chief” and “Crewman”, however no insignia is ever shown to be worn. Since Enterprise is set before the original Star Trek series, it can perhaps be said that this lack of enlisted insignia is along the same lines as enlisted ranks and personnel seen in the Star Trek pilots of the 1960s and Star Trek: The Original Series.
Cadet ranks
The rank of Cadet was first established in Star Trek: The Original Series through dialogue referring to Starfleet Academy. Two Starfleet Cadets, albeit illusions/recreations, were seen in the Original Series being a cadet in Captain Pike’s Orion slave girl dream (“The Menagerie”) , and the recreation of Cadet Finnegan seen in the episode “Shore Leave”. In both cases, the cadets were shown wearing a silver grey tunic without any rank insignia.
Starfleet Cadets did not appear again until Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In the film, cadets wore a “space cadet jumper” with red tunics and red shoulder tabs. An oddity was that the Cadets in Star Trek II referred to themselves as “Midshipman”, contradicting earlier information that Starfleet Academy students were known as Cadets. However, it is possible that the Starfleet Academy students in Star Trek II were senior cadets, most likely fifth year or graduate level students, given the advanced nature of their training.
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, the rank of Cadet was firmly established as the title held by Starfleet academy students however it was not until the episode “Allegiance” that a Starfleet Cadet was actually seen. The cadet in question, albeit an imposter, wore a modified Starfleet uniform without ay insignia. In the episode “The First Duty”, the viewing audience sees Starfleet Academy for the first time since Star Trek II and a system of Cadet rank pips is established.
The pips seen in the episode "The First Duty" are deemed to be the official cadet insignia for future series and programs, however it is of interest that cadets seen in Star Trek Deep Space Nine do not wear this insignia. The cadets in question may have been wearing field uniforms without insignia or this could be a costume error on the part of the Deep Space Nine producers.
Provisional Ranks
Provisional ranks were first introduced in Star Trek: Voyager when several civilian members of a Maquis crew were appointed as officers onboard the Federation Starfleet Voyager.
In the first two seasons of Voyager, it was unclear whether or not the insignia worn by the Maquis was a version of Starfleet insignia or paramiltiary insignia of the Maquis. Later seasons of Voyager, however, gave evidence that the Maquis officers, seen wearing the new insignia, had been granted provisional Starfleet commissions and were considered equivalent to Starfleet officers.
Since the close of the Star Trek Voyager television series, several Star Trek publications have confirmed that the "provisional rank insignia", seen throughout the Voyager television series, were standard Starfleet insignia for civilians who had been granted officer responsibilities and held appointments as temporary Starfleet officers.
Alternate and conjectural ranks
Some Star Trek publications and fan literature have offered additional ranks which have not been mentioned in official publications or spoken of in live action productions. In addition, a number of unoffical sources have offered alternative insignia for several Starfleet ranks. The following are examples of conjectural and alternate insignia versions.
| Rank | Alternate Insignia | Era and Type |
| Fleet Admiral | File:STFltAdPin.jpg | Feature Film Rank Pin |
| Vice Admiral | File:StVADMPin.gif | Feature Film Rank Pin |
| Fleet Captain | File:STFltCapt.gif | Feature Film Rank Pin |
| Lieutenant Commander | File:STLCDRPin.gif | Feature Film Rank Pin |
| Petty Officer | File:STPOPin.gif | Feature Film Rank Pin |
| Crewman | File:STcrewpin.gif | Feature Film Rank Pin |
| Rear Admiral
(Lower Half) |
File:Tng red ADM L pipbg.PNGFile:Tng black ADM pip.PNGFile:Tng gold ADM pip.pngFile:Tng red ADM R pipbg.PNG | ST: TNG Collar Pips |
| Fleet Captain | File:Tng gold pip.pngFile:Tng gold pip.pngFile:Tng gold pip.pngFile:Tng gold pip.pngFile:Tng gold pip.png
|
ST: TNG Collar Pips |
| Commodore | File:STthickstripe.jpg | Star Trek Pilot Rank Stripe |
Sources
The following publications and productions, written by the producers of the Star Trek series, contain source information for Starfleet insignia. Along with live action dialouge, this combines to form the most "offical" insignia pattern of Star Trek.
Live action sources
- Star Trek: The Cage
- Star Trek: The Original Series
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- Star Trek Feature Films (2 through 6)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- Star Trek: Voyager
- Star Trek: The Next Generation Feature Films
- Star Trek Enterprise
Publications
- Star Trek Chronology
- Star Trek Encyclopedia
- Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual
- Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise
- Star Trek: The Next Generation Officers' Manual
- Starfleet Dynamics