Term of service

[Meste17]

Is there an official term of service for a Starfleet officer? If yes, how long is said term?

[IanKennedy]

I don't think so. They can resign at any time, which would suggest there isn't one.

[McAvoy]

Generally speaking, modern naval officers are similar to enlisted in their terms. Three to four years with four years of reserves.

Also officers and enlisted do have a time limit to reach a certain rank before they get automatically discharged.

Keep in mind that a enlisted person's term starts in boot camp. A officer starts the moment they are commissioned.

In Star Trek it looks like there are no limits as we have seen officers who have been in a long time in the same rank. Modern militaries prevent this with the limits on rank to keep their forces smaller and get rid of dead weight.

You could argue that Starfleet does struggle with not having people so they keep even the dead weight around.

[AlexMcpherson79]

Somewhat of a necro.

I'm aware of time-in-grade limitations for generals and admirals but not Colonels and Captains (Army/Air Force and Naval ranks respectively). When an officer is 'reactivated' they do so at their previous rank, and in Stargate SG-1 (one of the few shows given nigh-on-if-not-actual aproval by the military bigwigs, to the point they had two chiefs of staff guest star!) Jack O'Neill, leader of SG-1 was reactivated twice both times as a full-bird Colonel, and after the second, spent just about seven years before he got promoted, with no hint as to him being beyond a typical "time-in-grade" at any point.

For Starfleet, where 'Bones' managed to live long enough to see the USS Enterprise D, and he was old in the original series by OUR standards, the fact that they have recruits from species that are both shorter and longer lived than human standard (which by the 24th century, is pretty damn long), I'd guess that it's the norm rather than the rarity for there to be officers who end up as captains for 8+ years of the same starship, or a couple of years per ship and captain several ships before promotion to admiral. The idea there is any minimum and maximum time-in-grade does not make sense for say, Lieutenant Commander and up (McCoy was 137 in Encounter at farpoint and still an Admiral). in the real world, Ensigns to Lieutenants in the navy and 2nd Lieutenant to Captains for army/air force do have a mini/max time in grade before eligibility for promotion... so really, in that regard Harry Kim being an Ensign for 7 years is probably breaking a rule somewhere. Hell... Ezri Dax was an ensign for all of one episode. But conversely, the idea that captains can serve time as such for longer than they did as first officers isn't that hard to imagine with an ever-expanding starfleet (pre-war), were for many, command of a starship is the goal, not a stepping-stone. I'm sure Picard has turned down a voluntary promotion to admiral on at least one occasion, and its suggested he was already a long-serving captain before his post to the Ent-D.

Riker, as first officer, is the "oddity" in-universe, but accepted because what he was first officer of (the Ent-D and later -E), with 8 years on the -D (beginning of 2364 in encounter at farpoint through to mid/late 2371 in generations, which occurs around a year AFTER All Good Things, which is stard 47988 vs Gen, between 48632 and 48650, which bracket the events on viridian III, a time difference of seven days, the latter being when the crew are rescued after the crash, but event sequences imply that the bulk of the film occurs all on the same day (excluding the -B start and rescue end.)
Then on the -E, we don't know how long they'd been on the ship prior to FC, but only have the start date of FC and end of Nemesis to go on: 50893, a log made before the battle, and nemesis: 56844, the latter on their arrival at romulus, due them being delayed riker and troi's honeymoon, but also understood as that, if the core events hadn't occured, the two would already have departed the ship for the last time - returning from their honeymoon to starfleet on the USS Titan.
This is 6 years - so assuming approximately six months on the -E prior to first contact, Riker had 7.5 and 6.5 years respectively for 14 years as a first officer of the D and then E, and as a single continous time counting from Encounter through to Nem, then that's actually more than 15.7 years as a first officer - and he was, like picard, not a first-timer as first-officer, the Enterprise (any letter) not his first show as an XO. He was offered promotions as early as season 1 I believe... so I liken to think there are no maximum "time in grade", but still a minimum before they would be offered a promotion.

rules that are thrown out in the JJMovies but I dont like those so ignoring it.

[Sonic Glitch]

Quick addition, in FC when discussing the Borg invasion Geordi does remark
"We've been out in space for nearly a year now." However they don't elaborate on if that includes shakedown and testing time or as a fully operational starship.

[Graham Kennedy]

It's hard to say, since most every Starfleet officer we've ever met seems to regard it as a lifelong vocation.

[Teaos]

I wonder what the service was like in the time period around the Dominion war/Borg stuff, when Star Fleet went from floating hotels/Science ships to a military.

Were there a lot of sciency type people resigning commisions or requesting commissions on stations or planet side.

[bladela]

I wonder what the service was like in the time period around the Dominion war/Borg stuff, when Star Fleet went from floating hotels/Science ships to a military.

Were there a lot of sciency type people resigning commisions or requesting commissions on stations or planet side.

I would imagine some form of "compulsory" mobilization that recalls the dismissed officers, first of all, who will be part of the reserve

[Teaos]

Do you really want them though? Aside from admin jobs many of them may be out right liabilities in a war.

[Graham Kennedy]

I wonder what the service was like in the time period around the Dominion war/Borg stuff, when Star Fleet went from floating hotels/Science ships to a military.

Were there a lot of sciency type people resigning commisions or requesting commissions on stations or planet side.

You have to wonder... like that guy in Voyager, Harren. He only joined up because he needed a year of experience before going to some cosmology institute, had no interest whatsoever in being part of Starfleet beyond that. We know there are geologists, historians, etc in Starfleet. What happens to guys like that when the Dominion war starts? Did they all quit, were they moved planetside, or what?

[Teaos]

I doubt they were allowed to leave, something non combat. Academy or star bases, but yeah, I bet the dynamic changed something fierce.

[Graham Kennedy]

I can see the Enterprise-E dropping off a couple of hundred science staff and taking on a couple of hundred new redshirt security and tactical types.

[Coalition]

I can see the Enterprise-E dropping off a couple of hundred science staff and taking on a couple of hundred new redshirt security and tactical types.

And until they are dropped off, Engineering is giving them basic lessons in damage control, using holodecks to provide scenarios

"I'm a geologist, I don't know anything about being a damage control technician."

"When I am finished, you will"


For starters, never use water on a titanium fire:
https://youtu.be/NDhnwLheoU4?t=195

Even coffee creamer can be dangerous, in sufficient amounts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRw4ZRqmxOc