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Rank in Jay-Trek

Rank in Star Trek is a slippery subject

Part of the reason were things Gene Roddenberry said - that Starfleet was a semi military force - that all Starfleet personnel were the equivalent of highly trained modern astronauts

I think Roddenberry also read a 1948 novel by Heinlein called "Space Cadet" - there, there are no enlisted ranks in the Space Patrol - The ships don't have enough payload. Space Patrol cruisers had a crew of at most a dozen - fuel, consumables and so on had to be calculated down to the fractions of a gram. Which meant that before a cadet even took his cadet cruise - he had to be a highly trained technician, capable of doing all sorts of jobs on that ship.

I think Roddenberry had in mind this sort of thing when he made up TOS - he also proposed revolutionary changes in personnel management and support techniques so that a crew of technical experts and experienced space explorers could be kept happily on a starship for 5 years or more.

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David Gerold points out that starships should not be viewed in a cultural vacuum - when you see a 747, you can imply runways, airports, manufacturing support, including fuel supplies, as well as the people who use this transportation for their own purposes. There are entire armies of people on the ground who maintain the aircraft and do support work - who are not on that plane when it takes off. Instead they conmtiue their work on the next plane to come in.

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So in Jay trek this is the source of the divide.

Ranks are considered meritorious. You gain ranks by demonstrating competence, including competence at leadership, crises management and administration.

Starfleet personnel are expected to respect the rank and demonstrated professionalism of their colleagues.

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Enlisted versus Officers -

Starfleet divides roughly into two classes of people - Officers who see space exploration and defense as a calling, a long term career, and enlisted people who want to contribute for a while and then move on their their lives.

Officers train deeply, broadly and continuously. Enlisted folks train in more narrow disiplines, sometimes training to more specific knowledge sets.

Officers go through Starfleet Academy. Enlisted people go through Starfleet Basic Training and then Advanced Schooling.

Officers form the backbone of starship crews - the are expected to be on the front lines of exploration and defense.

Enlisted people form the back bone of the support networks.

You'll find the majority of Enlisted people at Starbases and at groundside duty stations across the Federation They're the ones who bring the ships into the dock, repair, restock, refuel, upgrade them and so on.

Certainly there's a good deal of over lap. But the core difference is

Officer - Starfleet is my life and my calling
Enlisted - I am doing Starfleet right now

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I assume that along side the revolution in the management of people - Starfleet and the Federation also have a similar upgrade in their ability to teach. Starfleet officers must train as teachers so they can pass on necessary techniques and knowledge to others.

Add holodecks and intelligent computers to this and teach people how to be space men is relatively easy

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In Jay-Trek Starfleet has a continuous problem. Not enough people. Starships can be built and built quickly if needed - but experienced senior officers can take 10 to 15 years to grow.

Space is deep, the numbers get stupid in short order. What this means is that there is always a crying need for starships to explore, make contact and deal with problems.

A decision made early on in the founding of Starfleet is now coming back to bite Starfleet Command

Early on, it was decided that there would be a single core Starfleet Academy. This would make sure that all Starfleet Officers shared a common set of cultural references and experiences.

Now Starfleet command cannot keep up with demand and Cadets have to be shipped in from a years travel time away.

Enlisted Starfleet personnel can be trained locally. In fact almost everything Starfleet does can be trained on any starbase and most large ships. Even small ships have huge reference libraries and teaching programs.

But Starfleet Command says that a Cadet must go to at least command school on Earth, at Starfleet Academy.

In Jay-Trek this has lead to several effects - Senior NCOs, enlisted people who haven't left Starfleet after a long time are in high demand.

Some officer Candidates have been trained up to the point where they could easily pass Starfleet Academy's finals and make it's requirements for time-in-space the moment they get to Earth. So Starfleet Academy is seeing a huge influx of people there for short periods - just long enough to meet minimum Starfleet requirements for attendance at Starfleet Academy.

This means character rising through the ranks (Mavericks) are often stalled at senior NCO status until they are sent to Earth

This creates a conflict because no Captain or Station Commander wants to let an experienced NCO out of his possession long enough to make the trip to Earth and return.

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Some of the novel solutions discovered so far

"Acting" Officers - Captains and above have the ability to create field promotions which are considered not "true" officer status until the Acting Officer can meet the requirements - including a stint at Starfleet Academy. Some ships and bases have up to a dozen acting officers.

Warrant Officers - originally concieved as a way to give people of high scientific or mission specific skill a place in the structure of Starfleet, without them being considered Enlisted people or Officers.

Warrant Officer rank has been resurrected along the frontier, with up to 4 grades of Warrant Officers. Again in the case of Maverick starfleet people coming up through the ranks, this is considered a temporary condition until the Warrant Officer can go to Earth to complete officer training.

Non-Starfleet Officers. Local defense forces often have their own academies a lot closer to frontier bases and installations. Often Local Starfleet Officers will request exchange officers and personnel. Some planets even "Cheat" and offer reserve Commisions in their own local defense forces to qualified Starfleet Officers.

For instance Starbase Gamma on Planet Foo - Planet Foo is a Federation member world of three billion Foovians. The Foovian Defense Force has largely been retired to local defense and crises response - it is now the Foovian National Guard effectively. Foo is a year's travel time away from Earth. An Enlisted man accepted to Starfleet Academy will spend a Year on the ship getting to Earth, Six months on Earth and then a year getting back home.

Now, most of the Enlisted people working at Starbase Gamma are Foovians - they have adopted Starfleet basic training and technical methods. They served at the Starbase for a couple of years and then retire to the Private Sector or the Foovian Defense Force or something.

Admiral Joe of Starbase Gamma is hard up for people. He has real problemns keeping local Starfleet ships manned and ready to roll. He keeps requesting people from Starfleet Command - and so does every other Starbase commander in the Federation - the result - when a supply ship finally rolls in it may have as many as four new officers.

So, Admiral Joe comes up with three work arounds - A) He trains enlisted Foovians (those who want to make a career in Starfleet and pass tough screening) up to the technical competence of officers and then Promotes them to Warrant Officers where they're stuck until Admiral Joe lets go of them long enopugh for them to take two and a half years to make full officer.

Admiral Joe asks for Exchange Officers from the Foovian National Guard - after some cross training (again to ensure competence) Now Lt Foo of the Foovian National Guard is holding down a Starship post.

Alternately Specialist Foo of Starfleet, a Foovian, is granted a reserve Commission in the Foovian National Guard and now serves as an Exchange Officer.

Some enlisted people are made "Acting Ensigns" but this is considered an undesirable work around

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In Jay Trek Starfleet Command is being hard pressed to reform it's training requirements.

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Cadets and Midshipmen.

Midshipman is a rank awarded to Cadets who are on actve duty as "Apprentice Officers" - this is usually called the Cadet Cruise. Midshipman usually serves for between six months and a year, At the end of that time his Captain makes a recommendation and the cadet either passes or fails his Cadet cruise.

Although the custom is to wait until the Cadets 4th year for his cadet cruise, some have been taken earlier. A lot of Sophmore and Junior Cadets on a Cadet cruise will not be graded formally - it's just more on-the-job-training.

It's rare for a freshman cadet to be taken into deep space unless he has prior experience or some necessary expertise.

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I don't know what form Starfleet Command's reforms will take, currently.

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This is the rank system for the Prime Directive d20 game.

Its interesting. If I were to GM Jay-Trek D20 I'd borrow it, but alter it.

Cadets and Warrant Officers work a little differently in Jay-Trek

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Prime Directive D20 Military Ranks Grade and Seniority (Altered for House rules):

NOTE: This section only applies to character who are in Starfleet or some other Military organization. If you are generating a nonmilitary character, feel free to skip this section.

Military Rank reflects your position in a military or paramilitary organization; PD20 treats Military Rank as a social contract issue, much as it treats contacts - in some military campaigns, being a Major of Marines mans that your character's roleplaying focus is geared around becoming a Colonel.

In others, the fact that the player playing the Captain happens to be a "follower" as their basic play style means that the military ranks don't matter much at all, and a Sergeant may be leading the party, because the player who happens to led the group wanted to play a Ground Combat Specialist, while everyone else is playing the bridge crew from the Original Series. (Sort of a Sergeant Rock visits Star Trek campaign.) Regardless, if you and your play group are having fun, we're not going to tell you to do it another way.

For campaigns that DO focus around 'rank climbing', D20's basic mechanics don't quite work. A character's level indicates their overall effectiveness as an adventurer, but it may not impact how they advance in the service hierarchy, particularly if they advance in capabilities faster than they'd "realistically" advance in grade.

The Star Fleet Universe uses more than 20 grades. Characters go up in grade when they generate enough Seniority Points. Seniority Points are accrued by time in grade or by earning a large amount of Experience Points in a way that gets noticed by superior officers. (If you save the galaxy by beating a godlike intelligence at a game of Eleven Dimensional Poker and nobody witnesses it, it becomes a bar story rather than a citation for the Federation Bronze Star.)

Starting characters can be of nearly any rank agreeable to the play group; however, if you want the competence to go with the rank, it's worth your time to talk to the GM about starting at a higher character level.

We recommend that the average Ship's Captain be a minimum level of 8 or 9 for a Frigate, for example, with most of the crew being anywhere from 1st to 6th level for the department heads.

However if you're interested in playing a Captain who got the job early (due to political patronage or being in the right place at the right time and being noticed for it.) it's entirely possible to play a Captain who has a lower level than anyone else on the ship. Just make sure the story works for it.


Promotion/Grade Table

Enlisted

Grade
Seniority Points
Reputation
E1
0
+0
E2
5
+0
E3
10
+0
E4
20
+0
E5
30
+1
E6
40
+1
E7
50
+1
E8
75
+1
E9
100
+2
E10
150
+3

Warrant Officers

Grade
Seniority Points
Reputation
W1
0
0
W2
25
0
W3
35
+1
W4
45
+2

Cadets

Grade
Seniority Points
Reputation
C1
1st year
0
C2
2nd year
0
C3
3rd year
0
C4
4th year
0

 

Officers

Grade
Seniority Points
Reputation
O1
0
+0
O2
10
+0
O3
30
+1
O4
50
+1
O5
70
+2
O6
90
+2
O7
110
+3
O8
130
+3
O9
150
+4
O10
200
+4
O11
**
+4



Explanation of Terms and Notes:
Grade: The military rank of the character.

Senority: The number of Seniority Points needed to advance to this grade. In general, Seniority Points Accrue at 1 point per month; when enough seniority points have been accrued, roll a Charisma check against DC 15. If it succeeds the character has gone up in grade. If it fails, the character looses 5 seniority points and can attempt again in 6 months.

At much higher grades (E7 and above, 05 above), the DC check (and the chance to go up in grade) are separated by wider spans of time, and happen only when the GM approves them.

For actions of heroism and gallantry that are seen by a superior, the general rule of thumb is 1 seniority point per 3 challenge ratings of opponents defeated for everyone involved in the combat. (The GM should feel free to be suitably vindictive to PCs who blatantly 'stage manage' incidents to maximize their promotion chances.)

WO - Warrant Officer. In Jay-Trek, A Warrant Officer is a form of provisional officer. Originally it was intended as a way for people with special expertise and qualification to have a "partial" commission commesurate with their expertise. In modern times it's a way for maverick or an outside expert to be made an acting officer without having toreturn to Earth for training at Starfleet Academy. Although supposed to be a temporary rank, either an expert in a limited enlistment, or an up and coming officer, soon to return to Earth to get a "Full" commission. In practice more and more Warrant Officers are staying Warrant Officers longer. WO3 and WO4 were supposed to be vainishingly rare but more and more people are staying warrant officrs longer.

** There is only one O11 at a time. This is a unified commander for all federation Military forces. The role is wartime function. Outside of wartime you don't see Five Star Admirals or Generals

The E10 and O10 ranks are extremely senior and not generally available for player characters.

Fleet Captain and Regimental Colonel are Special titles used in special cases. A Fleet Captain is a way of marking a Captain as immediately senior. A Fleet Captain will probably stay a Captain for the rest of his carreer, but if a task force is assembled, he is almost automatically the Task Force commander. These captains are usually senior officers who have made it plain they have no interest in seeking flag rank.

Commodore is both a rank and a title. When a group of ships come together the most senior captain is in charge of them all. Seniority isdetermined by time in grade. Such a senior Captain takes on the title Commodore, and command of the group of ships. This contextual Commodore is entitled to use the Title and wear the rank pips of Commodore until his temporary group splits up.

A being with the permanent Rank of Commodore is the lowest rank of Flag Officer, and takes precidence over any Captain. A Commodore is being groomed for the Admiralty, and probaby won't be a Commodore long. He is effectively an Admiral-in-waiting.

A permanent task force (one who's ships are never considered to be seperated from the group, even though they might travel seperately for specific mission.) Is Commanded by a Rear Admiral, or a Commodore/Fleet Captain if a Rear Admiral is not available.

Cadets are Students at the Academy (Other Academies have similar arrangements) - A cadet is referred to by his years at the academy. A cadet is not commissioned officer and holds no rank in the service. However, a Cadet may take a "Cadet Cruise" and do on-the-job training as an apprentice officer. A Cadet working as a Apprentice Officer holds the rank of "Midshipman" which is a special, temporary commission in the service. There is only one Midshipman rank, but the Midshipmen have an internal ranking based on their time in the Academy.

For some Cadets, in some courses, or under special circumstances Starfleet Academy can take 5 or six years. There is no "Fifth year" cadet rating. A fifth year cadet is an extremely senior ourth year cadet. A 6th year, even more so.

The record for extra terms at the academy is eight years.

When a Cadet takes his "Cadet Cruise" as a working officer, a Midshipman, he is graded at the end of it. if he passes he i considered fit to be awarded a commission as an Officer in Starfleet.

 

Officer's Ranks

Grade
Star Fleet
Marines
O11
Fleet Admiral
Supreme Commander
O10
Vice Admiral
General
O9
Rear UH Admiral
Lieutenant General
O8
Rear LH Admiral
Major General
O7
Commodore
Brigadier General
O7
Fleet Captain
Regimental Colonel
O6
Captain
Colonel
O5
Commander
Lieutenant Colonel
O4
Lieutenant Commander
Major
O3
Lieutenant
Captain
O2
Lieutenant Junior Grade
1st Lieutenant
O1
Ensign
2ndLieutenant
O0
Midshipman/Cadet
Cadet








Enlisted Ranks

Grade
Star Fleet
Marines
E10
Command Master Chief
Command Sergeant Major
E9
Master Chief Petty Officer
Sergeant Major
E8
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Master Sergeant
E7
Chief Petty Officer
Gunnery Sergeant
E6

Petty Officer 1st class Technician/Specialist 1st

Staff Sergeant
E5
Petty Officer 2nd class Technician/Specialist 2nd
Team Sergeant
E4
Petty Officer 3rd Technician/Specialist 3rd
Corporal
E3
Technician/Specialist 4th Crewman 1st
Lance Corporal
E2
Crewman
Private First Class
E1
Recruit
Private



Federation Intelligence Agency and Federal Marshall's Service

Grade
FIA
Marshall
GS10
Director
Chief Marshall
GS9
Deputy Director
Deputy Chief Marshall
GS8
Division Chief
Division Marshall
GS7
Branch Chief
Sector Marshall
GS6
Section Chief
Section Marshall
GS5
Agent-in-Charge
Marshall-in-Charge
GS4
Senior Agent
Senior Marshall
GS3
Special Agent
Marshall, 1st Grade
GS2
Agent
Marshall, 2nd Grade
GS1
Probational Agent
Marshall, 3rd Grade


Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this material for me.

Jay P. Hailey

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