Ello, Ric here with a breakdown on the ranking system used throughout Starfleet history.
The details behind this system are pretty well understood even though we’ve seen different
versions of it throughout the Federation’s time and as we’ll see it’s actually rather
simplistic. Not everyone in Stafleet was an officer. There
were many, arguably most, who were simply crewmen of various non-commissioned ranks
such as petty officer, chief petty officer and specialists. These, like Chief Miles O’Brien
were technically outranked by the lowliest ensign, but that is no indicator of experience.
These officers had their own ranking system which I’ll probably look at in a separate
video. Starfleet’s officer ranking system has seen some slight variation with time,
but overall remains very minimalistic and has almost no tiers within a rank.
Upon completing a course at Starfleet academy, or occasionally a similarly accepted Federation
institution, a cadet was promoted to the rank of Ensign, the lowest officer, but one who
would be given command of various tasks while learning on the job for around 3 years. In
the early 23rd century, the absence of rank bars served to illustrate the position of
ensign, while crewmembers often had a different uniform altogether. In later eras this was
represented by the single pip on the badge for a 2250s officer, or on the collar for
a mid-24th century one. In 2270, the uniform was changed and a single broken strip represented
the ensign and in the 2280 until the late 2350s, the militaristic shoulder clasps bore
the rank insignia which each have their own designs. These are the major insignia variations
with time. Occasionally, exemplary individuals were promoted
to Lieutenant Junior Grade right out of the academy, which set them ahead on the career
path and opened up more opportunities for them, but this was very rare. The exception
to this was those who took the extra time to graduate Starfleet Medical, who graduated
at the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. This was a station that indicated that the officer
in question was ready to take on greater responsibilities and lead small teams of specialists in their
field of operation. A lieutenant was the first of the higher command
level stations and a position of some heft at a posting. Again, certain cadets could
be rapidly promoted to this rank straight out of the academy, but only specialised courses
offered this. As a fresh ensign, a lieutenant was likely to be your first boss at your posting
and ultimately responsible for an entire operation aboard a vessel, such as the chief of sciences,
security, engineering or a more specialised role such as head of stellar cartography.
Lieutenant Commander was next up the totem pole and a clear indicator of command. Hence…
the commander part. At this rank, an officer was expected to not only run a department,
but usually a member of the senior staff, the long term positions on a posting. At this
rank, it was common to take on greater responsibilities and this is the usually the first rank to
see officers in command of entire vessels, although more commonly they served in an executive
officer role to a commander or a captain. Speaking of, we have the rank of Commander.
This position answered only to a ship’s captain (and the admiralty), this rank was
only attainable by completing command training or the Bridge Officer’s tests for those
not in the Command division. It was a rank awarded to those who were capable of acting
as a ship’s captain and frequently at the head of major divisions of a vessel’s operation.
Commanders were often seen in three positions, commanding their own small vessel and crew,
acting as the 1st or 2nd officer to a captain, or as a high ranking department head in a
crucial duty. It was expected that those who attained Commander and were in Starfleet’s
Command division, would ascend to the rank of captain eventually after around a decade
or more of overall Starfleet service. Captain. Not to be confused with the head
of a ship, which was ceremonially addressed as Captain, regardless of rank. The actual
rank of captain was for those who were in charge of a ship’s operation (basically
the same thing). In Starfleet, they had shown all the determination, level-headedness and
leadership needed to oversee entire crews and more. Few who enter into Starfleet actually
attain the rank of captain and not everyone seeks it because of the responsibility involved.
Captains not only received their orders directly from Starfleet Command, but were expected
to make decisions out in the field at a moment’s notice, being an authority all to themselves
at times. This rank however also saw captains serve
as adjuncts to flag officers and in the Strange case of the early Enterprises, we saw several
captains serving on the same vessel, under a Captain. The Enterprise is hardly a good
example of a typical Starfleet vessel though. Any of them.
For a while, there was the rank of Commodore, which has seen implementation and withdrawal
from the ranking system of Starfleet over time. This was superior to captain, and seems
to be a sort of “Fleet Captain” rank, used to identify a fleet’s commander without
them stepping into the flag officer’s authority, placing them in charge of multiple ships.
Moving on form the line officers, we enter the admiralty. These are the people who make
plans, assign missions, deal with other governments and liaise with the Federation Council. The
lowest admiral is the Rear Admiral, these people often oversaw large installations,
and assigned orders to a select group of captains, but frequently worked alongside the line officers.
Any member of the admiralty could requisition a flagship with authorisation and use it as
a mobile base, however technically the ship was still commanded by its own captain and
the admiral just pointed the Captain in the direction they needed to go. Aside from this,
admirals fly desks, not a ship. Vice Admirals often were assigned to oversee
operations and endeavours on behalf of Starfleet of the Federation. In times of war, the coordinated
battle plans from the front lines and acted as the admiralty’s eyes and ears in the
field while having the backing and authority of Starfleet command. Typically Vice Admirals
acted from Starbases. Admirals oversaw entire (or several) operations
involving multiple ships or facilities and had a large sway in the decisions and direction
of Starfleet. It was their meetings that advised the Fleet admirals actions. They were authorised
to speak on behalf of the Federation and her interests in matters of diplomacy but also
acted as the face of Starfleet in other positions, such as at Starfleet Academy. As you may have
noticed, this higher up the ranks you go, the more politics play out, even for an organisation
such as Starfleet which already is heavily diplomatic.
Fleet Admiral is this highest rank in Starfleet and as the name suggests had the authority
of an admiral, over entire fleets of ships. The Commander in Chief of Starfleet was chosen
from these select few, but the irony is that in this position, they often spent more time
as diplomats and delivering reports to the UFP than commanding the fleet. There were
only a few Fleet Admirals at a time, we don’t know in cannon how many, but probably around
half a dozen at most and only one C and C. So that pretty much covers the ranks of Starfleet.
However, it is often cited that Starfleet is not a military organisation, defence is
only one of its duties, and we do see this with their ranking system too. It is really
rather basic, as mentioned there are no tiers between these ranks, aside for the multiple
admirals and lieutenants, keeping the chain of command fairly simple. However there are
a numerous seeming special circumstances where officers of certain ranks end up in different
positions despite, the rank not typically fitting this role. For example, Kirk basically
captained his own flagship, which is unusual for an admiral; Spock served as a first officer
while he was a captain and Commodore Oh wormed her way into head of Earth’s Starfleet Security,
position previously held by a member of the admiralty, although her title was Director
so that could be different. It seems that Starfleet’s rank has a lot
to do with how orders are relayed, as expected, but often it’s not a factor in where people
get appointed, within reason. It does seem that if Starfleet has a particular person
in mind for a job, occasionally they’ll just assigned them that position, but a promotion
is not always necessary, and they don’t like to stand in the way of person’s own
direction and career choices. Someone who starts in Starfleet medical, can obtain the
rank of Commander, despite not having command experience, but then take the appropriate
training to even make the rank of captain, or perhaps even entering into the admiralty
to oversee Starfleet medical. We also see Admirals serving as Starfleet
lecturers at times and having active rolls among the cadets, taking on protégés and
the like. Again, it all seems a bit loose as to who gets to do what, at what rank, so
in this aspect, yeah Starfleet is very un-militaristic. Thanks for watching this video on the officer’s
ranking in Star Trek, I’m curious as to how this tallies up against real world command
structures as I’m sure the duties and roles of real ranks are a bit more succinct and
tied down. Thanks for watching this lore video anywho, I’ve been Ric and I’ll see you
next time for another one. Goodbye!