Starfleet Ranks (24th Century)

Rank Insignia

Starfleet: 22nd Century | Early 23rd Century | Late 23rd Century | 24th Century

Other: Bajoran Militia | Cardassian Union | Klingon Defence Force | Romulan Star Empire

Starfleet Operations (Naval) | Starfleet Provisional | Starfleet Marine Corps | Starfleet Ranks (Proposed)

1 Starfleet Operations (Naval) Ranks
2 Commissioned Officers
3 Officer (Training)
4 Warrant Officers
5 Officer Cadets
6 Enlisted Rates
7 Enlisted Rates (Expanded)
8 Department Colours

[edit] Starfleet Operations (Naval) Ranks

With conflicts between the Federation and such races as the Romulans, Tzinkethi and Cardassians fresh in everyone's minds, Starfleet wanted to make an effort to return to the more traditional and peaceful values that had predominated the 23rd Century. Symbolic of this new direction was the first major redesign of uniforms and rank structure in more than seventy years.

Implemented during the 2350s, Starfleet did away with the broad spectrum of departmental colours and simplified back to the traditional colour scheme of Red, Yellow and Blue that had been used during the golden age of the 2260s, although allocated a little differently. Initially, rank insignia were displayed on the right shoulder, as they had been during the Earth Starfleet era, but a uniform redesign in the 2360s saw them moved to the collar.

The rank insignia themselves were intended to be simple - much easier to understand at a glance than the ornate insignia previously in use. A simple circular pip was designed, available both solid and 'hollow' - a homage back to the solid and broken stripes of the early 23rd Century and of numerous Earth Navies. Originally, ranks of the Admiralty were represented by a combination of an ornate insignia and then a number of pips representing the Admiral's grade, but during the mid-2360s this was replaced by a gold-edged bar adorned with one to five pips representing the ranks from Commodore to Fleet Admiral.

[edit] Commissioned Officers

	2366	2369	2373
O11 (A5)	Fleet Admiral	Fleet Admiral	Fleet Admiral
O10 (A4)	Admiral	Admiral	Admiral
O9 (A3)	Vice Admiral	Vice Admiral	Vice Admiral
O8 (A2)	Rear Admiral	Rear Admiral	Rear Admiral
O7 (A1)	Commodore	Commodore	Commodore

	2366	2369	2373
O6	Captain	Captain	Captain
O5	Commander	Commander	Commander
O4	Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant Commander
O3	Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Lieutenant
O2	Lieutenant, Junior Grade	Lieutenant, Junior Grade	Lieutenant, Junior Grade
O1	Ensign	Ensign	Ensign

[edit] Officer (Training)

In 2383, Starfleet abolished the Warrant Officer grades, merging the existing ranks into a single Officer (Training) or OT grade. Better known as Midshipman or "Acting Ensign", the grade is used as the discretion of the Commanding Officer to represent any Non-Commissioned Officer either serving in the role of a Commissioned Officer, or undergoing the necessary retraining prior to a promotion to Ensign.

2366

2369

2373

Midshipman / "Acting Ensign"

[edit] Warrant Officers

The various grades of Warrant Officer were introduced during the Dominion War to help transition long-serving Enlisted personnel into the Officer grades; an attempt to balance the casualties of veterans and the influx of young and inexperienced personnel. The grades existed for ten years following 2373, at which time they were consolodated into a single "OT" grade, often referred to as Midshipman or Acting Ensign.

2366

2369

2373

W4			Chief Warrant Officer 4
W3			Chief Warrant Officer 3
W2			Chief Warrant Officer 2
W1			Warrant Officer

[edit] Officer Cadets

Students at Starfleet Academy are also considered to fall somewhere between the Commissioned and Enlisted grades, especially in situations where those Cadets are on an assignment and participating as part of the crew of a Starship or Starbase. A Warrant is issued to these on-assignment Cadets, temporarily granting them Officer status for the duration of their duties.

2366

2369

2373

C4	Cadet, Fourth Year	Cadet, Fourth Year	Cadet, Fourth Year
C3	Cadet, Third Year	Cadet, Third Year	Cadet, Third Year
C2	Cadet, Second Year	Cadet, Second Year	Cadet, Second Year
C1	Cadet, First Year	Cadet, First Year	Cadet, First Year
--	Officer Candidate (Prep. School)	Officer Candidate (Prep. School)	Officer Candidate (Prep. School)

[edit] Enlisted Rates

By 2351, the balance of applicants in Starfleet had shifted towards Officer entry, and the Enlisted Rates were beginning to become less common. Though Starfleet didn't want to regress to the single Enlisted grade of the 23rd Century, there were calls to reduce the spectrum of ranks available. It was decided that three degrees of Enlisted Officer would be implemented: Crewman as a basic entry-level grade, Petty Officer as a more skilled Specialist grade, and Chief Petty Officer, reserved for senior Specialists and Officer candidates.

2366

2369

E7	Chief Petty Officer	Chief Petty Officer
E5	Petty Officer	Petty Officer
E3	Crewman	Crewman

[edit] Enlisted Rates (Expanded)

The three-grade system was maintained until 2371, when concerns surrounding the Borg threat, as well as rising tensions with numerous foreign powers led to an increase in the size of Starfleet. It was decided to return to a more diverse spread of Enlisted ranks as had been used in Starfleet throughout the early 24th Century. However, the move was met with mixed reception, and the old ranking system continued to be used in some areas, and remained official for certain uniforms.

It wasn't until the outbreak of the Dominion War in 2373 that the system was standardised, alongside the implementation of a new set of uniform designs.

2371

2373

E9		Fleet Master Chief Petty Officer
	Command Master Chief Petty Officer	Command Master Chief Petty Officer
	Master Chief Petty Officer	Master Chief Petty Officer
E8	Senior Chief Petty Officer	Senior Chief Petty Officer
E7	Chief Petty Officer	Chief Petty Officer
E6	Petty Officer, First Class	Petty Officer, First Class
E5	Petty Officer, Second Class	Petty Officer, Second Class
E4	Petty Officer, Third Class	Petty Officer, Third Class
E3	Crewman	Crewman
E2	Crewman Apprentice	Crewman Apprentice
E1	Crewman Recruit	Crewman Recruit

[edit] Department Colours

2366	2369	2373
Admiralty, Flag Officers	Admiralty, Flag Officers	Admiralty, Flag Officers
Command, Intelligence, Aerospace	Command, Intelligence, Aerospace	Command, Intelligence, Aerospace
Operations, Engineering, Security	Operations, Engineering, Security	Operations, Engineering, Security
Science, Medical	Science, Medical	Science, Medical
		Fleet Officer serving w. Marines
		Special Forces
		Civilian/Non-Starfleet