Gold Fleet- Chain of Command: Difference between revisions

Each ship of Star Fleet is under the authority of a commanding officer and his assistant, the executive officer. Furthermore, ships are subdivided into the following major departments:

The operations department is headed by the operations officer. He is responsible for collecting, evaluating, and disseminating combat and operational information. He may be assisted in his duties by any or all of the following:

The navigation department is headed by the navigator. He is responsible, under the commanding officer, for the safe navigation and piloting of the ship. Most of the actual handling of the ship is done by a quartermaster, an enlisted person with a rating in starship handling.

The combat systems department is headed by the tactical officer. This department is in charge of the defense of the ship from external threats. It is responsible for all general maintenance and handling of the weapons systems, fire control computers, targeting systems, electronic countermeasures, and other combat systems aboard ship.

The commanding officer may assign the following to act as assistants: main battery officer, fire control officer, space defense officer, torpedo office, Marine officer, CIC liaison officer.

The supply department is headed by the supply officer. The supply officer is responsible for the procurement, receipt, stowage, and issue of, and accounting for equipment, repair parts, and consumable supplies required by the ship. The supply officer is also responsible for disbursing Federation funds, payment of bills, paying the crew, and accounting for funds. He is in charge of the general mess and also supervises the ship's store and the issue of clothing and small stores. Additionally, the supply department handles all items shipped to individual persons aboard the ship until they can be delivered.

Additional assistants. Other assistants that may be assigned to the supply officer are: a stores officer, a mess officers, a ship's store officer, and a mess deck master-at-arms.

The medical department is headed by the senior officer of the Medical Corps serving on the ship. He is known as the medical officer. He is responsible for maintaining the health of the officers and crew; the treatment and care of the sick and wounded; the sanitation and hygiene of the ship and its company; the inspection of the ship, food, and water insofar as the health of the crew may be affected; and for training and directing personnel assigned to the medical department.

''Note:'' Since the medical officer has the authority to relieve another officer of duty, the medical officer is not eligible to command a starship. This restriction extends to counselors and all other officers in the medical department. This would constitute a clear conflict of interest should the medical officer be able to inherit command of a unit in which he had the authority to relieve an individual of duty in.

The science department is headed by the bridge science officer. This officer is the senior line officer in the science department, though he may be neither the most senior science officer nor the most accomplished. The science officer is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the bridge science terminals and scientific sensor arrays. He is also responsible for resource allocation within the sub-departments (astrophysics, xenobiology, botany, etc.) which make us the science department.

===Marine Officer===

* To provide a unit organized, trained, and equipped for operations in dock or as part of the ship's landing party.  

* To provide gun crews.  

==Credits==

This document was compiled by Jeffrey Jenkins, using excepts from ''The Bluejackets' Manual. 15th ed.'' Annapolis: United States Naval Institute, 1957.