chain of command discrepancies

[Perrryyy]

Originally posted by ghosty


I was quite surprised that they put a ship with that much firepower in the hands of a bunch of cadets. I mean the Valiant was one of the first production run models of Starfleet's most powerful warships so it should not even have been used for a training mission...it was IMHO a very poorly thought out episode...

Okay rant over...

Well in defense of the story, IIRC, they stated that all the "adults" were killed in the first wave of attacks against the Dominion. You're right tho, using a big warship as a training platform is just plain wrong! Starships shouldn't be playgrounds! (Sheesh I sound like a parent! lol)

[Captain Zymmer]

On my ship the duty rotations are three shifts of eight, expect for the Captain, XO, 2nd and COB, they are on 4, 6 hour rotations, and overlaop each other, so at some point two of them will be on thebridge at one time (assume this is when we see Riker & Picard or Chakotay and Janeway at the same time.)

May not be Canon but it works for us

[ghosty]

In our game, the CO and XO don't actually stand watch except at yellow or red alert or the ship is in wartime cruising mode...since we have a big ship, we have sufficient officers to stand watch throughout the day.

The CO and XO usually have administrative tasks to perform, mission planning and other things that a CO and XO need to do.

On smaller ships where officers are limited, the CO and XO will stand watch as will senior chiefs who are OOD qualified.

[Michael Barratt]

Originally posted by ghosty
In our game, the CO and XO don't actually stand watch except at yellow or red alert or the ship is in wartime cruising mode...since we have a big ship, we have sufficient officers to stand watch throughout the day.

The CO and XO usually have administrative tasks to perform, mission planning and other things that a CO and XO need to do.

On smaller ships where officers are limited, the CO and XO will stand watch as will senior chiefs who are OOD qualified.

*nods* I figure there's always a command branch officer on the bridge other than the Captain or XO, and they meander over to one of the "other" consoles at the back of hte ship when the Captain deigns to enter the Bridge.

Someone has to be in charge out there when the entire command crew are sitting in the observation lounge...

The Doc

[ghosty]

As some of my players are historical junkies (and Zymmer wonders where I got infected) we're quite into the formalities of shipboard life.

Even when the CO or XO wanders onto the bridge, the duty officer does not automatically relinquish command, it's for the CO or XO to say that they will "take the conn". This allows the CO or XO to observe the duty officer's performance on the bridge. Of course its tough being duty officer with the CO/XO watching over your shoulder but its the best way to observe leadership and command ability.

[calguard66]

The officer who "has the conn" is the only officer who can give orders to the helmsman. It can be almost anybody, but the previous conn officer must relinquish the conn.

For example, the OOD may want to give his JOD some practice:

OOD: "Mr. JOD, take the conn"
JOD: "Aye, Sir... I have the conn"
Helm: "JOD has the conn, aye-aye"

Now the OOD can't give orders to the helm until he takes back the conn.


Or the Captain may come to the bridge and want the conn:

Captain: "I have the conn"
OOD: "Captain has the conn"
Helm: "Captain has the conn, aye-aye"

Technically, even the Captain can't order the helm unless the OOD releases the conn... even if the OOD is an Ensign. That's because the helm will only acknowledge the officer with the conn... so the officer with the conn has to give the oder for the helm to obey somebody else. Captains and other officers will often test new helmsmen by rushing onto the bridge and giving a series of helm orders. If the helmsman follows them, he gets chewed out.

Or the Captain may bring Seaman Snuffy to the bridge and play a joke on everybody:

Captain: " Give the conn to SN Snuffy"
OOD: "Uhhh... SN Snuffy has the conn"
Helm: "SN Snuffy has the conn, aye-aye"

It is possible to have the CO, XO, OOW and OOD all on the bridge and have the conn held by Ensign Duffer.

In the US Navy the CO isn't even on the bridge in combat, his post is in the CIC... the XO commands the bridge.

There are also qualifications for OOW and OOD in-port... which means you can hold the post only while the ship is alongside the pier. ISTR that the LT(JG) who sortied that destroyer at Pearl Harbor was only qualified as the OOW in-port.