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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 12:32 am
by Aaron
Captain Seafort wrote:
That, unfortunately, doesn't fit canon. He wore officers' rank pins in early TNG (and was refered to as "Lieutenant" in "Where Silence Has Lease"), but only started being refered to as an NCO in "Family" and from season 6 onwards. If he'd recieved a field commission you'd expect him to start out as a CPO, and then gain officers pips.
As for his position as chief of operations, when DS9 was first handed over the station commander was a Commander (Sisko), the Starfleet 2iC was as Lieutenant (Dax), and the only other observed officer was a Lieutenant j.g (Bashir). Given those ranks, it doesn't seem unreasonable that the engineer would be a senior NCO.
I'm not trying to slot anything into canon but rather offer a possible explanation for how he could aquire a commision to serve on the senior staff of DS9 without attending the Academy as some think he would have too.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 1:27 am
by Deepcrush
He also may have taken a demotion for some reason. Maybe he wasn't looking to be an officer.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 1:34 am
by Teaos
Yes maybe as a way to keep his family together. He demoted himself so as not to be sent away.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 1:38 am
by Deepcrush
Thats one of the thoughts that i had, officers don't get to pick where they go to.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:08 am
by Mikey
And enlisted men do?
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:19 am
by Deepcrush
Well, not so much but its a lot easier to find a non-com then an officer spot.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:02 pm
by Sionnach Glic
Perhaps he was having some sort of 'trial run' as an officer, decided he didn't like it and went back to being a non-enlisted crewman.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:28 pm
by Captain Seafort
In response to those suggesting that O'Brien wouldn't be able to pick and choose where he went, it's possible that he could. Modern militaries often allow service personnel with families to select where they are posted, to a certain extent, in order to allow them to take their families with them. It's possible that O'Brien requested a transfer to DS9 on the grounds that it's less likely to be shot at than the Enterprise, and its likely to have a much less hectic routine. It turned out to be a full-time job to stop it falling apart, and on the doorstep of the galaxy's only stable wormhole, but he wasn't to know that.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:29 pm
by Aaron
He might have been given a brevet promotion to whatever rank he was seen as in the early seasons. A brevet promotion is a temporary promotion to a rank that carries all of the perks and authority of the real rank but the officer can be returned to his previous rank with no career consequences if things don't work out.
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 3:56 pm
by Mikey
A likely and common-sense scenario, except for this: why would he have been given a brevet promotion as a general engineer, and then returned to an enlisted grade BEFORE becoming transporter chief?
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 3:59 pm
by Aaron
Mikey wrote:A likely and common-sense scenario, except for this: why would he have been given a brevet promotion as a general engineer, and then returned to an enlisted grade BEFORE becoming transporter chief?
I'll leave that for those more familar with the series to figure out.