Starfleet personal

[Aaron]

Yes, in the Nuclear Navy, all the officers must have knowledge of how the reactor works/what to do if something goes wrong. And I think (if I recall correctly) you have to have spend some time in engineering before becoming a SSN/SSBN Captain.

In order to command a nuke vessel in the US NAvy you must be a nuke officer, SSN/SSBN/CVN etc. It's a pretty intense program, high failure rate etc.

That said, a certain amount of cross training is required for a military to function. From the most basic incarnation in the US military to the Commonwealth nations where each soldier has a primary trade and a couple secondary ones. It's a hard issue to balance out and SF doesn't seem to have managed it, Troi not knowing what an atom is anyone?

[Teaos]

Not knowing what an atom is...

[Captain Seafort]

There's worse - take "Distaster" for example. Troi's lack of knowlege about the ship was utterly staggering.

RO
(indicates turbolift)
Well, don't count on leaving
through there. An emergency
bulkhead closed just beneath that
lift.

O'BRIEN
(nods)
Confinement mode.

RO
Right. Isolation protocol.

Troi tries to remember, but she's not sure what
they're talking about.

TROI
I'm... not really familiar with
that protocol.

O'BRIEN
(to Troi)
If the computer senses a hull
breach, it automatically closes
emergency bulkheads to isolate
the breach. Until we can clear
those bulkheads, we'll be cut-off
from the rest of the ship.

So, she's too thick to figure out that an "isolation protocol" means isolating something. More to the point, she's in command of the ship here. Why doesn't she know what the ship's basic emergency proceedures are?

RO
That weakened the containment
field surrounding the antimatter
pods. The field strength is down
to forty percent and it's still
falling.

O'BRIEN
(ominously)
If it falls to fifteen percent...
the field will collapse and
there'll be a containment breach.

Beat.

TROI
Which means... ?

RO
The ship will explode.

Troi doesn't know what happens if antimatter containment is lost. 'Nuff said.

[Sionnach Glic]

What a dunce.

[Tsukiyumi]

You'd think things like that would be taught in elementary school.

Maybe Troi spent too much time lounging around with her lush of a mother, and fondling the Chalice of Rixx, or whatever.

[Teaos]

And she was left in command a few times...

[Sionnach Glic]

Yeah, but so was Riker. You know, the guy who managed to get the ship either blown up or get the crap beaten out of it every time he got anywhere near the captain's chair.

[Teaos]

Ah well he made it through in the end.

[Sionnach Glic]

Yeah, but the E-D didn't.

[Monroe]

Maybe Troi moved up through the ranks using her other 'talents'. Starfleet instructors need some tension released too you know.

[Sionnach Glic]

So Troi is just the ship's whore?
You know, that explains a lot....

[Mikey]

...just an alternate therapeutic method, you know.

Besides, I wouldn't call her a whore. Whores charge.

What's funny is that all of us, while fairly intelligent are here in the 21st century, yet we all know what loss of antimatter containment would do.

[Sionnach Glic]

Indeed. And we all know what an atom is, too.

[kostmayer]

Maybe Troi moved up through the ranks using her other 'talents'. Starfleet instructors need some tension released too you know.

"Why Counselor Troi, your dress looks like its about to lose containment"

[Monroe]

...just an alternate therapeutic method, you know.

Besides, I wouldn't call her a whore. Whores charge.

What's funny is that all of us, while fairly intelligent are here in the 21st century, yet we all know what loss of antimatter containment would do.

That would make prostitutes extinct on Earth since none of them charge. Though with holodecks who needs them anyway? I always thought it'd be funny if on Trek they walked onto the holideck and some random crewmember had like Captain Janeway as his personal play thing or something. That'd be really awkward!