quote:Originally posted by Fabrux: Cardassian ranks, as per Memory Beta.
I don't entirely agree with the assumption of the novels that there must be a 1:1 equivalent between Starfleet and Cardassian ranks. I agree there must be some more distinctions for hierarchy, but why not have grades within the rank?
We know there has to be some wider scope in the rank of Gul, since Dukat was both captain of a single ship and earlier commander of an entire order of the military (which strikes me as either a fleet captain or even admiral's role).
Furthermore, Damar was a glinn both as helmsman of a lowly freighter and as first officer of a major military outpost. (The script for "Sons and Daughters" specifically mentions Damar as a glinn.)
Novels notwithstanding, does this make sense?
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
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posted
In old Earth navies, the rank of lieutenant came out of a junior officer that was the right hand of the captain, so perhaps glinn works in that sense. As for graded ranks, I like the idea, such as the modern captain 3rd/2nd/1st rank, corvette-captain, & the like. Yes, these correspond to ranks like LT & LCDR but that doesn't have to be true for other races.
Furthermore, who's to say that there AREN'T only three Cardassian officer ranks—just gil, glinn, & gul. These might simply refer to (respectively) trainee & untested officers, the middle-management levels, & full overarching command authority. In fact, given what we know about Cardassian society & their brand of fascism, I could see this being the case. Pair that with your graded ranks & it becomes, "congratulations, Gil! You are now Glinn class 4.Be vigilant & strenuous in your efforts to move through the grades & you'll reach gul in a rapid 15 years."
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quote:Originally posted by MinutiaeMan: We know there has to be some wider scope in the rank of Gul, since Dukat was both captain of a single ship and earlier commander of an entire order of the military
But we also saw Starfleet captains command anything from puny Science vessels (Grissoms), to supply ships (Lantree), to Federation flagships (Enterprise-D).
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posted
I agree, Starfleet has a pretty wide scope for the Captain rank, commanding ships that in the US Navy would be commanded by lower-ranked officers.
But in the case of the Cardassians, the range is even wider, since guls command entire orders (fleets?) too. Picard may have commanded a fleet for a couple of weeks, but any permanent command in Starfleet is generally an admiral.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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