Talk:Chain of command

PNA-incomplete
Additional references: --Alan 21:18, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Actual chain of command
can anyone please tell me what the actual chain of command is aboard the st:tng enterprise? picard, riker... data (as second officer)... who else? where does troi, la forge, and dr crusher fit in (they are all bridge officers as well as senior officers), if at all? thank you! 78.20.233.237
 * In, Picard, Riker, and Data were all off the ship, and La Forge took command of the ship. Later on, when Worf became tactical officer he also became third officer, but at this time, he was somewhat lower-ranking, so I'd guess probably Yar would have been third officer (being in what would later be Worf's position). Since she was on the surface at the time, though, Picard assigned command of the ship to La Forge. My guess is that there's no defined chain of command after third officer; it's whoever the Captain (or first, second, third officer, etc.) put in charge, or in the case that they're not available to make that decision, the highest ranking officer available. That would explain why Lieutenant Logan made a big deal about outranking La Forge in that episode, though La Forge still won out since he was chosen personally by the Captain. Also, keep in mind that regardless of rank, someone can only command the bridge if they've taken the Bridge Officer's Test, as shown in when Troi takes that test to qualify herself for that. Of note, she once did have to take command in  prior to that test, because no qualified officers were available. -Mdettweiler 15:35, November 11, 2009 (UTC)
 * We probably saw our best example in "Gambit" when Data was promoted to captain and Worf was made his first officer. I don't recall if Worf was chosen over La Forge for any reason, such as to keep Engineering up and running, and so forth, but that is probably the only example that they dip into the 4th-in-command pool. --Alan 15:43, November 11, 2009 (UTC)
 * We should also remember that there isn't likely a single linear structure from the Captain down to the lowest crewmen. There are multiple departments, each with heads that under the command structure probably "appear" to be equal. Take my experience, for example, where I am a Deputy Commander in charge of my squadron's cadets, while there is another Deputy Commander in charge of the senior members (read: anyone over 20 years old). We are equal on the command chart, though in practice the deputy commander for seniors takes charge when the squadron commander is not present. --OuroborosCobra talk 16:02, November 11, 2009 (UTC)