Starfleet ranks and insignia
Ranks and insignia of Starfleet are military titles and badges of office which appear in the science fiction universe of Star Trek. Such ranks and insignia form the hierarchy of Starfleet, the military and scientific exploration arm of the United Federation of Planets. The ranks and insignia of Starfleet are based on the historic titles used by the United States Navy of Earth.
Starfleet ranks and titles have evolved through both live action productions, official publications, and the fanon of the Star Trek Expanded Universe. The most official ranks established are those which appear in Star Trek films and television productions, with ranks appearing in publications from Star Trek producers considered “secondary”, but nevertheless still officially established Starfleet titles. Such forms the “canon ranks”, that is to say the ranks of Starfleet which are official insofar as the Star Trek series is considered.
Star Trek science fiction publications, such as technical manuals and journals published by persons or companies affiliated with the series, are generally considered unofficial by series producers, but nevertheless some ranks appearing in unofficial sources are generally considered official in Star Trek (the most notable of which is the rank of Fleet Captain). This is due large in part to the connections which the authors of such sources have to the Star Trek series, including such figures as Michael Okuda (a production designer for many years on Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Pocket Books which maintains a monopoly on Star Trek publications.
The least official of all ranks are those which appear in Star Trek fan literature, such as magazines and websites published by private persons with little or no affiliation with the Star Trek series. Such ranks are considered conjecture, yet occasionally may find their way into semi-official Star Trek sources (an example being the rank of Branch Admiral).
The following is a compilation of the ranks and insignia of Starfleet to include official ranks from series productions, semi-official titles from Star Trek publications, and conjectured ranks from Star Trek fan publications.
Flag Officer ranks
Template:Ranks and Insignia of Starfleet/Flag Officers Template:Ranks and Insignia of Starfleet/Conjectured Admiral Insignia
Flag Officer 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. In Star Trek: The Motion Picture a character named Fleet Admiral Nogura is mentioned briefly in dialouge, but again this character is never seen by the viewing audience.
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 subsequent feature films, three more Fleet Admirals would make apperances, bringing the total Fleet Admirals of the Feature Films era to four, those being:
- Fleet Admiral Morrow (Star Trek III)
- Fleet Admiral Cartwright (Star Trek IV and Star Trek VI)
- Fleet Admiral Robert Bennett (Star Trek V)
- Fleet Admiral and Commander-in-Chief (Star Trek VI)
An unnamed Fleet Admiral can also be seen in the opening act of Star Trek: Generations and there is at least one additional Fleet Admiral present in the briefing room shown in Star Trek VI. Neither character is given a name nor do the Fleet Admirals in question have any spoken dialouge.
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.
Fan literature has speculated the existence of even higher ranks than Fleet Admiral to include such ranks as "Sector Admiral" and "Flag Admiral". None of these ranks has ever been declared official by the producers of Star Trek, with the highest rank mentioned in live action producers being that of Fleet Admiral.
Admiral
The Original Series
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 Menagerie" when the viewing audience was introduced to Commodore Mendez. A full Admiral, however, was not seen on camera until the second season of Star Trek during the episode "Amok Time". The Admiral in question (named Admiral Komack) was then only visible via long range communications on a viewscreen and at such an angle where sleeve insignia was not visible. 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.
In the entire Original Series of Star Trek, a grand total of four Admirals appeared on camera, those being:
- Admiral Komack ("Amok Time")
- Admiral Fitzpatrick ("The Trouble with Tribbles")
- Admiral Westervliet ("For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky")
- Admiral Fitzgerald ("The Mark of Gideon")
The Feature Films
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 a more senior Admiral (a character named Fleet Admiral Nogura), but this person is 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 Next Generation
The first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation was slow to introduce Admirals. With the exception of a cameo appearance by Leonard McCoy, in the pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint", an Admiral was not seen in the Next Generation series until Q impersonated one in the episode "Hide and Q". It should be noted that Q's false Admiral uniform was never again seen in any subsequent production 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, in the person of Rear Admiral Mark Jameson. Jameson's apperance introduces 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 simpler system of pip insignia worn within "rank boxes" on both collars of a uniform.
The later series of Star Trek (Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Star Trek Voyager) used the same insignia as the Next Generation with litte variance.
Star Trek Enterprise
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 in the character of Vice Admiral Forrest. Later publications from the producers of the show established the complete system of Admiralty 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 apparently do not appear in the Enterprise television series (although the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly (Part II)" mentions that Hoshi Sato will one day retire from Starfleet with the rank of Lieutenant Commander).
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. During Star Trek: The Original Series, a total of six characters appeared on camera as Starfleet Commodores:
- Commodore Jose Mendez ("The Menagerie")
- Commodore Stone ("Court Martial")
- Commodore Barstow ("The Alternative Factor")
- Commodore Matthew Decker ("The Doomsday Machine")
- Commodore George Stocker ("The Deadly Years")
- Commodore Robert Wesley ("The Ultimate Computer")
The 3rd Season of the Original Series displayed no further Commodores, although there were two characters identified as Admirals. 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 "Coming of Age", 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 dialogue where Captain Jean-Luc Picard is told that he is to be promoted directly to the rank of Admiral and assume duties as Commandant of Starfleet Academy. Since promotion to Commodore is not mentioned, it may be assumed that the rank was no longer in service.
Some early publications, from the producers of Star Trek: The Next Generation, indicate that Commodore may still have existed during the time frame of the Next Generation series with the insignia conjectured to appear as five pips worn on a uniform collar. Later publications indicated that the rank of Commodore may have been denoted as a single rank pip insignia, enclosed within an Admiral "rank box", worn on both collars of a uniform. This theory, however, is contradicted in the Star Trek Encyclopedia when the one pip insignia is indicated as an Admiral (possibly a Rear Admiral Lower Half).
It can therefore be assumed, unless additional information is promulgated by Star Trek producers or through official sources, that subsequent to the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation the rank of Commodore ceased to exist.
Officer ranks
Template:Ranks and Insignia of Starfleet/Officers
Officer rank information
Fleet Captain
Garth of Izar
There have only been two confirmed 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.
Fleet Captain
The "Star Trek Encyclopedia" would later establish a feature film rank pin for Fleet Captain, but this pin has never appeared on camera in a live action production.
During the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the rank of Fleet Captain was conjectured to consist of five gold pips worn as collar insignia. This was never deemed official by the show's producers, however, and since a Fleet Captain never appeared on camera during the time frame of the Next Generation series, the viewing audience was left to speculate. 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 prerequisite for promotion but rather a special rank bestowed under certain circumstances.
Captain
The rank of Captain is perhaps best known in Star Trek as the title held by the commander of a starship and the rank has been held by several main characters of the Star Trek series. The very first Captain of Star Trek was Christopher Pike, who appeared as Commander of the Starship Enterprise during the unaired pilot "The Cage". The Star Trek: The Animated Series would later state Pike was preceded by another Captain, named Robert April, however April’s existence as the first Captain of the Enterprise has never been declared official by Star Trek producers (although it is generally accepted as such by fans).
Captain Christopher Pike appeared in Star Trek wearing a single rank stripe, the same as all other officers onboard the USS Enterprise. This gives rise to the interesting theory that Pike may have been a Captain in title only, but was actually a Commander or possible even a Lieutenant in rank. Gene Roddenberry would later state that Pikes as indeed a Captain and that his generic rank insignia was an effort to demonstrate that all crewmembers of the Enterprise were astronauts first, and officers second; therefore specific rank insignia was unimportant. This idea did not catch on in later Star Trek incarnations, with the next Captain of the Enterprise, the famous James T. Kirk, wearing distinctive Captain insignia separating him from the rest of the crew.
The first guest star Captain to appear in Star Trek was a merchant commander in the episode “Charlie X”. Other Captains were again seen in the episode “Court Martial”, where two Captains sat on the trial board of Captain Kirk. The first time another Captain was seen in command of a starship (other than Kirk) was in the episode “The Omega Glory” in the person of Captain Ronald Tracey. The Captain of the USS Defiant (“The Tholian Web”) also made an appearance in the Third Season of the Original Series, albeit as a corpse on the floor of the Defiant bridge.
The Star Trek feature films portrayed a fair number of Captains beginning with Willard Decker and continuing to the promotion of Mr. Spock to Captain of the Enterprise in Star Trek II. Star Trek IV saw the first female Starfleet Captain (Commander of the USS Saratoga) and by the time frame of Star Trek VI, Montgomery Scott and Hikaru Sulu had joined the ranks of Starfleet Captains.
With the exception of the Original Series episode “Court Martial”, the only other time a Captain has appeared while not commanding a starship was in the Next Generation episode “The Measure of a Man”. The Captain in question, Captain Louvois, was also the only staff officer Captain to appear in Star Trek clarifying that one need not be Captain of a starship to hold the rank of Captain in Starfleet. Other than Louvois, was was a Judge Advocate General officer, no other staff officers have ever appeared in Star Trek as Captains. Doctor Leonard McCoy was most likely a Captain at some point in his career, as he is later seen in Star Trek as an Admiral.
Other well known Star Trek Captains include Benjamin Sisko, of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager. The most recent major Star Trek character to become a Captain was Jonathan Archer, although his character is set one hundred years before the era of Captains Pike and Kirk.
Commander
This section is pending
Lieutenant Commander
This section is pending
Lieutenant
This section is pending
Lieutenant Junior Grade
The rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade was originally one of the rarest ranks of Star Trek as it was not until the time frame of Star Trek: The Next Generation that a substantial number of characters held the position. The first Lieutenant Junior Grade seen on camera, as well as the only one to appear in the entire scope of Star Trek: The Original Series, was Lieutenant J.G. Tormolen who appeared in the episode "The Naked Time". In the episode, the insignia for Lieutenant Junior Grade was established as a broken "hash mark" rank braid.
In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade ceased to exist as several pre-production publications established that there was no rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade and the former insignia for the position was now the insignia for the rank of Ensign. This was, perhaps, a means to distinguish Ensigns in the Motion Picture from Crewman, since during the Original Series time frame Ensigns wore no insignia whatsoever.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan introduced the feature film rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade as well as the new Lieutenant J.G. rank pin worn throughout the movie by the character of Saavik. In the film, however, Saavik was simply referred to as "Lieutenant" and some publications from the time of the film specify that she was not a Lieutenant Junior Grade but rather a full Lieutenant. It was not until the establishment of the full Lieutenant rank pin, viewed briefly in later feature films and in the Next Generation series, that Saavik’s rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade was confirmed.
After the airing of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Lieutenant Junior Grade became a much more commonly held rank with two of the main Next Generation characters (Geordi La Forge and Worf) holding the rank in the show’s first season. In addition, with the much more simpler "pip rank system”, determining which characters were Lieutenant Junior Grades became a much less complicated process. The last established Lieutenant Junior Grade Star Trek characters were Nog and Tom Paris from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek:Voyager respectively.
Information from the prequel series Star Trek Enterprise indicates that in this earlier period of Starfleet history, Lieutenant Junior Grade did not yet exist as a rank. This is contradicted, however, when in the episode "Divergence" an unnamed helm officer is reportedly referred to as a Lieutenant Junior Grade. Most official sources regarding the Enterprise series indicate that Lieutenant Junior Grade (and Lieutenant Commander) do not exist as officer ranks and the statement from "Divergence" may have been a plot error or an indication of the point at which Lieutenant Junior Grade became a rank of Starfleet for the first time.
Ensign
The rank of Ensign, the lowest commissioned officer rank of Starfleet, made its first appearance in Star Trek: The Original Series, although the first characters to hold the rank were small role extras. The first Ensign of Star Trek can be seen in the episode “Dagger of the Mind” in the character of Ensign Berkeley. In a subsequent episode, “Court Martial”, the rank of Ensign is held by an unnamed Personnel Officer who offers testimony at Captain Kirk’s trial.
The original rank of Ensign had no insignia whatsoever, making the rank confusing with enlisted Crewman of the Original Series. To make the rank of Ensign more notable, the character of Ensign Pavel Chekov was introduced in the 2nd Season of the Original Series. From this point, various other Ensigns appeared, although the character of Chekov was often written as the young, junior officer with much to learn much as is the case with actual Ensigns in many modern day navies.
In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the rank of Ensign was granted sleeve stripes similar to the Original Series rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. The Motion Picture rank of Ensign was held by an unnamed alien who makes an appearance early in the film, showing support for Captain Willard Decker. A few other Ensigns appear on the main deck of the Enterprise during the briefing regarding V'Ger but the rank is not held by any major characters in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
A Starfleet Ensign was not seen again until Star Trek VI, when the rank is held by Demora Sulu, daughter of Captain Hikara Sulu. As Demora Sulu's character was the first Ensign to wear the “red jacket” Starfleet costumes, a new rank pin was designed which would later be worn in several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The rank of Ensign became far more common in the later Star Trek television series and was held by several characters on The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and the Voyager series. To again bring some meaning to the rank, Ensign was held by two major characters those being Nog of Deep Space Nine and Wesley Crusher of the Next Generation. The most recent Star Trek series, Star Trek Enterprise, also had a major character who was an Ensign, that being the character of Ensign Hoshi Sato.
Warrant Officer ranks
Template:Ranks and Insignia of Starfleet/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 demeanour 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
Template:Ranks and Insignia of Starfleet/Enlisted rank titles and insignia
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, however a rank system for enlisted personnel develops which is established completely by the third season of the original Star Trek series.
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", "Petty Officer", and "Crewman". The characters wear a simple version of insignia, that being a pattern of coloured triangles displayed on shoulder tabs. The one confirmed Chief Petty Officer in the film, CPO Janice Rand, displays a hollow gold square centred on a shoulder strap. Ordinary crewman who appear in the film wear no rank insignia.
ST: The Motion Picture
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, that is crew members of the starship Excelsior. (Cadets and enlisted personnel wear the same uniform; the collar and cuff trim is a different colour - red for cadets, dark blue/black for enlisted.) Based on information in Star Trek III, a pattern of enlisted insignia emerges for the feature films after Star Trek II. Enlisted personnel are shown to wear a variety of coloured shoulder tabs which would seem to indicate their seniority as Petty Officers, with regular crewmen wearing bare black shoulder tabs.
Star Trek feature films
The "shoulder tab theory" is challenged by some Star Trek sources which indicate that the coloured shoulder tabs do not indicate rank as a Petty Officer, but rather membership in a particular shipboard department.
Under this system, a gold tab would indicate an engineering petty officer, a grey tab operations, and a blue tab would denote membership in the science department. If this system is accepted, enlisted personnel in the feature films would have no rank insignia much like their Original Series counterparts. The Star Trek Encyclopedia attempts to explain this by providing rank insignia pins for Crewman and Petty Officer, however these pins are considered apocryphal since the feature film enlisted uniforms do not display rank pin insignia.
With the exception of Janice Rand in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, no Chief Petty Officers are ever seen in the feature films. Publications by the film producers indicate that, subsequent to Star Trek II, 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
ST: 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
Miles Edward O'Brien
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 novelisation of the episode "Emissary", 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 recognisable 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
Star Trek Voyager did not address the question of enlisted ranks nor was any version of enlisted insignia seen on camera during the production of the show, although several minor and extra characters are often addressed as "Crewman".
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.
Star Trek Enterprise
Star Trek Enterprise
Within the time frame of Star Trek Enterprise, enlisted personnel are often seen and addressed by such titles as "Chief" and "Crewman". Prior to the release of the Season 1 DVDs, enlisted insignia was small and difficult to read onscreen, but the greatly enhanced picture quality of the DVDs makes it possible to clearly see this insignia.
Examination of the Enterprise DVDs reveals enlisted rank denoted by a small Starfleet arrowhead symbol with varying numbers of straight lines directly to its left, the number of lines presumably denoting different enlisted grades. As is known from other Star Trek series, enlisted ranks extend to Chief Petty Officer, with the Earth Starfleet possibly also maintaining the ranks of Senior Chief and Master Chief Petty Officer. To date, however, no character holding these ranks has appeared on the show nor have these two senior enlisted ranks been mentioned in live action dialogue.
Enlisted rates
It should be noted that Starfleet enlisted ranks do not take into account Enlisted rates. Enlisted rates are titles that enlisted personnel hold, depending upon their career field, and to which they are typically addressed in verbal correspondence.
An example would be a Petty Officer Second Class, who holds the rate of Yeoman, referred to as "Yeoman Second Class".
The concept of Starfleet Enlisted Rates is widely unexplored and there are very few references to enlisted rates in the feature films or television series. The following is a list of the only confirmed Starfleet enlisted rates which have been mentioned in the dialogue of Star Trek live action productions.
| Enlisted Rate | Production | Episodes | Characters |
| Yeoman | Star Trek: The Cage | Unaired Pilot | Yeoman Colt |
| Communciations Technician | Star Trek: The Cage | Unaired Pilot | Chief Garrison |
| Yeoman | Star Trek: The Original Series | Numerous | Janice Rand + various others |
| Medical Technician | Star Trek: TOS/TNG | Numerous | Numerous |
| Engineer's Mate | Star Trek: The Original Series | That Which Survives | Crewman Watson |
| Security Guard | Star Trek: The Original Series | Numerous | Mr. Leslie + various others |
| Transporter Technician | Star Trek: TNG/DS9 | Numerous | Miles Edward O'Brien + various others |
| Combat Tactical Specialist | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Nor the Battle to the Strong | Burke |
| Security Specialist | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Valiant | Dorian Collins |
| Sensor Analyst | Star Trek: Voyager | Good Shepherd | Tal Celes |
Starfleet Dynamics, an unofficial Star Trek technical manual, is the only publication to date which gives a complete listing of all possible Starfleet enlisted rates, however this publication is considered fan literature and not deemed official by the producers of Star Trek.
Template:Ranks and Insignia of Starfleet/Cadet ranks
Wesley Crusher's Uniform
The uniform worn by Wesley Crusher, serving as an “Acting Ensign” in Season 2 and 3 of the Next Generation series, is an oddity in that the uniform was never explained nor has any other character in a subsequent episode or series of Star Trek worn a similar Starfleet uniform.
Wesley Crusher’s uniform appears as a light grey tunic, with a sweater like shoulder piece, that is worn without any identifying insignia except a standard communication pin. The producers of Star Trek admitted in later years that this uniform was designed along the lines of a “Starfleet West Point” look and was simply created to give Wesley a more military look, thus gearing his character away from the boy-like child character seen in the first season.
Based on the limited information provided, one possible explanation of Wesley’s uniform is that the grey tunic was a sort of “junior youth” uniform similar to the present day Sea Cadets or the Cadets of Junior Naval ROTC. Another explanation is that the uniform is indeed a established Starfleet uniform, possible an Officer Cadet or junior Midshipman jacket.
The character of Wesley Crusher was later promoted, via field commission, to full Ensign and from that point wore a standard Starfleet uniform with Ensign insignia. Upon his acceptance to Starfleet Academy, Wesley’s field commission as Ensign was apparently revoked and he began wearing the standard uniform of a Cadet.
Provisional Ranks
Star Trek Voyager
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 paramilitary 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.
Template:Ranks and Insignia of Starfleet/Alternate and conjectural ranks
References
Live action sources
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Publications
- . ISBN 0-345-34074-4.
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- . ISBN 0-671-63576-X.
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- . ISBN 1-55560-079-4.
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- . ISBN Unregistered.
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- . ISBN Unregistered.
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- . ISBN 0-671-03475-8.
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- . ISBN 0-671-53610-9.
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Internet sources
- "Rank Comparison Chart". Spike's Star Trek Page Rank Comparison Chart. August 16.
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- "Starfleet Rank Chart". The Trekker's Galactopedia Insignia Section. May 9.
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