Ship Positions (by department)
These are some positions that may be found on a starship or station. While some are formal billets, others are collateral duties.
Command
- Commanding Officer
- Ultimately responsible for the ship and crew, the Commanding Officer is the most senior officer aboard a vessel. S/he is responsible for carrying out the orders of Star Fleet, and for representing both Star Fleet and the Federation.
- Executive/First Officer
- The liaison between captain and crew, the Executive Officer acts as the disciplinarian, personnel manager, advisor to the captain, and much more. S/he is also one of only two officers, along with the Chief Medical Officer, that can remove a Commanding Officer from duty.
- Second Officer
- At times, the XO must assume command of a starship or base; when this happens, the XO needs the help of another officer to assume his/her role as XO. The second officer is not a formal billet, but a collateral duty of the next-highest ranked officer aboard. When required, the Second Officer will assume the role of XO.
- Command Chief: The senior-most Chief Petty Officer (including Senior and Master Chiefs), regardless of rating, is designated by the Commanding Officer as the Command Chief/Senior Chief/Master Chief. In addition to his or her departmental responsibilities, the Command Chief performs the following duties: serves as a liaison between the Commanding Officer (or Executive Officer) and the enlisted crewmen; ensures enlisted crew understands Command policies; advises the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer regarding enlisted morale, and evaluates the quality of noncommissioned officer leadership, management, and supervisory training. They work with the other department heads, Chiefs, supervisors, and crewmen to insure discipline is equitably maintained, and the welfare, morale, and health needs of the enlisted personnel are met.
- Intelligence Officer
- On all starships and starbases, a single individual among the command staff is designated the Intelligence Officer for the command. Responsible for liaising with Star Fleet Intelligence on a daily basis, the Intelligence Officer reads numerous classified reports as forwarded to them, and makes the decision on which reports are relevant to the commanding officer or other concerned positions. They are responsible for providing operational knowledge for mission briefings and act as a conduit from the command staff to SFI. The role of Intelligence Officer is considered a collateral duty within smaller commands.
- Diplomatic Officer
- The Diplomatic Officer of each vessel/base must be familiar with a variety of areas: history, religion, politics, economics, and military and understand how they affect potential threats. A wide range of incidents can arise, based upon these areas and threats. These operations occur within three general states of being: peacetime competition, conflict, and war. S/he must be equally flexible and demonstrate initiative, agility, depth, synchronization, and improvisation in order to provide responsive legal services to his/her Commanding Officer, aiding in official functions as prescribed by protocol, performing administrative duties, and other tasks as directed, as well as diplomatic advice on current status of an alien species, both aligned and non-aligned to the Federation. This position is a collateral duty in all but the largest commands.
- Media Relations Officer
- A collateral duty (on all but the largest commands), the Media Relations Officer's duties consist of keeping the Commanding Officer and First Officer informed of all relevant media stories, dealing with the press on a daily basis, creating and issuing mission statements, conducting personal interviews, and answering questions from the media.
- Mission Advisor
- The Mission Advisor is (generally) a guest specialist that advises the Commanding Officer on mission-specific areas of importance. Many times, the Mission Advisor knows just as much about the overall mission as the CO and XO do. He or she may also perform mission-specific tasks and can take on any specific roles that a mission requires.
- Yeoman
- The Captain's Yeoman is a position for Petty Officers intending to continue as administrators. Use of this position is completely at the discretion of the Commanding Officer. File work and sensitive message transport are two examples of the Yeoman's duties. The Yeoman assists the CO in day-to-day duties that the CO would otherwise not have the time to do.
Operations
- Chief Operations Officer
- The Chief Operations Officer oversees the Operations department, and is a member of the senior staff. The Chief Operations Officer has the primary responsibility of ensuring that ship functions, such as the use of the lateral sensor array, do not interfere with one and another. S/he must prioritize resource allocations, so that the most critical activities can have every chance of success. If so required, s/he can curtail shipboard functions if s/he thinks they will interfere with the ship's current mission or routine operations.
- Assistant Chief Operations Officer
- The Assistant Chief Operations Officer is the second-in-command of the Operations Department and can assume the role of Chief Operations Officer on a temporary or permanent basis.
- Operations Officer(s)
- Personnel are needed to maintain ship operations. The Operations Officers are assistants to the Chief and assume the Operations consoles on rotational duty shifts.
- Quartermaster
- The Quartermaster specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to personnel aboard the vessel. In addition, the Quartermaster controls all physical assignments to quarters throughout the vessel.
- Chief Boatswain
- Each vessel and base has one Warrant Officer (or Chief Warrant Officer) who holds the position of Chief Boatswain. The Boatswain (pronounced and also written "Bosun" or "Bos'n") trains and supervises personnel in general ship and base operations, repairs, and protocols; maintains duty assignments for all Operations personnel; sets the agenda for instruction in general ship and base operations; supervises auxiliary and utility service personnel and daily ship or base maintenance; coordinates all personnel cross-trained in damage control operations and supervises damage control and emergency operations; may assume any Bridge or Operations role as required; and is qualified to temporarily act at Operations if so ordered. The Chief Boatswain reports to the Chief Operations Officer.
- Boatswain(s): Boatswains handle general operations of equipment, conduct general maintenance and repairs, and perform traditional acts of protocol. They also act as auxiliary and utility service personnel, conduct and train in damage control and emergency operations. They sometimes cross-train on bridge and other Operations roles. They report to the Chief Boatswain.
Engineering
- Transporter Specialist
- The Transporter Chief is responsible for all transports to and from other ships, stations, and planetary bodies. When transporting is not going on, the Transporter Chief is responsible for keeping the transporters running at peak efficiency. The team assigned to the Transporter Chief is comprised of NCO personnel, assigned by the Assistant and Chief Engineer. The Transporter Chief reports to the Assistant and Chief Engineer.