posted
Caveat: There's going to be some non-canon in here, so if you are a hardcore canon-phile, steer clear
This just popped into my head. How long are captains assigned to ships?
Pike took over from April, for reasons unknown. Kirk took over from Pike because Pike was promoted to fleet captain. Decker took over from Kirk once he was promoted, later replaced by Kirk, later replaced by Spock, later replaced by Kirk once again. Picard was on the E-D from it's commissioning to it's destruction, Sisko was on DS9 from it's entrance into Federation control until his dissappearence in 2376. Janeway's been in command since Voyager was commissioned. Calhoun's been in command since Korsmo died. Now, Riker was assigned to the Excalibur in 2368. What happened to it's captain (Korsmo?) at that time? And it's first officer? Data took the Sutherland, which can be explained by it being a new ship. Now, Jellico presumably left the Cairo because he was offered the Enterprise. Judging from the show, a captain is in command until he/she dies or is promoted.
However, I have another theory. This kinda gets religious. In the Catholic church, a bishop controls a diocese. Every year, he moves some priests around and puts new ones in, and retires old ones. And then a few might become bishops. Now, maybe captains in Starfleet are rotated every so often. Sometimes they get assigned and remain there for many years, and sometimes they stay there for a few months only to move on. Some get promoted, some get demoted, and some retire. But who would be in charge of this? I say the Chief of Starfleet Operations (i.e. Nogura or Kirk in TMP).
Another theory would be that captains themselves decide. They get offered a command, take it for a year, decide if they want to stay or transfer.
Thoughts?
------------------ "The kingdom of God is inside you, and all around you; not in a building of stone or wood. Split a piece of wood, and I will be there. Lift a stone, and you will find me." -The Gospel of Jesus, Stigmata
[This message has been edited by Fabrux (edited August 10, 2000).]
quote:They get offered a command, take it for a year, decide if they want to stay or transfer.
In most cases this is true. But it probably varies from what your credentials and status are. Your standard issue, nothing special captain (in this case lieutenant or lieutenant commander), who may command a cargo ship and not a heavy cruiser like the "fabled" captains of Starfleet, may get shuffled around on a weekly basis.
There are thousands of ships out there, most of them never seeing anything but black space out their viewer screens. I'd imagine the captain goes insane after several years of service.
------------------ -Small Computer Systems Interface "Scuzzy" Emperor
Operator of the Goulag Hotel, maintainer of the workhouses.
posted
In TOS, it seems that a Captain got a command in 5 year blocks. This derives mainly from the line "... Its five-year mission...". This leads to some assumptions (and some problems with them). The USS Enterprise entered service in 2245. Kirk had command in 2264, and it seems he had gotten it recently. Spock said he served under Captian Pike for more than 12 years, yet that would mean since at least 2252 if Kirk took the ship from Pike in 2264, and Spock would still have been in the Academy at that time. MY ANSWERS: Robert April commanded USS Enterprise for two consecutive "five-year missions" before a routine transfer to other duties. He was a distingushed hero and was given the ship because she was the most technilogicly advanced in the fleet. Christopher Pike, an instructor at Starfleet Academy, was the next to command USS Enterprise, taking command in 2254 or 2255. He requested that a number of cadets who had served under him at the Academy, including Spock, be assigned to his ship when they graduated. Since spock graduated in 2253, I lean towards Pike taking command in 2254 and April's mission having ended a year early for some reason. Kirk also commanded for two consecutive missions, one from 2264 to 2268 inclusive, and a second from 2269 to 2273 inclusive. Many sources believe that Kirk only had one mission, and that the Enterprise Refit happened in the early 2270's, but I dissagree. I put the Enterprise's refit as occurring from 2274 possably through 2278 (although two years sounds more likely). For the purposes of the refit, Commander Willard Decker was to be promoted to Captain and placed in command during and following the refit, based largley on a personal recommendation from James T. Kirk who was being promoted to Admiral and assigned to Starfleet Operations. At this same time, Starfleet offered promotion to Captain and a starship command to Commander Spock. Spock, however, believed he was unsuited for command and took a leave of absence to resume his studies on Vulcan. Leonard McCoy retired. As the Enterprise Refit was being completed, a crisis faced Earth. Kirk convinced his superiors to send him personally, and to send him on the newly refit Enterprise. McCoy was called out of retirement due to a fine-print clause that declares former officers to be a "national resource" that may be siezed by the government in times of crisis (this is real: US Military Officers are subject to recall even after retirement). Spock rejoins the crew in mid-voyage. The Crisis was solved, but Captain Decker was MIA. Kirk was to resume his duties at Starfleet Operations, and Commander Spock was again offered promotion, this time to Captain of USS Enterprise. He agreed on the grounds that the ship be assigned to Starfleet Academy as a training vessel. This was because Spock dtill doubted his ability to command in a crisis, but recognised his value in shaping new officers. I should point out that Spock's reluctance to command was not born out of fear or indecision, but rather because he had seen first hand how effectively a human Captain could use his emotions and instinct to guide his command, and how in fact it was Kirk's baser impulses (lust, greed, hatred) that, tempered by his intellect and compassion, made him the decisive and effective leader he was. Spock realized he lacked those properties and felt this made him a less than perfect Captain. Therefore, logic dictated that he step aside for someone more qualified.
Admiral Kirk agreed to come aboard for an important Training Cruise, one that featured the best and the brightest of a graduating class, in 2285. Dr. McCoy and Commander Hikaru Sulu (soon being promoted to Captain) came along as Admiral Kirk's guests. "Any chance to be aboard the Enterprise." This was, of course, the Kahn incident.
------------------ You're a Starfleet Officer. "Weird" is part of the job.
posted
Boy, I'm a talky fellow. On another note, The ships used at Picard's Blockade were either under construction or under repair. The regular crews had been reassigned to other vessels or killed. So when Riker commanded the Excalibur, the ship was basicly between Captains (it would have had a _titular_ Captain, but he was an inexperinced officer whose main job was to sign off on the Chief Engineer's reports on the work. Similarly, Data's First Officer on USS Sutherland had likely been it's titular Captain before that incident. He was in charge of overseeing the repair work, and would serve as First Officer for the new Captain until the Captain got sufficiently familliar with the ship.
------------------ You're a Starfleet Officer. "Weird" is part of the job.
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