See your local Starfleet Recruiter!!!

[Chuck Anderson]

Hi Everybody!
Chuck Anderson here!!

I was very glad that the Star Trek folks condescended to include enlisted personnel in their stories. (Maybe they got tired of having too many bosses and not enough rank-and-file employees!) Since everybody isn't an officer and wouldn't go to the Academy, they need to have Starfleet Recruiters and Basic Training Centres (Boot Camps) for enlisted personnel.
Trekkies should design some appropriate badges,headgear and other appropriate insignia for the Starfleet Recruiters and Starfleet Drill Instuctors, then suggest them to the powers that be at Paramount.
I imagine that a person would first go see their local Starfleet Recruiters, then later go to Basic Training, after which they'd either be sent to Technical School to learn their specialty, or be sent directly to a ship or unit for OJT (on the job training).

Chuck
USAFWO1_1975@military.com

[Guest]

Well sir, Enlisted personnel have appeared in Star Trek since at least the TOS Movies. We saw Petty Officers and Crewmen and in TNG and DS9, Miles O'Brian was (in TNG) a CPO and then (in DS9) a SCPO. As for the recruiter and DI insignia, well I'm not sure there. The only insignia ever seen on a uniform in the 24th century series' were their rank and the combadges.

[Chuck Anderson]

Hi Folks!!
Chuck Anderson here!!

In TNG, why did they have the character of "Chief" O'Brien wear the 2-pip rank insignia of a Lieutenant while calling him "Chief"?
(Could this be one of those "parallel universe" plots again?)

Chuck
USAFWO1_1975@military.com

[Erskine Calderon]

Guys,

The character of Miles O'Brien has had several positions within the structure of the show that have given him the title of "chief" - transporter chief, chief of operations, ecetera. If you watch the shows that he has appeared in, you will note that the insignia which he wears changes QUITE alot. In some cases he's ensigned as a type of officer, in others it's more like a CPO of sorts.

Star Trek costumers have had many instances where a character's insignia is inconsistent. It's TV. They make mistakes. :oops:

Peace,
Erskine

[Zeaker]

The deal with O'brian's insignia is one of Trek's great mystories. However there is an episode in which he addressed as a Chief Petty Officer and in DS9, he insignia finally settles with SCPO.

[Kedyw]

Well, if you do pay really close attention to O'Brien's ranking system, Transporter Chief, Ops Chief, and just chief are his many rates. His actually rank is Chief. Operations chief is his rate, but transporter chief is his job!