A duty shift is the portion of the day that various scheduled personnel aboard a starship or space station are on duty.
The three shift rotation schedule is common in the Federation Starfleet. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country; DS9: "The Assignment"; TNG: "Chain of Command, Part I")
For a brief period of time while Captain Edward Jellico was in command of the USS Enterprise-D in 2369, the ship was put on a four shift rotation. Each shift was designated by a Greek letter: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part I")
Major Kira Nerys, in an attempt to keep a seriously-injured Captain Benjamin Sisko conscious, suggested changing the station over to a four-shift rotation to increase efficiency and reduce fatigue by giving longer rest periods. Later, Sisko repeats Kira's suggestion to her and they agree to implement her suggestion. (DS9: "Starship Down")
Seven of Nine once commented that crewmen Boylan and White were frequently late for their duty shifts. (VOY: "Bliss")
Neelix once wagered The Doctor three duty shifts in his kitchen for three in sickbay in a shell game. (VOY: "Live Fast and Prosper")
Types of shifts
Day shift
The day shift or day watch is the first duty period which theoretically happens during whatever would be considered day in space. It takes its roots from day shifts currently in use in military and other jobs. The day shift would presumably be followed by the night watch, which was a time of limited activity. (TNG: "Data's Day", "Lessons")
Commander William T. Riker usually commanded the first bridge shift of the day watch, known as alpha shift. (TNG: "Data's Day", "Rightful Heir", "Lower Decks") In 2367, Worf was in command during the final shift of the day. (TNG: "Data's Day")
- Usually this would be the time when the senior officers were on duty, though senior officers throughout all the series were often at work beyond the boundaries of their shifts.
- In one episode (TNG: "Data's Day") Riker relieved Commander Data who had been in charge of the night shift on the Enterprise-D. Riker stepped out of the turbolift with a duty crew that didn't include any senior officers. This raises questions over whether Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the day shift, the swing shift, or doesn't command any shift and instead handles Captain's duties without a specified time for bridge oversight. This corresponds to current US Navy practices, in which a ship's captain is always on duty.
Swing shift
The swing shift is a duty shift that is after the day shift, but before the night shift. Crewmembers of Deep Space 9 who were on the swing shift included Whatley, Duarte, Abdon, Nori, Tekoa and Rom. (DS9: "The Assignment")
Night shift
The bridge of the Enterprise-D with nightshift illumination.
The night shift is a duty period that occurs during the hours in which an officer would otherwise be sleeping. It is usually relegated to the junior officers, as most people are not fond of the night shift. Aboard starships and space stations, however, there is technically no such thing as "night" or "day". The night shift is preceded by the swing shift. (DS9: "The Assignment")
On the Enterprise-D, this shift was known as night watch, in contrast to day watch. Lieutenant Commander Data was often in command of the bridge during the night watch, as he did not require sleep. (TNG: "Data's Day", "Lessons", "Rightful Heir") Doctor Beverly Crusher has volunteered at times for the night shift, as she did in 2370 while Data was away on a mission. She explained that she liked doing this to refresh her starship operations management skills. (TNG: "Thine Own Self")
The USS Excalibur was attacked by the Borg during its night shift. (VOY: "Survival Instinct")
After Rom resigned from his position of Assistant Manager of Policy and Clientele at Quark's in 2372, he joined Deep Space 9's engineering crew and was assigned to the night shift. (DS9: "Bar Association") In early 2373, Miles O'Brien arranged to have him transferred from the night shift to the day shift. (DS9: "The Assignment")
Later in 2372, after a magnetic constrictor accident on the USS Voyager, B'Elanna Torres had to work during the night shift to repair the damage caused by the accident. (VOY: "Investigations")
Ensign Harry Kim served as Voyager's commanding officer during the night shift, twice a week. (VOY: "Night", "Warhead", "Renaissance Man", "Author, Author") Ensign Jenkins also served as a night shift navigation officer aboard Voyager. (VOY: "Warhead")
Rotations
Alpha shift
Alpha shift was a duty shift aboard the USS Enterprise-A and the USS Enterprise-D, the first shift of the day watch. Aboard the Enterprise-A, the shift began at 0800 and ended at 1600 hours. Aboard the Enterprise-D, it ended at 1200 hours.
In 2293, around stardate 9521.6, Captain James T. Kirk was on duty during the alpha shift. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
In mid-2370, Commander William T. Riker served as commanding officer of the alpha shift. Lieutenant Commander Data served as operations officer, Lieutenant Worf as tactical officer, and Ensign Sam Lavelle as flight controller. Ensign Sito Jaxa was the relief tactical and ops officer. (TNG: "Lower Decks")
Beta shift
Beta shift was the second duty shift of the day watch on board the Enterprise-D, beginning at 1200 hours.
In mid-2370, Commander Riker apparently served as commanding officer of the beta shift, continuing from alpha shift. Other officers on duty at this time included Lieutenant Jae and Ensign Gates. (TNG: "Lower Decks")
Gamma shift
Gamma shift was the third duty shift on board the Enterprise-D.
Lieutenant McDowell was part of the gamma shift on board the ship in 2369, until Captain Edward Jellico ordered to rearrange the duty shifts and let the new delta shift replace the gamma shift. (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part II")
In 2370, during a training simulation, Commander Riker informed the alpha shift, including Lieutenant Commander Data, and the ensigns Sito Jaxa and Sam Lavelle, that their response time was seven percent slower that the response time of the gamma shift. (TNG: "Lower Decks")
Delta shift
Delta shift was the fourth duty shift on board the Enterprise-D in 2369.
Captain Edward Jellico ordered to rearrange the duty shifts and let the delta shift replace the gamma shift. (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part II")