Crewman

Starfleet Crewman insignia

Alternate crewman insignia

"Crewman, you are demonstrating rank insubordination."

– Lieutenant Tuvok, 2371 ("Learning Curve")

"A crewman's right ends where the safety of the ship begins."

– Captain James T. Kirk, 2267 ("Shore Leave")

Crewman was an enlisted rank of often limited responsibility or entry level duties, used by service organizations in various cultures, including Starfleet. In Klingonese, this rank was comparable to the rank of bekk in the Klingon Defense Force. (DS9: "Sons and Daughters")

Thought not only a rank, the term "crewman" on many occasions was used as a generic term used to refer to any member of a crew, as was the case of Vina, an individual who was listed on the SS Columbia expedition as "an adult crewman" in 2236. (TOS: "The Cage") This was especially true of numerous Starfleet crewmen, who, regardless of rank, officers and enlisted personnel alike, were referred to as "crewman". (TOS: "Catspaw"; VOY: "Equinox, Part II"; et al.)

In both the 22nd century Earth Starfleet and the later 24th century Federation equivalent, the rank of crewman was further broken down into several classes: crewman, 1st class, crewman, 2nd class and crewman, 3rd class. (ENT: "Singularity", "The Crossing", "Regeneration"; TNG: "The Drumhead") During the late 23rd century, a Starfleet crewman may have also been rated as an able seaman. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan–Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

In addition, the similar rating of able crewman was used during the 22nd century aboard civilian merchant ships, such as those operating under the Earth Cargo Authority. After his less-than-impressive dealings with the Nausicaans in 2151, First Officer Matthew Ryan of the freighter ECS Fortunate was demoted to able crewman in order to have to earn back Captain Keene's trust. (ENT: "Fortunate Son")

In 2151, Commander Trip Tucker threatened Lieutenant Malcolm Reed that he was going to "bust your ass back to crewman, second class for insubordination," though Reed countered, "Be my guest. I could use a little less responsibility." (ENT: "Shuttlepod One")

Two years later, Captain Jonathan Archer gave Reed the same warning, heeding that, "If I were the kind of captain you think I should be I'd bust your ass back to crewman," following Reed's critique of Archer's command style. (ENT: "Minefield")

When Q abducted Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 2365, and described his desire to join the crew of the USS Enterprise-D, he expressed being "Ready and willing. Able to serve..." Picard interrupted him, inquiring, "What would you do? Would you start as an ordinary crewman?" (TNG: "Q Who")

List of ranked crewman

• Botax (able seaman)
• Branz (able seaman)
• Carson (able seaman)
• Carter (able seaman)
• Cunningham (crewman, 2nd class)
• Cutler, Elizabeth (crewman, 1st class)
• Daniels (crewman, 3rd class)
• Dax (able seaman)
• Daz (able seaman)
• Foster (crewman, 3rd class)
• Gavin (able seaman)
• Jarkra (able seaman)
• Krim (able seaman)
• Marva (able seaman)
• Novakovich, Ethan (crewman, 2nd class)
• Rogg (able seaman)
• Rostov, Michael (crewman, 2nd class)
• Straeth (able seaman)
• Strom (able seaman)
• Suryan (able seaman)
• Tarses, Simon (crewman, 1st class)
• Vell (able seaman)

This chart shows only general equivalencies based on the ranks used by many governments on Earth, as well as the rest of the galaxy.

Appendices

Background information

Gene Roddenberry pushed the assumption that "every man and woman aboard the USS Enterprise is the equivalent of a qualified astronaut, therefore an officer." (The Making of Star Trek, p. 209) Reiterating, this was most typically in The Original Series, where it was evident that a "crewman" was less of a reference to a rank than it was a general term for any member of the crew. One example appears in the episode "Catspaw", where Kirk noted Lieutenant Jackson as "Crewman Jackson" in his captain's log, and referred to the missing Lt. Sulu and lieutenant commander Scott as "my two missing crewmen" (vs. "officers").

Although Star Trek has often been ambivalent about enlisted ranks and insignia, the term "crewman" has been in use since "The Man Trap". Visually, any crewmember with the rank below lieutenant, most notably ensigns, wore no visible rank insignia, with the exceptions of CPO Garison and lieutenant junior grade Joe Tormolen. Though in the case of DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations", Benjamin Sisko quickly identified Miles O'Brien, who wore no insignia on his sleeves, as an "ensign".

Information pertaining to the Star Trek films "able seaman" rank originated from Robert Fletcher's personal costuming notes (p. 9, seen here) and later confirmed in multiple lots sold in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction.

In TNG: "The Drumhead", it was established in dialogue that Simon Tarses was an enlisted crewman who had not gone to the Academy; he had a blank collar. This lack of rank insignia for crewmen and noncoms was used throughout Deep Space Nine and Voyager, although chief petty officers were occasionally assigned different insignia.

Several rank insignia were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, including a crewman second class patch. [1]

Finally, as ranks established in Star Trek were mostly based on the ranking systems of "real world" militaries, the following may also be true: The title of "crewman" was the lowest enlisted rank, subordinate to a petty officer. In comparison to infantry ranking systems, this rank was approximately equivalent to the grade of private.

External links

• Crewman at Wikipedia
• Seaman at Wikipedia