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.

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 and, in that role, reports directly to the Executive Officer.

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 and reports directly to the Executive Officer.

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. They report directly to the Executive Officer.

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. They report directly to the Executive Officer.

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.

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. They report to the Assistant Chief Operations Officer.

Shuttlebay Manager

The Shuttlebay Manager is responsible for pre- and post-flight checks of all shuttlecraft involved in away missions. Once a shuttlecraft has been brought to the flight line, it is his/her duty to ensure that it is mission capable. Upon returning from a mission, he/she must inspect the shuttlecraft and prepare a report on any maintenance that is required. He/she is also responsible for the placement of shuttlecraft, in order to allow for maximum efficiency of the shuttlebay. The Shuttlebay Manager reports to the Assistant Chief Operations Officer.

Chief Shuttlecraft Pilot

The Chief Shuttlecraft Pilot supervises the shuttlecraft pilots and reports to the Assistant Chief Operations Officer.

Shuttlecraft Pilot

All small spacecraft aboard a starship, starbase or a facility (shuttles, runabouts, transports, captain's yacht, etc.), excluding fighters, are flown by Shuttlecraft Pilots. This is often the proving ground for pilots until they earn a berth on a starship as a Helmsman. They report to the Chief Shuttlecraft Pilot.

Chief Helmsman

The Chief Helmsman is the senior most Conn Officer aboard, serving as the chief of the personnel under him/her and reporting to the Chief Operations Officer (they are equal in seniority to the Assistant Chief Operations Officer).

Assistant Chief Helmsman

The Assistant Chief Helmsman is the second senior most Conn Officer and reports directly to the Chief Helmsman.

Helmsman

Originally know as helm, or Flight Control Officer, Conn incorporates two jobs, navigation and flight control. A Helmsman must always be present on the bridge of a starship and every vessel has a number of Helmsmen to allow shift rotations. S/he plots courses, oversees the computer's piloting, corrects any flight deviations, and pilots the ship manually when needed. Helmsmen report to the Assistant Chief Helmsman.

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. They report to the Assistant Chief Operations Officer.

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 Assistant 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

Chief Engineer

The Chief Engineer is responsible for the condition of all systems and equipment on board a Star Fleet ship or facility. S/he oversees maintenance, repairs, and upgrades of all equipment. S/he is also responsible for the many repair teams during crisis situations. The Chief Engineer is a senior officer, responsible for all the crew members in her/his department and maintenance of the duty rosters.

Assistant Chief Engineer

The Assistant Chief Engineer assists the Chief Engineer in the daily work; in issues regarding mechanical, administrative matters, and coordinating repairs with other departments. The Assistant Chief Engineer must be able to take over as Chief Engineer and must be versed in the current technical status regarding the ship or facility.

Engineering Officers

Engineers are the backbone of the Engineering Corps and are responsible for maintaining and repairing the vessel. They supervise divisions within Engineering:

Communications Specialist

The Communications Specialist is a specialized engineering officer. Communication aboard a ship or facility takes two basic forms: voice and data. Both are handled by the onboard computer systems and dedicated hardware. The vastness and complexity of this system requires a dedicated division to maintain the system. The Communications Specialist is the officer in charge of this division, which is comprised of NCO personnel. The Communications Specialist reports to the Assistant Chief Engineer.

Computer Systems Specialist

The Computer Systems Specialist is a specialized engineering officer. The current generation of computer systems need high levels of oversight and maintenance, which is provided by the specialist. A division is assigned to the Computer Systems Specialist, which is comprised of NCO personnel. The Computer Systems Specialist reports to the Assistant Chief Engineer.

Damage Control Engineer

The DCE is the engineering officer responsible for all damage control aboard the ship, whether sustained in combat or other emergency situations. S/he oversees all damage repair aboard the ship and coordinates repair teams on the smaller jobs, so the Chief Engineer can focus on other matters. A division is assigned to the Damage Control Engineer, comprised of NCO personnel. The Damage Control Engineer reports to the Assistant Chief Engineer.

Matter/Energy Systems Engineer

The Matter/Energy Systems Engineer is the engineering officer responsible for all aspects of matter/energy transfers, such as transporter and replicator systems, with the sole exception of the warp drive systems. The Matter/Energy Systems Engineer is the officer in charge of a division, comprised of NCO personnel, and s/he reports to the Assistant Chief Engineer.

Transporter Chief

The Transporter Chief is a specialized engineering officer and 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 division assigned to the Transporter Chief is comprised of NCO personnel. The Transporter Chief reports to the Matter/Energy Systems Specialist.

Propulsion Engineers

Specializing in either impulse or warp propulsion, the Propulsion Engineers oversee the two divisions focused on operating, maintaining, and repairing the propulsion of the ship. The impulse division is also responsible for the reaction control systems, while the warp division "owns" the matter/antimatter core. The Propulsion Engineers report to the Assistant Chief Engineer.

Structural/Environmental Engineer

The Structural and Environmental Systems Engineer is the engineering officer responsible for constant monitoring of the hulls, bulkheads, walls, Jeffrey tubes, turbolifts, structural integrity field, internal dampening field, and environmental systems. The division assigned to the Structural and Environmental Systems Engineer is comprised of NCO personnel. The Structural and Environmental Systems Engineer reports to the Assistant Chief Engineer.

External Links

• Pegasus Fleet: "Departments & Positions"