Revisiting the Starfleet officer:enlisted ratio

[Darth Wong]

For a long time now, we have interpreted the high ratio of officers to enlisted men in Starfleet as a sign of a communist-style organizational structure, where loyalty is ensured by having large numbers of political officers and appointees and by ensuring that most of the personnel in the fleet have been thoroughly vetted and indoctrinated. And it's not as if there wasn't supporting evidence for this interpretation: Starfleet officers are notorious on-screen for unanimously spouting the same ideology.

However, I was talking to an old friend a while ago and he mentioned that the Canadian military has maintained a high ratio of officers to enlisted men ever since World War 2: a policy that is only changing now. The reason for this policy was not political or ideological; it was because they had a standing policy that if mobilization was ever required, the military should be able to grow to three times its size in a short time. A military with an excessively high ratio of officers to enlisted men has the organizational structure to inflate its manpower much more rapidly than a military which already has the optimal ratio of officers to enlisted men. In the event of full scale mobilization, large numbers of enlisted men can be quickly trained in a matter of weeks to perform basic duties.

This, in conjunction with the large boneyards of obsolete starship frames, can help explain the Federation's ability to rapidly increase the size of Starfleet when it went to a full military footing during the Dominion War. On the downside, it also explains the relatively poor performance per ship of the newly enlarged fleet during the war, and the fact that "hero ships" were so dramatically superior to the majority of fleet ships in large engagements.

[Mr Bean]

It's a nice theory minus the fact that it does not explain the lack of trained senior NCO's. That might be explained away by the show simply not focusing on the Warrant officers(Or equivalent) the long term service salt dogs who've served on five or six ships and the Enterprise or whatever ship they are on now they are not so much serving aboard her as making her their lair. There's a particular point in every non-com's service when he or she has done enough time in enough shit to get what he/she wants or has distinguished themselves enough that any Captain would be happy to have them aboard. O'Brien is a classic example of this kind of person. However he's the only one we have to look to.

We see time and again how basic routine work is being carried by commissioned officers. Worse we see time and again(Voyager is the most guilty of this) of officers babysitting their enlisted personnel when they do give them an actual task.

Were it not for Chief O'Brien I could put forward an alternative hypothesis that ranks have been eliminated in the Federation Starfleet. Perhaps there are no petty officers and all Chief's are commissioned. You sign up for Starfleet and if your not good enough to be an ensign(Which it seems damn near everyone is) you can become enlisted on a ship (Side note:Weren't all the Red-shits officers? Lt's and Ensigns?), after you served a while either you leave Starfleet or you get a commission. We've seen Ensign being given far to much responsibility unless Starfleet does not think of Ensigns the same way we in the American, British or Canadian for that matter Navy think(We all use a near identical distribution of responsibility model even if our ships and crews are set up differently)

[Mr Bean]

I've been mulling this over and I can think of another series(Honorverse by David Weber) where the Republic of Haven midway through the series is set up with officers being either highly effective and politically neutral or ideologically pure (And also possibly effective).

Weber(Unlike Trek) seeks to keep to an internal logic and his own Havenite fleets are set up just this way with loads on mostly untrained enlisted personnel are babysat by senior NCO's who keep the ship running for the loads of officers who worry about the ship.

In the modern US Navy I can speak for 20-1 Enlisted to officer ratio's and in officer heavy slots that goes down to 6-1 or in extremely rare cases 4-1. However Star Trek as depicted we see 6-1 as standard with some departments(Notably Medical and Security) where we see 2-1 or even 1-1. It always struck me when I watched TNG that Dr Crusher had about two attendants and no dedicated nurses. Voyager as well, there was but a single Doctor. If the EMT were standard and always on in Federation ships but there's a reason we like to get second opinions in medicine. Even if they were pull 12/12 shifts I expect a bare minimum of two doctors, and five attendants... minimum. Part of that is most likely budget. Or it's likely all budget but still...

[Covenant]

Were it not for Chief O'Brien...

I wouldn't base anything on him. He's really an odd man out. Stolen from memory alpha, besides being a non-officer and a dude whose job normally was just transporting people up and down, "O'Brien has served during 235 combat encounters and has been decorated by Starfleet fifteen times, and [Some Klingon Dumbass] asks that he be declared an expert on starship combat."

Now, the klingon dumbass would probably consider anyone who knew a trick besides "cloak and move" to be an expert on starship combat, but it points out the fact that O'Brien is not what you normally think of when you imagine a run-of-the-mill sort of guy. He used to be a tactical officer afterall. Still, there's a telling scene in the TNG episode "Family" when Worf's adoptive human parents beam over and the father, another Chief Petty Officer, remarks to O'Brien: "Imagine. An old enlisted man like me raising a boy to be an officer!" So it would appear, at least back in the day, being an officer was still quite an accomplishment.

Another interesting O'Brien tidbit from Memory Alpha: O'Brien is one of two enlisted characters in Star Trek to have received any significant character development, the other being Yeoman Janice Rand. That's pretty absurd. So there seem to be a decent number of non-officers, but of them nearly none are featured staff. They really should bring back the Yeoman.

[Bounty]

Now, the klingon dumbass would probably consider anyone who knew a trick besides "cloak and move" to be an expert on starship combat

Not even that. I'm pretty sure that was from Worf's trial in Rules of Engagement; O'Brien was declared a "combat expert" by the Klingon prosecutor for no other reason than that he was there at the incident and has been in combat.

[Mr Bean]

Not even that. I'm pretty sure that was from Worf's trial in Rules of Engagement; O'Brien was declared a "combat expert" by the Klingon prosecutor for no other reason than that he was there at the incident and has been in combat.

He did not declare him a tactical expert did he? Just a combat expert? I think that is a legitimate title to give someone who had been in enough combat as much as O'Brien had.

Speaking of which considering that combat record, is O'Brien just a Chief? That leads back into my vague theory that Starfleet does not have Senior or Master Chiefs. Only enlisted "Chief"s and Officers, if you make it to Chief your going officer or your going the O'Brien route. I know thirty four year active duty Chief's in the Navy. People who get in at E-7 and just stay there. Not motivated go any higher(And be forced into more desk work, an E-7 can still get his hands pretty dirty if he wants)

[Covenant]

A Jem'hadar refers to him as a CPO, but I don't know for certain. On parts of TNG he was, apparently, a lieutenant. O'Brien served in the Cardassian War so he's been in plenty of combat, both in ships and apparently in whatever the Federation considered the infantry--judging from Garak's understanding of him. In either case, he's seen quite a bit of combat, and done well for himself. Whatever it is that gets you promoted, raw experience isn't it.

[Bounty]

A Jem'hadar refers to him as a CPO, but I don't know for certain.

Going by his rank insignia, he was a Senior Chief Petty Officer; in dialogue, he was addressed as a Senior Chief Specialist. But O'Brien's rank has always been a muddy can of worms, since he was originally written as a nameless officer before he was bumped up to a recurring character.

[lord Martiya]

According to Memory Alpha, O'Brien's rank on the Enterprise, where he served as transporter chief and in Security, was chief petty officer. He had the same rank on DS9, where he served as chief of operations (I'm still wondering why they didn't called him a chief engineer, he normally did that). I don't remember if he was promoted when he was transferred at the Academy.
For his being a combat expert, in spite of the idiocy of the Klingon he WAS an expert, having served on the USS Rutledge as a tactical officer during the Federation-Cardassian War.

[Uraniun235]

Still, there's a telling scene in the TNG episode "Family" when Worf's adoptive human parents beam over and the father, another Chief Petty Officer, remarks to O'Brien: "Imagine. An old enlisted man like me raising a boy to be an officer!" So it would appear, at least back in the day, being an officer was still quite an accomplishment.

This was fourth season, which was also the year when we saw Crewman Tarses. This was also when Roddenberry was becoming seriously ill and much less involved in the show, so I imagine it was at this point when they felt they could start creeping further and further away from his crazy ideas... among them, I'm pretty sure, was the idea that everyone in Starfleet would be an officer.

[Glom]

Out of curiosity, why are the Canadians changing that policy now?

[Aaron]

Out of curiosity, why are the Canadians changing that policy now?

Because it was a fucking disaster, the original intention to be able to "tool up" for a major war grew far beyond the actual need and resulted in ridiculous officer to private ratios approaching 1-1. The disaster didn't become apparent (to the leadership) until recently in Afghanistan where someone realized "hey we need shooters, not desk jockeys" , though the root of the current problem actually lies in the post-Somalia Scandal environment. Where the officer corps decided that the Senior NCO's couldn't handle the troops and used the scandal to increase the officer ratio and wrest control of duties that would traditionally be done by NCO's.

[Setzer]

When I was on the USS George Washington, the Chief Engineer was a 0-5, not an E-7.

[Mr Bean]

When I was on the USS George Washington, the Chief Engineer was a 0-5, not an E-7.

Nuclear.... repeat after me, Nuclear Supercarrier. Plus the analogy is bad as the Enterprise-D had what? A thousand something crewmen to the USS George Washington's 6000 odd?

Considering warp cores however the reactor on the Enterprise is far more dangerous than the USS GW's. Yes the head of Engineering is an officer aboard most ships (Smaller you go however the more likely it is a Senior NCO in charge) but to give you an example since I've got it on the mind we see in both TNG and Voyager times where it's been 2-1 officers to enlisted. Looking back over some of the TNG episodes by there were NO enlisted personnel in engine room spaces, everyone wearing at least ensign ranks. If the google image search of Starfleet ranks can be believed.

[General Zod]

Nuclear.... repeat after me, Nuclear Supercarrier. Plus the analogy is bad as the Enterprise-D had what? A thousand something crewmen to the USS George Washington's 6000 odd?

Considering warp cores however the reactor on the Enterprise is far more dangerous than the USS GW's. Yes the head of Engineering is an officer aboard most ships (Smaller you go however the more likely it is a Senior NCO in charge) but to give you an example since I've got it on the mind we see in both TNG and Voyager times where it's been 2-1 officers to enlisted. Looking back over some of the TNG episodes by there were NO enlisted personnel in engine room spaces, everyone wearing at least ensign ranks. If the google image search of Starfleet ranks can be believed.

As far as I recall every Chief Engineer has been at least a Lieutenant Commander or higher in ST. (Ignoring Voyager, of course).

[Uraniun235]

When I was on the USS George Washington, the Chief Engineer was a 0-5, not an E-7.

Nuclear.... repeat after me, Nuclear Supercarrier. Plus the analogy is bad as the Enterprise-D had what? A thousand something crewmen to the USS George Washington's 6000 odd?

Considering warp cores however the reactor on the Enterprise is far more dangerous than the USS GW's. Yes the head of Engineering is an officer aboard most ships (Smaller you go however the more likely it is a Senior NCO in charge) but to give you an example since I've got it on the mind we see in both TNG and Voyager times where it's been 2-1 officers to enlisted. Looking back over some of the TNG episodes by there were NO enlisted personnel in engine room spaces, everyone wearing at least ensign ranks. If the google image search of Starfleet ranks can be believed.

It's not even a thousand - remember, there's a lot of civilians and scientific staff as well. There's no on-air statement, but David Gerrold's novelization of Encounter at Farpoint suggested that the total Starfleet complement was around 800, and that the "actual ship's operation crew was probably no larger than that aboard the old Constitution-class starships."

Also there were episodes of TNG where there didn't even seem to be anyone in the engine room at all, let alone enlisted personnel.

[Mr Bean]

As far as I recall every Chief Engineer has been at least a Lieutenant Commander or higher in ST. (Ignoring Voyager, of course).

In an ideal world the Chief Engineer(And O-2/O-3/O-4/ or 0-5 depending on size of the ship) his second(the same range) plus a watch head(Another officer O-4 max for each watch section, so base two) then a few ensigns rattling around to be used wherever needed. There might also be a subsystem officer under the watch officers if it's unusual or exotic enough.

[Gandalf]

As far as I recall every Chief Engineer has been at least a Lieutenant Commander or higher in ST. (Ignoring Voyager, of course).

During TNG's first season and its cavalcade of Chief Engineers, there was a Lieutenant.

[Prannon]

Addressing the concept in the OP, I think it may be possible that Starfleet had both purposes in mind when maintaining such a high ratio of officers to enlisted men. Ideological loyalty and the ability to rapidly expand in the event of conflict would be important in maintaining Starfleet's integrity. Or it may be a holdover from an earlier, more militarized Federation during the TOS era. Back then there were still high tensions with the Klingons that would have necessitated a strong military, and after TUC that military probably would have been downsized, and officers retained for their loyalty and for greater peacetime utility. That old holdover would have been exploited when the Dominion War came.

And like DW said, that would also explain how such large fleets of ships came to ruin in battle against the Dominion. Most of Starfleet's existing officers would probably have little to no experience with command (ie an ensign doing an enlisted man's job, etc). The command structure that Starfleet depended on would have had serious faults at the outset.

[Ender]

When I was on the USS George Washington, the Chief Engineer was a 0-5, not an E-7.

Nuclear.... repeat after me, Nuclear Supercarrier. Plus the analogy is bad as the Enterprise-D had what? A thousand something crewmen to the USS George Washington's 6000 odd?

CHENG is a separate position from RO, and both are high officers on carriers (on the Truman both were full bird captains).You aren't going to see an enlisted as CHENG, no matter what ship you are on.

[Aaron]

]CHENG is a separate position from RO, and both are high officers on carriers (on the Truman both were full bird captains).You aren't going to see an enlisted as CHENG, no matter what ship you are on.

Just a tangent but how many Full bird Captains are on a CVN? From your post I get at least four, CHENG, RO, CO and whatever they call the CAG now.

[Tsyroc]

]CHENG is a separate position from RO, and both are high officers on carriers (on the Truman both were full bird captains).You aren't going to see an enlisted as CHENG, no matter what ship you are on.

Just a tangent but how many Full bird Captains are on a CVN? From your post I get at least four, CHENG, RO, CO and whatever they call the CAG now.

The XO, OPSO, the 'Gator (navigator) and on my last ship the lead chaplain were all full birds at some point. We even had a few CDCOs make Captain but they didn't put it on until they transferred.

If you add in the people from the Admiral's staff you'll get a few more birds.

[Ender]

]CHENG is a separate position from RO, and both are high officers on carriers (on the Truman both were full bird captains).You aren't going to see an enlisted as CHENG, no matter what ship you are on.

Just a tangent but how many Full bird Captains are on a CVN? From your post I get at least four, CHENG, RO, CO and whatever they call the CAG now.

The XO, OPSO, the 'Gator (navigator) and on my last ship the lead chaplain were all full birds at some point. We even had a few CDCOs make Captain but they didn't put it on until they transferred.

If you add in the people from the Admiral's staff you'll get a few more birds.

Plus you can get some high brass in medical/dental. I had a commander clean my teeth once. It was the nicest trip to the dentist I have ever had, guy had been doing it so long he knew every trick in the book, plus there was that cool, natural, high of putting a khaki down a peg.

But yeah, you will have the CO, XO, and CAG as full captains definitely, RO and CHENG are O-6 positions so if they aren't of rank they will receive brevet promotions (and tours in those positions are so long those brevet promotions will become permanent before they transfer), plus OPSO and TAC are highly likely to be captains owing to experience/politics, and a lot of officer heavy departments (chaplain, medical, dental) can accumulate them just over time. And then the command staff, and anyone on board assigned to special projects (diplomatic assistant, testing, etc).

IIRC, historically the optimum O:E ratio is something like 1:12, with the US military having become so top heavy it was more like 1:4 or 1:3 in 2000 (same reasons Canada had so many). This is based off comparing O:E ratios in most efficient and effective militaries in history, see 4th edition of "How To Make War" as the source I think.

[Prometheus Unbound]

Nuclear.... repeat after me, Nuclear Supercarrier. Plus the analogy is bad as the Enterprise-D had what? A thousand something crewmen to the USS George Washington's 6000 odd?

Considering warp cores however the reactor on the Enterprise is far more dangerous than the USS GW's. Yes the head of Engineering is an officer aboard most ships (Smaller you go however the more likely it is a Senior NCO in charge) but to give you an example since I've got it on the mind we see in both TNG and Voyager times where it's been 2-1 officers to enlisted. Looking back over some of the TNG episodes by there were NO enlisted personnel in engine room spaces, everyone wearing at least ensign ranks. If the google image search of Starfleet ranks can be believed.

As far as I recall every Chief Engineer has been at least a Lieutenant Commander or higher in ST. (Ignoring Voyager, of course).

Geordi in Season 2 was a bog standard Lieutenant.

[Darth Wong]

It's a nice theory minus the fact that it does not explain the lack of trained senior NCO's.

I agree on that and other objections you raise, but I would point out that you're assuming the scheme was actually well-implemented. I'm not saying it was necessarily well-implemented, only that this is what they might have been thinking. We know that enlisted personnel still exist, so we need to explain the bizarre ratio.