Should Picard be Court Martialed and dissmissed from service

[Raptor 597]

I like how he repeatedly endangers the ship by allowing aliens to open fire on it, while not doing anything like running away or shooting at them. I also like how he repeatedly takes practically the entire senior staff with him whenever he leaves the ship, which sometimes (I've been looking at their chain of command) leaving the ship in the command of the COUNSELOR!

Ah, another case of Federation Counsellor/Commands Problem Stupidity. But then what else can you expect from the Federation but leaving a Counsellor commanding a ship.

Leaving the doctor in command of the ship

*lmao*

[Isolder74]

When you know that the modern chain of command differentiates between staff and line officers, with line officers filling the command role and the staff officers, never (exceptions for POWs, if they are the senior officer present), AND you know that the line officers spend their entire career preparing for command, not by testing into it, but by spending years at a time in each and every ship system and getting warfare-qualified, including war college if need be, basically a PhD in fighting, then it's hard to justify a staff officer such as a doctor or anyone else getting command of anything. It's patently ridiculous the way they will give a buck ensign command of an entire department, totally ignoring the senior officers with experience in that department. Buck ensigns are in charge of a division for a couple years before they rotate to another division, and it takes a good 20something years to get through all the DIVO billets and become department heads, then be able to command all the department heads and not only that, but to "fight the ship." It's never an issue of "They filled out their personal quals and tested for the position." ST stretches SOD too far. If I watch something, I want it to be something I can identify with. You can have incredible situations, but as far as the basic human interaction goes, you need to have some realism, and ST doesn't. Ever.

yes, and Troi's test she passed was full of propaganda and had very little practicality. The thing thats make her pass is sending Giordi to certian death. Really, if it was that dangerous couldn't you send someone lower ranking to to that and save this very inportant officer for the fact that he is very useful throughout the ship. sending your best man to do a suicide mission is idiotic, surely there is someone else in the department that can do the job.

[Kamakazie Sith]

PICARD'S SURRENDERS:

* "Encounter at Farpoint": Picard says "Transmit the following in all
languages and in all frequencies: 'We surrender'."

Surrendering against an unknown which is completely immuned to all of your weapons.

* "The Outrageous Okono": Picard drops shields "In case we decide to
surrender to them."

Wasn't he being sarcastic?

* "A Matter of Honor": Picard surrenders to Riker on the Pagh.

Would you have perferred he fired on his first officer?

* "Peak Performance": Riker asks Picard "Would you care to surrender now?" even before the wargames begin.

Not a surrender.....but you knew that.

* "Peak Performance": Picard surrenders to the Ferengi, but they don't accept.

He did so to get time if he wouldn't have then the Ferengi would have destroyed the E-D.......obviously the E-D was not turned over to the Ferengi, Picard used it for time and it worked.

* "The Last Outpost": Picard tries to surrender to the Ferengi, but they beat him to it.

The E-D was helpless......though he probably should have ordered a self-destruct rather than trying to find an alternate solution.
SELF-DESTRUCTS:

Maybe you were posting this just as an FYI, but it almost seems as though your posting it as reasons why he should be CM.

[Kamakazie Sith]

yes, and Troi's test she passed was full of propaganda and had very little practicality. The thing thats make her pass is sending Giordi to certian death. Really, if it was that dangerous couldn't you send someone lower ranking to to that and save this very inportant officer for the fact that he is very useful throughout the ship. sending your best man to do a suicide mission is idiotic, surely there is someone else in the department that can do the job.

Did it ever cross your mind that this test was to see if she could send a close friend to his death?

She most likely went through those "pratical" tests before the final test.....

[oberon]

KS, that's bull. Ships are big and complicated. You can't test out of it. Is the spaceship any less complex than any other warship? Is space any less hostile than the ocean? Are enemies in space any easier to fight than enemies at sea? The "test" is knowing how to fight the ship. This takes experience, not classes. The whole idea that a counselor is in the chain of command at all is ludicrous. Learn the chain of command and what it takes to fight a ship, including operational billets, then get back to me. The medical staff isn't even on it, because they are not line officers! The chain branches into staff officers at the department level, and they are responsible for their specialty, NOT tactical command. If the ship's doctor somehow found himself the last man on the bridge in a fight, he would have to say Abandon ship, and they would scuttle it. It's the only thing he can do, and if things were that bad, then the CO, XO, Weps, Navigation, Operations, Eng, or Deck would have done it already. Notice right there, there are a lot of department head titles. The ships in ST have at least that many departments, which means a huge pool of capable, seasoned officers ready to assume command. If all the line officer dept heads died, then where does the chain go? Not sick bay! Then it falls on the division officers. If, by the same freak accident that left the doctor the only commissioned man alive on the ship, he still would not be on the list to take command. Then you have warrant officers (commissioned but with a "W", not an "O"), and after that, the chiefs. The chain of command goes to the goat locker before it goes to medical, because the chiefs are the goddamn spine of the ship, and they have spent their careers getting ESWS, in addition to being the bosses in those rates that specialize in things that are useful to fighting a ship, you know, little things like navigation, or guns. But at any rate, like I said, if the ship was so damaged that this many important people got killed, it would have been scuttled long before all this. (Not surrender--you do that when you are getting picked up, you don't just hand your ship over in a surrender--while the crew is mustering to abandon ship, a team of gunners goes through and plants charges, and classified documents either get hucked overboard in a weighted bag or macerated. A macerator is a giant washing machine for books that chews them up whole: forget about shredding because there's too much stuff to shred in an emergency).It's also unthinkable that a doctor would even be considered for this, including tests, and it's just as laughable that they would want to. Yet on ST, they regularly choose some academy dipshit, or a fucking doctor, to take over. Think what this would do for morale! You neglect the men and women who are consummate pros in this craft, in order to put an ensign in charge? It's inexcusable. I know Troi is a 5th wheel, but at least in real life, doctors in the military are responsible for knowing their trade, as well as administering a military division or department and training their gangs. It's this blatant disregard for how humans really behave that bugs me the most about ST--to think, they posit this as our future, which means we would have lost all our balls. Fuck that.

[Patrick Degan]

Troi has her own Special Command Bunnysuit™. She passed the Supreme Starfleet Test of Self-Actualisation. She's tanned. She's fit. She's rested.

That's all that counts in TNG.

[oberon]

Oh, yeah... I know

[Kamakazie Sith]

KS, that's bull. Ships are big and complicated. You can't test out of it. Is the spaceship any less complex than any other warship? Is space any less hostile than the ocean? Are enemies in space any easier to fight than enemies at sea? The "test" is knowing how to fight the ship. This takes experience, not classes. The whole idea that a counselor is in the chain of command at all is ludicrous. Learn the chain of command and what it takes to fight a ship, including operational billets, then get back to me. The medical staff isn't even on it, because they are not line officers! The chain branches into staff officers at the department level, and they are responsible for their specialty, NOT tactical command. If the ship's doctor somehow found himself the last man on the bridge in a fight, he would have to say Abandon ship, and they would scuttle it. It's the only thing he can do, and if things were that bad, then the CO, XO, Weps, Navigation, Operations, Eng, or Deck would have done it already. Notice right there, there are a lot of department head titles. The ships in ST have at least that many departments, which means a huge pool of capable, seasoned officers ready to assume command. If all the line officer dept heads died, then where does the chain go? Not sick bay! Then it falls on the division officers. If, by the same freak accident that left the doctor the only commissioned man alive on the ship, he still would not be on the list to take command. Then you have warrant officers (commissioned but with a "W", not an "O"), and after that, the chiefs. The chain of command goes to the goat locker before it goes to medical, because the chiefs are the goddamn spine of the ship, and they have spent their careers getting ESWS, in addition to being the bosses in those rates that specialize in things that are useful to fighting a ship, you know, little things like navigation, or guns. But at any rate, like I said, if the ship was so damaged that this many important people got killed, it would have been scuttled long before all this. (Not surrender--you do that when you are getting picked up, you don't just hand your ship over in a surrender--while the crew is mustering to abandon ship, a team of gunners goes through and plants charges, and classified documents either get hucked overboard in a weighted bag or macerated. A macerator is a giant washing machine for books that chews them up whole: forget about shredding because there's too much stuff to shred in an emergency).It's also unthinkable that a doctor would even be considered for this, including tests, and it's just as laughable that they would want to. Yet on ST, they regularly choose some academy dipshit, or a fucking doctor, to take over. Think what this would do for morale! You neglect the men and women who are consummate pros in this craft, in order to put an ensign in charge? It's inexcusable. I know Troi is a 5th wheel, but at least in real life, doctors in the military are responsible for knowing their trade, as well as administering a military division or department and training their gangs. It's this blatant disregard for how humans really behave that bugs me the most about ST--to think, they posit this as our future, which means we would have lost all our balls. Fuck that.

I don't seem to recall when they placed an academy graduate in command. I do recall the episode where the Doctor was placed in command and I agree with your perspective in that case.......but maybe those who were better qualified were on the ground during that episode...but that's irrelevant and in that case I agree.

I don't see why it's bull Oberon. That solution to that test was to see if she could send a close to friend to his death in order to save the ship. Just because Troi was taking the command test doesn't mean she was pushed to the very top of the list......she is just higher than those who haven't. What's so wrong about this?

[oberon]

Well, name an example of a real-life test in the military that has the stated goal of seeing if you can send a friend to death

[Kamakazie Sith]

Well, name an example of a real-life test in the military that has the stated goal of seeing if you can send a friend to death

I don't need to...I was never claiming that the test is an example of real life military tests.

[oberon]

Well then, how are the function and organization of SF any different than a navy? Think about the ramifications of a specific test to see if you can send a friend to death.

[Kamakazie Sith]

Well then, how are the function and organization of SF any different than a navy? Think about the ramifications of a specific test to see if you can send a friend to death.

Look you can draw this out all you like but the fact of the matter is I was challenging this statement from Isolder74;
-------------------------------------
"yes, and Troi's test she passed was full of propaganda and had very little practicality. The thing thats make her pass is sending Giordi to certian death. Really, if it was that dangerous couldn't you send someone lower ranking to to that and save this very inportant officer for the fact that he is very useful throughout the ship. sending your best man to do a suicide mission is idiotic, surely there is someone else in the department that can do the job."
-------------------------------------

It was not full of propaganda. It's practicality lied within the fact that you may have to send a friend to die in order to save the ship/crew...and if that was so could you see that solution and could you give the order.

Sometimes it takes your best man to get the job done.......no one else will surfice. It also serves as a warning that if you are in a command position you may have to make such a call especially if the ship and crew depend on it.

Crews on starfleet ships spend years together so it's only inevitable that you will make close friends, so Starfleet command wants to make sure that those in positions of command know what they may have to do if the situation calls for it.

Kinda like the Kobayshi Maru, why is facing a no win scenario so important?

[oberon]

It's only important if you're as sociopathic as Starfleet. To test cold-bloodedness is, well, cold-blooded. These are supposed to be humans on Earth in the future. They are simply an expeditionary force, and real expeditionary forces try--and succeed at--teaching leadership, good judgment, and how to win at as little cost as possible. The day Matthew McConaughy has to send Trigger into the flooding bilges to save the u-boat comes on that day, and no sooner. Command training will either prepare you for that, or it won't, but being able to kill your friends is not a requirement for command. The resemblances between Starfleet, and its humans, to a real organization of humans out to do a job, are superficial. This silly little "command test" is merely indicative of the level of brainwashing and hive-think that Star Trek society has. Parse every little word and think about it. A simulation to test your ability to send your best man, or your closest friend, to certain death, is just sick. It would be better if they taught their commanders to not rely on the shields in order to delay shooting back every time an unkown entity fires at them. Command is a forge, and you can't test out of a forge. "Fighting the ship" is using the ship's resources and manpower to come out on top in combat, but since we have Troi, a counselor, testing for the top spot in the chain of command, this psychosis makes sense for SF.

I think you are dragging it out, just like you did in ASVS, out of obstinancy. You have to know that ST humans and organizations aren't realistic. If you can relate to this drivel passing as sci-fi and you prefer it over compelling stories with real drama and intelligent characters that people can identify with and even care about, then I'm sorry for you.

[oberon]

Actually, let's be clear here: I completely overreached just now with my definitive statements on command training. I wouldn't know what officers go through, as my career was (koff koff) terminated as an E-4. I can only state what I learned and observed of officers I knew. Yes, it is unrealistic, stupid and dangerous to even consider Troi's "test". But no, I can't say for certain just what qualifications a CO may have that I wouldn't know about. There are certain things that are obvious on a ship, but I don't know what's behind the scenes in a Captain's life. It is fairly obvious that they wouldn't test your ability to send a friend to death, but unless you were on a ship you wouldn't know that, and in my case, even then you can't say that very firmly. So I would stick to my guns, except caution demands that I allow the possibilty.

Oh yeah, and as for the "ensign taking command" statement I made, I was thinking of an ASVS debate dealing with an episode where an ensign replaced the chief engineer. Nevermind that eng is a very important section, and as such, Eng would have experienced assistants. The DCO (Damage Control Officer) comes after Eng, and if you neglect the people who are next in line, then you have myriad problems with experience, fighting the ship, and morale. You just can't put a green ensign in the place of someone who has the rank, experience, and intimate knowledge of the ship that you need to keep the department, and the ship, functioning smoothly.

If a ship like that doesn't have a DCO, then it deserves defeat.

[Typhonis 1]

Like some others have stated the Federation has become a wimpified shell of its former self >In WOK Savik told Kirk that regulations state that a ship is to raise its shields in the event that it enciounters another ship that doesnt respond to hails .I also believe that in that scenario that if the other ship fired you were allowed to beat the living shit out of it in defense of your own ship.In the new and evolved federation they let the enemy fire on them without even a nod......The Imps are going to wet themselves laughing when the invasion begins

[oberon]

Another example is Weps (Worf) being placed in the dual role of Weps and Chief Master at Arms. Chief MAA is a senior enlisted position, and Weps has enough on his plate without worrying about every police report that comes his way. Of course, SF crewmen NEVER fight or get drunk and disturb the peace or disrespect their seniors or anything else that MAAs deal with. The concept of Weps being a Chief MAA is so laughable I can't stand it.

Let's not even talk about the CO, XO, and Weps, who would be next in line for command, being clustered in the same place every time there's an alarm... Or ensigns doing enlisted mens' tasks while having no administrative/official duties to carry out...

[oberon]

Oh wait, they just call it "Security Officer". This implies something like a marine detachment gunnery sergeant, or chief bosun. What the fuck?

[Kamakazie Sith]

It's only important if you're as sociopathic as Starfleet. To test cold-bloodedness is, well, cold-blooded. These are supposed to be humans on Earth in the future. They are simply an expeditionary force, and real expeditionary forces try--and succeed at--teaching leadership, good judgment, and how to win at as little cost as possible. The day Matthew McConaughy has to send Trigger into the flooding bilges to save the u-boat comes on that day, and no sooner. Command training will either prepare you for that, or it won't, but being able to kill your friends is not a requirement for command. The resemblances between Starfleet, and its humans, to a real organization of humans out to do a job, are superficial. This silly little "command test" is merely indicative of the level of brainwashing and hive-think that Star Trek society has. Parse every little word and think about it. A simulation to test your ability to send your best man, or your closest friend, to certain death, is just sick. It would be better if they taught their commanders to not rely on the shields in order to delay shooting back every time an unkown entity fires at them. Command is a forge, and you can't test out of a forge. "Fighting the ship" is using the ship's resources and manpower to come out on top in combat, but since we have Troi, a counselor, testing for the top spot in the chain of command, this psychosis makes sense for SF.

I'm sorry but how were they testing to see if the person is cold-blooded? Starfleet tests are also built around the mental state of the person. Let me ask you this, would you want a person who values life above all others in a command position if they may not be able to do what is necessary? Troi's test was probably particular to her, knowing what kind of person she is and the fact that she wanted to pass the command test they had to make sure she was ready for ALL aspects of command including being able to recognize when you may have to send someone who are you are close to into a very dangerous situation.....maybe even fatal for the sake of the rest of your crew and ship.

And you say she was taking a test to be at the top of the list? How do you figure? It's not like she was trying out for Captain.

Your still not seeing the purpose of the test. It was teaching them that command includes the possibility of having to send someone to die. That's why some people just can't be officers in the military because they lack the ability to make those tough decision......that is what they were testing. There is nothing wrong with that, what would have been wrong is to give Troi a passing score if she can't make those kinds of decision.....that test was to see if she could.

I think you are dragging it out, just like you did in ASVS, out of obstinancy. You have to know that ST humans and organizations aren't realistic. If you can relate to this drivel passing as sci-fi and you prefer it over compelling stories with real drama and intelligent characters that people can identify with and even care about, then I'm sorry for you.

We had this discussion at ASVS? Man it must have been a while because I don't remember that lol.

[oberon]

I don't mean that we had an identical conversation, just that you are identically obstinate.

I didn't see the ep in question so I can't comment. But when we started this, it had been about Troi taking a command test. But now you say she isn't taking a command test? You're saying she's taking it for no reason other than personal edification? The situation in SF, then, is worse than I had been supposing for the purposes of my argument! And your points about making tough decisions, they've been answered, by my statements that you cannot simply test into this kind of thing. It takes years of learning to fight a ship before you can so much as take the OOD position. You are being simple. Bye.

[Kamakazie Sith]

I don't mean that we had an identical conversation, just that you are identically obstinate.

I see, well if I am being obstinate it is because you have not convinced me. It is possible to convince me I have changed my mind before. Just for the record though, I do think Picard should be tossed out of Starfleet just not for some of the reasons people suggest.

I didn't see the ep in question so I can't comment. But when we started this, it had been about Troi taking a command test. But now you say she isn't taking a command test? You're saying she's taking it for no reason other than personal edification? The situation in SF, then, is worse than I had been supposing for the purposes of my argument! And your points about making tough decisions, they've been answered, by my statements that you cannot simply test into this kind of thing. It takes years of learning to fight a ship before you can so much as take the OOD position. You are being simple. Bye.

Umm maybe you should go read below again. I just checked and I didn't say anywhere that it wasn't a command test in my last post. In fact I said several times that it was a command test.

IIRC Troi said she wanted to take it to advance her career...open up some more doors. Also I think she said that she wanted to take it just in case the situation arised in which she maybe by herself and in control of the Enterprise...though it's been a while. Why is that a bad thing? Is it wrong it todays military to advance ones career? Open up more doors for you by taking tests?

You keep saying fight a ship......once again do I have to stress that she was not trying out for captain?

This test and the others that she took before it. IIRC that test was the last one in that block, chapter....ect...she had taken others.

In the military you have to crawl under wire as live fire is going over your head....they do this to prepare you for the conditions of battle.

[TheDarkling]

The test in question was one of many tests that she was taking so that she could take bridge duty, it didnt mean that she entered the chain of command any higher it just meant that she could sit in the captains chair during the night watch when nothing was going on.

[Evil Jerk]

The test in question was one of many tests that she was taking so that she could take bridge duty, it didnt mean that she entered the chain of command any higher it just meant that she could sit in the captains chair during the night watch when nothing was going on.

Yes she did, didn't she say something about how she now outranked Data?

[TheDarkling]

Yes she moved up in rank but it didnt mean she was higher in the chain of command, since Crusher is a Commander but Data is higher in the chain of command.

[oberon]

I see, well if I am being obstinate it is because you have not convinced me.

I am merely stating how a command structure works. Since I've been in the military and you haven't, it seems very strange for you to say that you are not convinced of how a chain of command works from someone who's been there. What is your deal? You still don't even know what I'm talking about, after I've told you something like 3 times. I'm not trying to convince you that the military has division of labor between staff and line officers, I'm just saying it. If you still won't believe it, then you're just being stupid. Whether it's deliberate or not, who cares. I can't believe this; hence I am saying you're obstinate.

It is possible to convince me I have changed my mind before.

This misses the point. If I say you were obstinate, then that means I am not interested in convincing you that you were not. Obstinate means stubborn, not open-minded. Like in the above, where I tell you a little of how commissioned officers behave based on real-life training and observation, only to have you reply you are not convinced. At least you may have the excuse of not being a veteran; but in that case, then you should defer to one who is telling you how it is. It's at this juncture that I conclude that you are pulling my tail, and since this is the 3rd or 4th post repeating myself, I'll make it the last one.

Just for the record though, I do think Picard should be tossed out of Starfleet just not for some of the reasons people suggest.

What other reason would you suggest, and why is the simple fact that he's incompetent in real-world terms not enough? Look: the guy is supposed to be running a large expensive ship and be training a diverse crew. It's a sad joke, and the fact that it's not real can't change that.

I didn't see the ep in question so I can't comment. But when we started this, it had been about Troi taking a command test. But now you say she isn't taking a command test? You're saying she's taking it for no reason other than personal edification? The situation in SF, then, is worse than I had been supposing for the purposes of my argument! And your points about making tough decisions, they've been answered, by my statements that you cannot simply test into this kind of thing. It takes years of learning to fight a ship before you can so much as take the OOD position. You are being simple. Bye.

Umm maybe you should go read below again.

Why, are you lonely? Join the navy.

I just checked and I didn't say anywhere that it wasn't a command test in my last post. In fact I said several times that it was a command test.

This, from you, above:

"It's not like she was trying out for Captain."

Which is why I made my personal edification comment. If a staff officer has so little to do that they would actually want to take a command test, then maybe it's time to phase that rating out. If a military organization is so willing to let a staff officer try out for a command test, then maybe they need to restructure. In either case, it's stupid. Starfleet's willingness to let a staff officer, or whatever she is, a counselor, take a command tryout, is, as I keep telling you, silly. Ludicrous. Patently absurd. A joke. A line officer may not always make the best choice--but I would sooner put it on the shoulders of a line officer than those of a staff officer.

she wanted to pass the command test they had to make sure she was ready for ALL aspects of command

You are contradicting yourself. First you say she's trying out for command, then you say she isn't trying out for Captain, then you say she's trying out for command. If she is not able to step up to the plate even after taking the test, then the test is worthless. You can't test into a command slot. You don't stand bridge watches if you are not a line officer, and you don't become a line officer without the anticipation of someday assuming command! The conn is to train line officers to take command. This is something like my 5th post saying this, and this is something like the 5th time I've said it in this 5th post. So this will be my 2nd time in this 5th post saying you don't know what you are talking about, so you are debating something of which you remain unaware even after being told, etc, etc, it's useless, you're stupid or obstinate or both, so this now is my 2nd time saying this will be the last time I direct comments at you.

IIRC Troi said she wanted to take it to advance her career...open up some more doors.

And if the anticipation of assuming command means something different than that, boy I'd sure like to know what it is.

Also I think she said that she wanted to take it just in case the situation arised in which she maybe by herself and in control of the Enterprise...though it's been a while. Why is that a bad thing? Is it wrong it todays military to advance ones career? Open up more doors for you by taking tests?

Staff officers can make it all the way to Admiral. This is all addressed exactly by my above rebuttals and every one of my previous posts.

You keep saying fight a ship......once again do I have to stress that she was not trying out for captain?

Then why take the test? Why say "open doors"? Staff officers don't have dead-end careers. Again, if they do in SF, then it's indicative of larger societal problems within the Federation.

This test and the others that she took before it. IIRC that test was the last one in that block, chapter....ect...she had taken others.

So if it's the last in a series of command tests, it must have been for some kind of ship captaincy. Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds, because small minds have the most difficulty with it.

In the military you have to crawl under wire as live fire is going over your head....they do this to prepare you for the conditions of battle.

Irrelevant. Show me some barbed wire on a ship, even the Enterprise.

[oberon]

Yes she moved up in rank but it didnt mean she was higher in the chain of command, since Crusher is a Commander but Data is higher in the chain of command.

From what I have told you, of course you would reach this conclusion. Data is a line officer, Crusher is a staff officer. If this is wrong, then SF would have serious issues with dealing with operational confusion due to conflicts of labor. It then becomes simply another sign of the rampant idiocy that would have infected our society in the 300 or 400 years before Star Trek.

The test in question was one of many tests that she was taking so that she could take bridge duty, it didnt mean that she entered the chain of command any higher it just meant that she could sit in the captains chair during the night watch when nothing was going on.

On a real ship, this requires moving up in the chain of command. You don't have the JAG, who would probably be a commander (O-6) if not a lieutenant commander (O-5) standing the conn, even though they outrank the ensign (O-1) who will be standing the conn (OOD). This is because they are not in a line officer's operational billet, which means they are not suited for command, because they don't know surface warfare. They are suited for command of their division. A JAG is a jurist; a doctor may be a GP or a surgeon. Would you ask Weps to take out your appendix? You people who are arguing this, what makes you can say the things you say, without having seen it? Can any of you tell me the duties and accountability to the CO of the TAO? Why on Earth would you be going on and on about this unless you knew? You know how I can tell you don't know? Because anyone who knows, would say the same things I've been saying, instead of "durrrrr, I'm not convinced." Goddamn, get a grip! Get out of the TV room! A real ship makes distinctions between officers, and further distinctions between administrative and operational billets, because it has a lot of people who need to respond to real emergencies, and stay on a high state of alert at all times, and if you have doctors and whatnot thinking they're in the operational chain of command, getting on phone circuits and shouting commands willy-nilly, then you have a huge conflict and the ship is going to literally explode. I'm not saying they will, but they WILL.