Lieutenant commander

Lieutenant commander insignia

Lieutenant commander was acommissioned officerrank, the equivalent of which was used by the service organizations of many civilizations. It was common in informal circumstances to refer to lieutenant commanders simply as "commander"^[1] by both those under their command and theircommanding officers. (TNG: "The Ensigns of Command", et al.)

History[]

A traditional naval rank, lieutenant commander was once used in the old navies ofEarth, among them theRoyal Navy and theUnited States Navy. In these organizations, a lieutenant commander was a grade between thelieutenant andcommander grades with the rank equivalent to amajor in the marine orground forces. Lieutenant commanders normally served as seniordepartment heads,executive officers on smaller vessels, and in some cases as starship commanders. Another position that could be held by a lieutenant commander was as aninstructor for Starfleet'sAdvanced Tactical Training. (TNG: "Preemptive Strike")

The rank of lieutenant commander was also known to have existed inparallel universes. In themirror universe, theTerran EmpireStarfleet was using this rank in2155 (withT'Pol being an example) and the rank was still being used in2267. (ENT: "In A Mirror, Darkly";TOS: "Mirror, Mirror")

The origins of the service rank of lieutenant commander inStarfleet dated to the mid-2160s. (ENT: "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part II")

By the start of the2260s, theinsignia for lieutenant commander was the same as that of commander, being between one to two solid gold sleeve stripes; by2266 the rank had developed into its own insignia of a lieutenant stripe below a broken hash mark braid. Certain lieutenant commanders holding specific senior positions on starships were permitted to display the full braid insignia of a commander while still retaining their rank of lieutenant commander. (TOS: "Court Martial", "The Menagerie, Part I", "The Devil in the Dark")

By2258,Una Chin-Riley, the first officer of theUSSEnterprise, had achieved the rank of lieutenant commander. (DIS: "Such Sweet Sorrow")

Between2259 and2261,James T. Kirk was promoted to Lieutenant Commander after assuming the role of first officer of theUSSFarragut. (SNW: "The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail")

In2267, Lieutenant CommanderSpock served as the executive officer of theEnterprise. (TOS: "The Menagerie, Part I")

In2269, Lieutenant CommanderTom Markel served as the commanding officer of theUSSAriel. (TAS: "The Eye of the Beholder")

In the early24th century, LieutenantRachel Garrett was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. (Star Trek: Section 31)

During the early2360s, CaptainLeyton promotedBenjamin Sisko to lieutenant commander when he gave him the post of executive officer aboard theUSSOkinawa; he, thereafter, taught Sisko everything he knew about being aleader. (DS9: "Paradise Lost")

Around the same time, Lieutenant CommanderWilliam T. Riker served as first officer of theUSSHood, before being promoted to commander, and first officer of theUSSEnterprise-D. (TNG: "The Pegasus")

When Commander Riker first met Lieutenant CommanderData in2364, Riker inquired his rank of lieutenant commander washonorary, which Data explained was not, and that he was a member of the StarfleetClass of '78. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", "Shades of Gray")

In2365, Lieutenant CommanderHester Dealt acted as themedical trustee for theFederation Medical Collection Station. (TNG: "The Child")

Later that year, during Data's introduction byThe Comic to theholodeck crowd atCharnock's Comedy Cabaret, he was described as "thefunny man of thestars, theandroid of antics, that lieutenant commander of mirth." (TNG: "The Outrageous Okona")

Guinan revealed to LieutenantWorf, in late2366, that she had abet withCaptainJean-Luc Picard that she could make theKlingonofficerlaugh before he became lieutenant commander. (TNG: "Redemption")

In2367, Lieutenant Commander Data was given temporary command of theUSSSutherland, with his first officer being Lieutenant CommanderChristopher Hobson. (TNG: "Redemption II")

Regarding theservice record ofEnsignRo Laren, as of2368, Jean-Luc Picard explained that "if she hadn'tlost her rank in that incident atGaron IV, she'd be lieutenant commander by now." (TNG: "The Next Phase")

In2370, Lieutenant CommanderPiersall served as the commanding officer of theUSSPrometheus. (DS9: "Second Sight")

The same year, Lieutenant CommanderCalvin Hudson, served Starfleet'sattaché to the Federation colonies in theCardassianDMZ. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I")

During the mock sentencing staged for thepromotion of Worf to lieutenant commander in2371, Commander Riker read: "We, theofficers andcrew of theEnterprise-D, being of sound mind and judgment, hereby make the following charges against Lieutenant Worf. One. That he did knowingly and willfully perform above and beyond the call of duty on countless occasions. Two. Most seriously, that he has earned theadmiration and respect of the entire crew." Following the reading of the "charges", Captain Picard granted Worf his new rank, "with all the rights and privileges thereto." (Star Trek Generations)

In2374, Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax served as the commanding officer of theUSSDefiant during the height of theDominion War, because she had acted asCaptainSisko's second in command and was the most qualified to take over for him when he had been reassigned to administrative duties atStarbase 375. (DS9: "Behind the Lines") However, her posting was temporary until the Captain returned to command a taskforce duringOperation Return. (DS9: "Favor the Bold")

The same year, as CaptainKathryn Janeway worked up to thepromotion of LieutenantTuvok, while aboardUSSVoyager, she shared that "[o]ver the pastnine years I've come to rely on his insightful and unfailinglylogical advice. For outstanding services,chief tactical andsecurity officer, it's my pleasure to grant you the rank of lieutenant commander." Upon receiving hispip, he noted, "I accept it with gratitude and will honor the responsibility that comes with it." (VOY: "Revulsion")

Later yet, the same year,EnsignNog was given afield promotion to lieutenant commander, and assigned as thechief engineer of theUSSValiant. (DS9: "Valiant")

When Lieutenant CommanderGreta Vanderweg, ascience officer aboardDeep Space 9, wasmurdered in2375, it was noted byOdo that she had had twelve years of service in Starfleet. (DS9: "Field of Fire")

When EnsignHarry Kim pressed Captain Janeway for his first command opportunity of theKraylorstarshipMedical Transport 136 in2377, he pleaded, "I've been onVoyager for almost seven years and I'm still an ensign," further explaining, that in that time, "if we were back home, I'd be a lieutenant by now. Maybe even a lieutenant commander." (VOY: "Nightingale")

List of lieutenant commanders[]

• List of Starfleet lieutenant commanders

Appendices[]

Background information[]

The earliest Starfleet officer referenced with this rank (in-universe) wasHoshi Sato, as established in herpersonnel file in "In A Mirror, Darkly, Part II", though the insignia is never seen on the2140s-early 2160s uniform. AStar Trek: The Magazine article on the 2151 uniforms and rank did not mention lieutenant junior grade or lieutenant commander. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 3, Issue 11, p. 42)

During pre-production,Malcolm Reed was going to be a lieutenant commander, though ended up with the rank of lieutenant.^{(citation needed •edit)}

Star Trek Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., p. 210 depicted an inaccurate lieutenant commander insignia for thelate 2270s-2350s uniform, with a vertical gold bar split horizontally (instead of one horizontal gold bar).

^ Contrary to traditional rank protocol, there have been several clear instances inStar Trek where a lieutenant commander was verbally addressed as "lieutenant":

• In theStar Trek: The Next Generation premiere "Encounter at Farpoint", CommanderRiker appeared to addressDeanna Troi as "Lieutenant", when she was a Lieutenant Commander.
• On three occasions, Lieutenant CommanderGeordi La Forge was referred to as "Lieutenant":
  • Once byTasha Yar in theStar Trek: The Next Generationthird season episode "Yesterday's Enterprise";
  • Once by CaptainPicard, later the same season, in the "The Most Toys";
  • Once byData in thefifth season episode "Hero Worship".
• Lieutenant CommanderElizabeth Shelby, who was called a Lieutenant in a briefing byRear AdmiralJ.P. Hanson.
• In the alternate future depicted in theStar Trek: Voyagerthird season episode, "Before and After",Tom Paris is referred to as Lieutenant byThe Doctor despite him wearing three pips.
• In theStar Trek: Enterprisefourth season episode "Bound", Commander Tucker refers to his replacementKelby as lieutenant despite him wearing three pips.
• Lt. CommanderSteve Stevens was addressed byD'Vana Tendi as lieutenant inLD: "Mugato, Gumato".
• Lt. CommanderAndy Billups was addressed byCarol Freeman as lieutenant inLD: "Where Pleasant Fountains Lie".

Likewise, Tuvok was also incorrectly identified as lieutenant after his promotion to lieutenant commander during his travels in theDelta Quadrant. Conversely, he was frequently seen wearing lieutenant commander's pips during thefirst season despite holding the rank of lieutenant at the time; this appears to have been a costume error or possibly a sign that the decision to make him a lieutenant was made after shooting started.

In another apparent costuming error, CommanderChakotay wore what theStar Trek Encyclopedia, 3rd ed., p. 211 identified as the provisional insignia for a lieutenant commander for all seven seasons, but was never addressed as such, only as a commander.

On a similar note, apparent costuming errors throughoutStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country hadValeris wear lieutenant commander insignia (as well as mismatched uniform department colors), although the intention was to have her just hold the rank of lieutenant. Because it was deemed too expensive to go back and re-shoot the sequences with Valeris wearing the correct rank and uniform color, it was decided to just let it be.^{(citation needed •edit)}

External links[]

• Lieutenant commander atWikipedia
• Lieutenant commander atMemory Beta, the wiki for licensedStar Trek works