Enlisted

In Starfleet, an enlisted crewperson is (usually) one who has not completed the four-year Starfleet Academy course (one notable exception being Miles O'Brien, who was demoted from Lieutenant junior grade to Chief petty officer). In most cases, enlisted crewmen sign up directly to a ship or posting, and receive basic training, as well as any specific courses required for their position. (TNG: "The Drumhead"; DS9: "Shadowplay", "Starship Down")

Other force structures, such as the Klingon Defense Force and the Bajoran Militia, have enlisted men in their ranks, but it is unclear as to how they differ from their standard officer ranks.

As with commissioned officers, there is a rank structure amongst enlisted crew. The term "non-commissioned officer" refers specifically to any enlisted personnel given authority over other personnel. In Starfleet, this could refer to any petty officer (up to master chief).

All commissioned officer ranks, from ensign upward, outrank all enlisted in the chain of command. However, in certain cases, non-commissioned officers can exercise authority over commissioned officers, by virtue of their functional positions. (Miles O'Brien was one such case in his position as chief of operations aboard Deep Space 9, although not previously as Transporter chief aboard the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) where O'Brien served as both Ensign and Lieutenant junior grade.) Additionally, chief petty officers such as O'Brien wield influence far beyond their place in the rank structure due to their extensive experience and skill, and are expected to mentor junior officers as well as other non-commissioned officers. This dynamic has been noted, in military and quasi-military operations, previously.

Enlisted personnel may be promoted to receive a commission, but must pass necessary examinations and/or attend the Academy.

The Star Trek Encyclopedia had the TNG-era enlisted insignia labeled as "warrant officers", but this seems to contradict several canon mentions.

Naval

• master chief petty officer
• senior chief petty officer
• chief petty officer
• petty officers (specialists 1st, 2nd and 3rd class):
  • sensor analyst
  • technician
  • yeoman
• crewman (1st, 2nd and 3rd class)
  • The Star Trek Encyclopedia refers to these ranks with the non-canonical designation "ables'man". Some modern systems refer to crewman 2nd and 3rd class as "apprentice" and "recruit", respectively.

Military

• first sergeant
• staff sergeant
• sergeant
• corporal
• private

Gene Roddenberry initially envisioned a Starfleet entirely composed of officers during the creation of TNG. As a result, there were negligible numbers of enlisted personnel seen in TNG. During DS9, the writers made a conscious decision to increase the number of enlisted personnel depicted as being in Starfleet, to a numeric level either equal to or exceeding that of the officers, recognizing that there would be those who would seek to serve in Starfleet but have no interest in pursuing the educational credentials required for officer qualification.

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

See also

• List of Starfleet enlisted personnel