Starfleet Ship Crews

NB: Following document is still being finalised.

Officers
Starfleet Officers are some of the best and brightest that the galaxy has to offer. Selecting from the very cream of the crop and then honed by four years at the Starfleet Academy, the finished product is capable of performing in almost any role or mission.

Ranks

 * Ensign (on graduation)
 * Lieutenant, JG (after 2 years, nearly automatic)
 * Lieutenant (after 2 years, nearly automatic)
 * Lieutenant-Commander (after 3-5 years minimum, plus some competition)
 * Commander (after 3-5 years minimum, plus competition)
 * Captain (after 3-5 years minimum, plus a lot of competition)
 * Commodore (after 5+ years)
 * Rear Admiral (after 4+ years)
 * Vice Admiral (after 4+ years and usually selection from Commander, Starfleet)
 * Admiral (after 4+ years and Presidential asset)

Enlisted
Starfleet Enlisted are far from the traditional concept of grunts, coming through two to three years of training in Service Academies that drill them thoroughly on a number of roles and responsibilities.

Ranks

 * Spacer 3rd (Entry)
 * Spacer 2nd (after 6 months, automatic)
 * Spacer 1st (after 2 year, automatic)
 * Petty Officer 3rd (after 2 years)
 * Petty Officer 2nd (after 3 year)
 * Petty Officer 1st (after 3 years)
 * Chief Petty Officer (after 4 years w/ Starfleet Personnel Enlisted Board Selection)
 * Senior Chief Petty Officer (after 5 years)
 * Master Chief Petty Officer (after 5 years)

Line Officers vs Specialist Officers
Line Officers will exercise command authority aboard ship over Specialist officers at all times outside of matters related to the Specialist's subject expertise. This can lead to circumstances where an Ensign officer in the Command Department may lawfully issue orders to a Commander in the Sciences Department.

O/E/T
OOC: OET Points are used for indicating the required crewing levels for a ship. It consists of O for Officers, E for Enlisted, T for Technician. Despite the naming, it should be understood that O points will often include people in Chief Petty Officer bands who can handle leadership roles, and that Technician includes a melange of Officers and Enlisted ratings, depending on the ship.

Ship's Complement Structure
A ship is crewed by Officers and Enlisted personnel. Most of the officers and enlisted are line personnel, but they are leavened out by a considerable number of specialists, such as Counsellors, medical personnel, lab technicians, and the like.

Personal Assignment
Each member of the ship's crew will be given an assignment that includes their Department, Division, and Work Centre, their usual duty station, and their Alert Station. Alert Stations are where a member of the crew is expected to go when the ship enters an Alert State - for those who are already on shift, they are required to wait until relieved by the corresponding day shift personnel. These Alert Stations are typically Operations, Tactical, or Engineering stations, or damage control posts. Each member of the crew will also be briefed on positions to report to in the event of a Blue Alert, also known as the intruder alert.

Rank Bands
Most positions within a Ship are filled not by a specific rank, but someone within a particular "band" of ranks. There are typically three such Bands: the junior officers (Ensign/Lt JG); the Lieutenants; and the senior officers (Lt-Cdr/Commander). A similar process exists for enlisted, where positions are filled by either a Spacer, a Petty Officer, or a Chief Petty Officer, of any given grade. As a result, you made find a Chief Engineer to be either a Lieutenant-Command or a Commander, or a Chief Medical Officer may be anything from a Lieutenant on up. Generally speaking, on a larger ship you are more likely - but not guaranteed - to find people in the upper parts of the rank bands for their position. However, on a newer ship, or one that has had a large influx of new crew, then even an Excelsior can be largely filled with lower ranks. A new Five Year Mission is also likely to be on the top-light side.

Departments
There are five Departments on a typical Starfleet vessel; Command, Operations, Tactical, Engineering, Science. These departments are usually led by an officer in a band between Lieutenant and Commander. The department heads are typically present in the senior officer's meeting, as well as certain members of the Bridge Crew Alpha Shift (thus making these assignments extremely sought after).

Divisions
Each Department is divided into a series of Divisions to cover different subject matters. These are usually led by a Lieutenant, but may be a Lieutenant-Commander or a Lieutenant, JG depending on the size of the ship and nature of the role.

Work Centre
Each Division covers a number of Work Centres, which is a specific location aboard ship. These are often led by a Lieutenant, or a junior officer, and will handle functions at a specific location, across each of the three shipboard shifts (Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Shifts).

Bridge Crew
A ship's Bridge Crew is an outlier to the above system. Comprised of three shifts, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, there is a mix of junior officers that belong specifically to the Bridge Crew, and others that are part of the Bridge Crew by dint of their positions. The Commanding Officer and Executive Officer are separate to the Bridge Crew, as they have no nominal shift they belong to.

Each Shift has the following positions, with minimal variance between classes and ships:
 * Command Station
 * 1st Watch Officer
 * Flight Control Stations
 * Conn
 * Operations
 * Management Stations
 * Tactical Officer
 * Security Officer
 * Sensor Officer
 * Support Stations
 * Communications Officer
 * Engineering Officer
 * Environmental Officer
 * Science Officer
 * Intelligence Officer
 * Counsellor
 * Security Station
 * Master-at-Arms, Chief Petty Officer Band
 * Security Team

Not all of the above positions will always be present on each shift roster, or on the bridge at any given time during normal running.

At all times a qualified officer must be in charge of the watch, described as "having the bridge". During this time, their orders carry the weight of the Captain's, until such time as a more senior officer arrives to take over. A qualified person is someone who has passed the Bridge Officer's Qualification Test successfully; to become a Bridge Officer at all requires this ticket. However, it may be taken by others - in particular, department heads are expected to attain it. Even those who are not line officers may attain the qualification and be eligible to stand watch, such as a Medical Officer or Counselor.

Senior Staff - Alpha Shift
Taking the 0800-1600 shift, the Alpha Shift is often a mix of department heads and promising young officers. Together they also comprise the inner circle of the Captain's confidence, with many being present during senior staff meetings and being candidates of choice for away missions. As such, they are an extremely lucrative assignment for young officers - serving as an Alpha Shift bridge officer on a Five Year Mission is undoubtedly the most effective a way to supercharge a young officer's career. However, it is also a very risky assignment, as officers so assigned will frequently be in the midst of emergencies.

Example
A Hypothetical Starfleet Billeting Document. In specific ships and classes, you can expect to see some variations corresponding to the number of components, amount of crew, and other concerns. This can mean additional work centers, changes to the required band, or elimination of some Divisions.

NB: On some smaller ships positions filled by Ensigns or Lieutenants, Junior Grade, may instead be filled by Chief Petty Officers. NB2: Ship classes with high automation may make some of these positions redundant.

COMMANDING OFFICER (CAPT)

COMMAND DEPARTMENT (XO, LCDR/CDR)
 * Command Chief Petty Officer
 * Medical (LT, LCDR, CDR) - "Chief Medical Officer"
 * Sickbay Crew (LTJG/LCDR) - One per Sickbay component
 * Additional Doctors/Nurses
 * Medical Specialists (ENS/LTJG/LT/LCDR - PO/CPO)
 * Personnel (LT, LCDR) - Responsible for a variety of internal management functions.
 * Accounting Officer (LTJG/LT)
 * Personnel Ratings
 * Security, Head of Security (LT/LCDR)
 * Armoury (CPO)
 * Security Ratings
 * Diplomacy, Director (LCDR/CDR/CIV)
 * Diplomatic Personnel
 * Chief Counselor (LT/LCDR/CDR)
 * Counsellors (ENS/LTJG - PO/CPO) - A number will be assigned to a crew depending on crew size and mission

TACTICAL DEPARTMENT (LCDR/CDR) - "Chief Tactical Officer"
 * Armaments Director (phasers, torps etc.) (LT/LCDR)
 * Phasers Supervisor (LTJG/LT)
 * Phaser Workcenters (ENS/LTJG) - Support and maintain a particular Phaser Bank and associated coolant system.
 * Torpedo Supervisor (LTJG/LT)
 * Torpedo Magazine Workcenter (ENS/LTJG)
 * Torpedo Workcenters (ENS/LTJG) - Support and maintain a particular Torpedo Launcher, typically includes one for the launcher system
 * Defence Director (shields, e-war) (LT/LCDR)
 * Deflector Shields Supervisor (LTJG/LT)
 * Shield Workcenters (ENS/LTJG) - Typically one per cluster of deflector emitters, plus one for direction of the shield system as a whole
 * Targeting Computer Supervisor (Targeting comp) (LTJG/LT)
 * TacComp Workcenters (ENS/LTJG) - Responsible for operation, data security, upkeep, and data connections. Larger ships divide these up more granularly.
 * Underway Intelligence (LT) - On detachment from Starfleet Intelligence Command
 * Intelligence Team - Includes a number of enlisted technical specialists

ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT (LCDR/CDR) - "Chief Engineer"
 * Warp Division, Director (LCDR) - "Main Engineering" - 2nd Engineer, assistant to Chief Engineer
 * Warp Core Supervisor (LTJG/LT) - Directly responsible for health of the core
 * Warp Core crew
 * Fuel Injection Supervisor (LTJG/LT) - Directly responsible for health and supervision of the performance of the MARA injectors.
 * Matter Injector Workcentre (ENS/LTJG)
 * Anti-Matter Injector Workcentre (ENS/LTJG)
 * EPS and Coolant (LTJG/LT)
 * Fuel Storage Supervisor (LTJG/LT) - Directly responsible for the antimatter stores and matter tankage
 * Anti-Matter Pod Workcentres (ENS/LTJG) - Directly monitors a farm of Antimatter Pods - Most often found on Explorers
 * Drive Systems Division, Director (LT/LCDR) - Usually posted in secondary engineering spaces - 3rd Engineer
 * Impulse Supervisor (ENS/LTJG) - Director for all Impulse related actions, assisted by a CPO
 * Impulse Reactor Workcentre (ENS/LTJG) - On Comets only
 * Impulse Engine Workcentre (ENS/LTJG) - On Comets only
 * Nacelles (ENS/LTJG) - Not always present, but usually one per nacelle
 * Life Support Division, Director (LT/LCDR) - Has a separate engineering space, usually in the saucer - 4th Engineer
 * Systems (ENS/LTJG) - Responsible for water/oxygen purification and generation, toxin scrubbers
 * Distribution (ENS/LTJG) - Responsible for outlets and conduits for oxygen and water distribution
 * Gravity (ENS/LTJG) - Responsible for Maintenance of all Gravity plates across the ship

OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT (LCDR/CDR)
 * Mobility Director (LT)
 * Transporter Techs
 * Turbolift Techs
 * Astrogation Supervisor (LCDR)
 * Astrogation Techs
 * Nav Deflector Workcenter (LT)
 * Deflector Techs
 * Operations - Hull (LT)
 * SIF Workcenters (ENS/LTJG) - Operates as Damage Control teams in Alert status
 * Hull Workcenters (ENS/LTJG) - Operates as Damage Control teams in Alert status
 * Communications Systems Director (LTJG/LT) - This is distinct from the Bridge Communications officer, having a focus on the maintenance of the system rather than using it
 * Communications - Equipment (ENS/LTJG)
 * Cryptography Specialist (T - CPO/ENS/LTJG)
 * Shuttlebay Director (LT/LCDR)
 * Shuttle Maintenance Team (LT)
 * Shuttlebay Operations (LT)
 * Supply Director (LT/LCDR)
 * Logistics Supervisor (deals with keeping track of stuff like food, fuel and repair parts and ordering more of the same) (LT)
 * Supply/Logistics Workcenter (ENS)
 * Replicator Supervisor (LT)
 * Replicators Workcenter (ENS/JG)
 * Stores (deals with Recreation areas, ship’s stores, etc.) (LTJG)

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT (LCDR/CDR)
 * Stellar Cartography (LT)
 * Sensors - Long Range (ENS/LTJG)
 * Sensors - Survey (ENS/LTJG)
 * Science Lab Director (LT)
 * Different labs (ENS/LTJG)
 * Many Lab Scientists (T - ENS/LTJG/LT/LCDR)
 * Many Lab Technicians (T - SPC/PO/CPO)
 * Computer Systems Director (LT) - The exact number of workstations and ranks highly dependent on ship class - Explorers have extensive sections here to handle the enormous computer cores.
 * Core Architecture Specialist (T - ENS/LTJG/LT/LCDR/CDR) - A Technician who is the top-to-bottom systems expert for the core.
 * OS Workcentre, Operating Systems Supervisor (ENS/LTJG)
 * OS Specialists (T - ENS/LTJG/LT/LCDR - PO/CPO)
 * Core Power Management (ENS/LTJG) - Often a CPO in smaller ships
 * Core Module Repair Workcentre (ENS/LTJG)

Example Crews
 * USS Vokau
 * USS Spirit
 * USS Haquita Nin