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| USS EXCALIBUR NCC-1844-B
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| CIRCE Mark III-Class Battlecruiser
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| Tactical Squadron 24, BLUE Fleet
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| ======================================================
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| ======================================================
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| USS EXCALIBUR Table of Organization
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| (Updated SD 191004)
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| ======================================================
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| CREDITS
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| =======
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| The contents of this table are largely based upon the like document
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| created by D'Maris Coffman for use with USS QUASAR.
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| The section detailing the Combat Information Center group was written
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| by Scott Freligh for the CIRCE.
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| INTRODUCTION
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| ============
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| This document sets out the Table of Organization (TO), i.e. the
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| organizational structure, of the USS EXCALIBUR. It is concerned entirely
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| with the role playing aspects of the ship. Information about the
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| administration and mechanics of this writing group may be found in the
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| Style Guide (which will soon be placed on the new web site).
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| With that in mind, a few additional remarks are relevant. With that in
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| mind, a few additional remarks are relevant. First, the EXCALIBUR is the
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| command ship of Tactical Squadron 24 (TACRON-24) in Task Group 20, a part
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| of BLUE Fleet in the ASR universe. As such, the ship is assigned escort
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| vessels which serve to screen it from attackers and to perform scouting
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| and surveying functions.
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| More information about these ships may be found on the USS EXCALIBUR site.
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| Second, the material below was taken from a variety of contemporary sources.
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| One in particular are the web pages of the United States Navy's Atlantic
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| Fleet, particularly the USS Cowpen. The original author (D'Maris Coffman)
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| has made every effort to extrapolate this to the 25th century and Trek
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| technology, drawing both on her own knowledge and the best of ASR practice.
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| Comments, critiques, concerns, clarifications, etc. are most welcome,
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| particularly if your character happens to be in charge of the department
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| involved.
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| OPERATIONAL CYCLES
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| ==================
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| The USS EXCALIBUR has three operational phases--primary training, intermediate
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| training, and operational. This mirrors USN practice, though the
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| distinctions have been simplified for our purposes.
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| PRIMARY TRAINING CYCLE
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| ----------------------
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| During the primary training cycle, the focus is on training crew,
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| professional development of personnel (certifications, bridge watch officers
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| qualifications, space warfare officer exams, etc). During this phase, the
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| ship reports to what is called the "Type Command," which is behind the scenes
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| in ASR (yet it is assumed to exist). Aside from being the command ship of a
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| tactical squadron, the EXCALIBUR is (along with other battlecruisers in BLUE
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| Fleet) assigned to an expeditionary force. The Type Command is responsible
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| for seeing that software upgrades, hardware maintenance, etc. also happen
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| during the primary training cycle.
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| INTERMEDIATE TRAINING CYCLE
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| ---------------------------
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| An intermediate training cycle follows the primary one. This often may
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| be rather short, compared to months spent in a primary training cycle.
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| For our purposes, this is the period where the EXCALIBUR is joined by the other
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| ships in her task force for group exercises. The ship moves from under the
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| purview of the Type Command back to the Theater Command (BLUE Fleet,
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| TG20, TACRON-24).
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| OPERATIONAL PHASE
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| -----------------
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| During the operational phase, the EXCALIBUR and the other ships in her force
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| have mission orders and are under the direct supervision of COMTACRON-24
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| and the officer-in-tactical command (see below) of a given mission.
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| Officer-in-tactical (mission) command: The officer-in-tactical command is
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| the officer responsible for the overall mission. In ASR, this is most
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| usually the unit CO; however, in the case of EXCALIBUR, the commander of the
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| tactical squadron is considered the officer-in-tactical command.
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| BILLETS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
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| ============================
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| SENIOR LINE OFFICERS
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| --------------------
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| There are five senior line officers on the USS EXCALIBUR. They are the CO,
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| XO, OPS, CIC and CMC, and they represent the shipboard chain of command.
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| * Commanding Officer
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| The commanding officer (CO) is ultimately responsible and accountable
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| to his superiors for the ship. During primary and intermediate training
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| cycles, the CO reports to the Type Command. During this period, the
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| operations and logistics groups concentrate on maintaining combat readiness,
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| keeping systems up-to-date, and for training of personnel, as well as
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| ongoing projects (sciences). During the operational phase (where the ship
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| has mission orders), the CO is responsible for his ship's role in the
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| mission.
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| When a commanding officer of a ship also serves as officer-in-tactical
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| command for a given mission, the CO is responsible for ensuring that all
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| Star Fleet assets under his purview (including escorts and support craft).
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| If there is a flag officer or other senior officer aboard who is the officer-
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| in-tactical command, the CO is accountable to said officer for his ship's
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| role in the mission, but remains the absolute authority in matters
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| pertaining to the ship itself.
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| Mission specialists and the commander of any independent marine attachment
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| (rump battalion or larger) report directly to the officer-in-tactical command.
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| Regardless of a CO's actual rank, his position is that of ship's captain and
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| he is addressed as such.
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| * Executive/First Officer
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| The executive officer (XO, Exec) is responsible above all else for the day-
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| to-day operation of the ship. The XO is also the professional development
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| officer and assists department heads in facilitating training of all line
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| officers. The XO designs and administers all watch officer exams,
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| certifications and qualifying exams as they relate to shipboard operations
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| and command. The XO is also responsible for the ship's routine and for
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| keeping crew discipline. All department heads report to the XO. Regardless
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| of his rank, he is senior to all naval officers who are part of the ship's
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| permanent complement.
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| * Operations Manager/Second officer
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| The operations manager (OPS/2O) is the senior member of the shipboard
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| operations group which consists of three departments: operations, combat
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| systems (tactical), and navigation/astrogation. In this capacity, the
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| operations manager also allocates ship's resources and coordinates
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| interdepartmental projects, including those which involve engineering or
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| sciences. OPS also has a permanent place in the senior officer watch
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| rotation.
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| * Combat Information Center/Third Officer
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| The combat information center officer is responsible first and foremost for
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| the combat information center (which is on Deck 8). The purpose of the CIC
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| is two-fold: in multi-ship combat, the CIC keeps track of what is happening.
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| The TAC officer is too busy with how the ship performs in combat to spare
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| attention for the big picture. Second, the CIC officer is the clearinghouse
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| for orders from the officer-in-tactical command (see above) of the engagement.
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| The CIC of a battlecruiser thus is responsible for coordinating its combat
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| maneuvers and status with the other ships in the force, including the officer-
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| in-tactical-command of the force.
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| Due to these awesome responsibilities, the CIC is considered a member of the
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| senior command staff. On EXCALIBUR, this officer acts as the 3O as well.
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| * Command Master Chief
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| The Command Master Chief (CMC), alternately known as the 'Chief of the Boat'
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| or the 'Boatswain,' is the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer on board
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| CIRCE. Her job is to act as a liaison between the rest of the ship's command
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| group and the enlisted personnel. As such, this task is always given to the
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| senior-most enlisted person on board. As a general rule of thumb, this person
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| is a career officer, possibly on the verge of earning a warrant commission,
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| and well-respected by her fellow enlisted personnel.
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| Usually, the CMC is a Master Chief Petty Officer (E-9).
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| WATCHES
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| =======
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| The underway watch rotation (the only one that really concerns role play
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| on the EXCALIBUR) consists of six four-hour watches which cycle every twenty-four.
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| Each overall watch has two watch officers, one senior and one junior. There
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| are subsidiary watches at OPS, TAC, and NAV, as well as ENG and SEC. While
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| department heads may participate in the watch rotation as junior watch
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| officers, they only takeover their primary bridge consoles doing alerts.
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| OFFICERS OF THE DAY
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| -------------------
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| Beyond the permanent watch officers, there are also officers of the day.
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| Senior officer of the day is limited to those officers who have passed the
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| senior BrOT (bridge officer's test). Junior officer of the day is open to
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| any junior officer who has passed the junior BrOT. Both are good experience
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| for any ambitious officer.
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| * Watch Rotation
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| Watch (time) Senior Watch Officer Junior Watch Officer
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| ------------ -------------------- --------------------
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| Alpha (0800-1200) XO JOOD
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| Bravo (1200-1600) OPS JOOD
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| Charlie (1600-2000) CIC TAC (LT Satchmo)
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| Delta (2000-0000) OPS JOOD
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| Echo (0000-0400) CIC JOOD
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| Foxtrot (0400-0800) TAC JOOD
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| OOD: SCI, PRO, etc (if qualified)
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| JOOD: Varies
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| </pre>
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| Also bear in mind that division officers serve as watch officers for their
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| departmental watches (operations, engineering, tactical and navigation
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| watches). In sciences, there is no standing watch. Attending physicians
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| rotate as shift supervisors. A shift in sickbay is two regular four hour
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| watches; the sciences department may also run in eight hour shifts at the
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| discretion of the chief science officer.
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| THE GROUPS
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| ==========
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| The departments are grouped into command, operations, flight operations,
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| engineering, sciences, medical, intelligence and Marines. These
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| distinctions are most important during the training phases. They also
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| reflect the uniform colors employed aboard the USS EXCALIBUR. During
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| operational phases, these groups become less important as the entire
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| ship comes mission-focused.
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| On smaller ships, the Marines are treated as if they were a regular
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| department, and are ultimately answerable to the CO and XO of the vessel.
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| However, on battlecruisers, they are an independent command (explained
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| in greater detail below), and are ultimately answerable to regiment
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| commands within the Marine Corps.
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| COMMAND GROUP
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| -------------
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| The command group is comprised of the aforementioned senior line
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| officers- CO, XO, CIC and OPS- as well as the Command Master Chief and
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| any administrative personnel attached to the Commanding Officer, such as
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| Yeomen. It also encompasses the Combat Information department as well,
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| due to the nature of the responsibilities of Combat Information. All
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| officers of this group wear uniforms piped in red.
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| OPERATIONS GROUP
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| ----------------
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| The operations group consists of operations, combat systems (tactical),
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| security, legal services, and astrogation/navigation departments. On the
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| EXCALIBUR, all of these people will wear uniforms piped in mustard. This
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| group is responsible for the performance of the ship while underway,
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| particularly in combat. The operations manager is the senior member of
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| the operations group, and is accountable to the XO for its overall
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| readiness during training cycles.
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| FLIGHT OPERATIONS GROUP
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| -----------------------
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| The flight operations group consists of the flight control, shuttle
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| maintenance and shuttle operations departments. Flight ops is responsible
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| for the maintenance and care of all embarked and guest craft on CIRCE.
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| They also are tasked with coordinating all flight traffic in and out of
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| EXCALIBUR. All uniforms of this group wear uniforms piped in gray.
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| ENGINEERING GROUP
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| -----------------
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| This group, second only to Operations in size aboard a starship, is tasked
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| solely with the maintenance and repair of the EXCALIBUR herself. This includes
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| both hardware and software repair and upgrades. All personnel of this
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| group wear uniforms piped in orange. All departments within Engineering
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| report in to the ENG, who in turn reports directly to the XO.
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| SCIENCES GROUP
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| --------------
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| The sciences group, demarked by uniforms piped in dark blue, is made up of
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| all researchers, lab technicians, and the administrators who oversee and
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| support them. The focus of the departments within the Sciences group varies
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| according to ship function and mission parameters.
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| INTELLIGENCE GROUP
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| ------------------
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| The intelligence group is responsible for providing a liaison between the
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| Star Fleet presence on board the vessel and OSFI: they are responsible
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| for obtaining proper clearances for any sensitive information the CO and
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| the crew may need, for assisting CIC in deciphering and analyzing
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| information obtained by CIC, and for acting as an aide in any diplomatic
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| situation. Officers of this group wear uniforms piped in white.
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| MEDICAL GROUP
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| -------------
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| The medical group consists of the medical and counseling departments, and
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| provides specialized professional services to the ship; as such, these
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| personnel wear uniforms piped in sky blue. The heads of each department-
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| The chief medical officer and counselor- report separately to the XO.
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| MARINE COMPLIMENT
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| -----------------
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| The role of the marine complement also varies a great deal from ship to
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| ship. On a battlecruiser, the marine complement is that of a full battalion
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| composed of three companies of four platoons each, plus a command team. On
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| CIRCE, given the presence of small number of combat shuttles, however, there
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| is an additional squadron (platoon-size) of Marines for piloting and
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| maintaining these shuttles. This brings the total number of Marines
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| stationed aboard EXCALIBUR to 525.
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| A battalion is also the smallest independent marine command in SFMC, and the
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| battalion commander has an XO, an OPS, and an adjutant, as well as an
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| administrative staff. The marine commander is responsible to the CO of the
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| ship for the discipline of his marines. A battalion commander will generally
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| designate an officer to serve as a liaison to the XO or OPS for requesting
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| ship's resources and may deal directly with the CSO on matters of joint
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| training. The MCO for a detachment this size is typically a lieutenant
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| colonel (O-5).
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| While the marine commander is accountable to the CO for the discipline of his
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| marines, and to the officer-in-tactical command for their role in the mission,
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| a battalion commander also reports to a regimental commander who is part of
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| the fleet's marine division. This is analagous to the Type Command, and is
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| the entity to which the battalion commander is accountable for training and
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| performance of the marine unit.
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| On smaller ships, the marine complement is not an independent command (company
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| on light cruisers, platoon on destroyers). In these circumstances, the
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| marine complement is detached to the ship and the marine commander reports
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| directly to the XO as if he/she were a department head.
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| While the security department is responsible for the discipline of the crew,
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| the marines (when they are present on board a ship) are responsible for the
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| ship's safety--garrisoning sensitive areas, repelling boarders, etc. and for
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| protection of away team missions. They also handle dignatary details, provide
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| color guards for ceremonies, etc. When marines are providing such services,
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| they report to the XO or PRO where appropriate.
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| Regardless of role, all Marines wear green uniforms to designate their group.
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| THE DEPARTMENTS
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| ===============
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| COMMAND GROUP
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| -------------
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| * Combat Information Department (CIC)
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| CIC stands for Combat Information Center, and is located on deck 8, within
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| the secondary hull aboard the USS EXCALIBUR. The Combat Information Center's
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| mission is fourfold:
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| * Monitor all sensor readings for signs of tactical threat, and in
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| combat analyze sensor readings of threat vessels.
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| * Plot and track all readings given by the sensors, and in combat
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| plot firing solutions for Tactical to have at hand.
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| * Communicate and Co-ordinate with other Federation and/or allied
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| vessels while in combat. CIC serves as the clearinghouse
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| for the officer in tactical command of an engagement, passing
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| his orders to and from the other ships in an engagement.
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| * In an emergency, CIC can serve as the ship's command center if the
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| bridge becomes incapacitated. Auxiliary stations for the
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| primary bridge stations are provided, but nominally left
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| unmanned. In case of a flag officer commanding from CIC,
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| these stations could also serve as positions for his or her
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| staff.
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| CIC is laid out as a large circular compartment, approximately fifty percent
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| larger than the Bridge, and is typically kept dimly lit and cooler than the rest
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| of the ship. The most dominating feature of the CIC is the Main Holographic
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| Display (aka "The Tank"), which takes up most of the starboardside forward quarter
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| of the compartment. The Bridge repeater stations are set up around the aft
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| periphery of the Main Holographic Display, and immediately forward of the
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| Main Holographic Display is the Main Viewscreen. However, this Viewscreen is
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| rarely used.
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| The Communications Division's stations run along the Starboard bulkhead until
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| they end at the main entrance, after which the Sensors Division's stations run
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| along the aft and portside aft periphery of the compartment and end at the
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| entrance to the CIC Officer's office. The portside forward quarter is dominated
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| by the Plotting and Tracking Division and features multiple medium-sized
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| viewscreens and several holographic plotting tables. The Command Chair is set
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| immediately aft of the Main Holographic display and in a line between the main
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| entrance and the CIC Officer's office. The Command Chair has its own small
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| holographic display and a number of information repeaters surrounding it.
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| The CIC Officer is considered to be a Command Position, and is considered to be
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| third in the chain of command aboard a ship. As such, the CIC Officer is
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| nominally a Lieutenant Commander (O-4) or Lieutenant (O-3). Additionally, there
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| is an Executive CIC officer, typically a Lieutenant (O-3) or Lieutenant Junior
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| Grade (O-2).
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| The CIC is divided into three divisions: Sensors, Plotting and Tracking, and
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| Communications.
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| * Sensors: The Sensors division is responsible for monitoring and
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| interpreting all information received by the ships sensors.
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| The Sensors Division is typically commanded by an Ensign (O-1),
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| or Lieutenant Junior Grade (O-2). Each sensor array on a ship
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| has a station manned to monitor it in CIC, large arrays, such
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| as the lateral array, are often divided among several stations
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| and each is assigned a 'sector'.
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| Ratings assigned to the Sensors Division are often Operations
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| Specialists (OS), or Information Systems Technicians (IT).
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| | |
| * Plotting and Tracking: The Plotting and Tracking Division is
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| responsible for tracking all sensor contacts reported by the
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| Sensors Division in relation to the ship. In addition, during
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| combat the Plotting and Tracking Division pre-plots firing
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| solutions on all sensor contacts and relays them to the
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| Tactical station on the Bridge, providing the Tactical Officer
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| quick targeting selection. The Plotting and Tracking Division is
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| often commanded by a Lieutenant Junior Grade (O-2), and often has
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| an assistant officer of Ensign (O-1) grade.
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| Ratings assigned to the Plotting and Tracking Division are often
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| Operations Specialists (OS), or Information Systems Technicians
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| (IT).
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| * Communications: The Communications Division is responsible for
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| maintaining unbroken communication and data links to other
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| Federation or allied vessels in combat and passing orders between
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| them from the Officer in Tactical Command. The Communications
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| Division is often commanded by an Ensign (O-1), or Lieutenant
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| Junior Grade (O-2).
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| Ratings assigned to the Communication's Division are often
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| Cryptographic Technicians of all types, or Information Systems
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| Technicians (IT).
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| OPERATIONS GROUP (OPS)
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| ----------------------
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| | |
| * Operations Department
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| The role of the operations manager vis-a-vis the operations group has
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| already been discussed. The operations manager is also the operations
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| department head. In that capacity, OPS is the chief operations officer
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| and supervises the operations division officers. OPS on an CIRCE-class
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| ship is typically a lieutenant commander (O-4).
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| | |
| The operations department (as distinct from the operations group) is
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| composed of six divisions. All division officers may take operations
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| watches, though the ship services officer (SSO) is often excused from such
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| duties owing to the scope of his normal commitments. These divisions are
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| discussed below:
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| | |
| * Ship Services (SSO): The ships services (SSO) division is responsible
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| for the mundane tasks that keep a starship operating and the
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| crew in good health and spirits. With the assistance of the
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| engineering staff (primarily E-division), ship's services
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| ensures the operation of replicators, holodecks, etc. The
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| ship's services division also assigns quarters, stewards, and
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| deals with housekeeping. Moreover, with the assistance of the
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| counselor, ships services makes certain that recreational and
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| education programs go off as planned, and assists the protocol
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| officer in seeing to the comfort of dignataries. This officer
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| is typically a Lieutenant (O-3) or a Lieutenant, Junior Grade
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| (O-2).
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| | |
| * Computer Core (CORE): The computer core officer is responsible for
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| maintaining the ship's computer computer core. In these
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| duties, the computer core supervisor is assisted by a number
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| of operations specialists. This officer is typically a
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| Lieutenant, Junior Grade (O-2), but may be a chief warrant
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| officer (CW1-CW2).
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| | |
| * Sensors (SENS): The sensors division officer is responsible for
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| ensuring the proper calibration and operation of all the
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| ship's sensor systems (navigational, long range, short range).
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| In general, sensor software is maintained by the operations
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| department. The G- and E-divisions in engineering handle
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| the hardware side, while this operations division handles the
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| operation and fine tuning of them. This officer is typically
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| an Ensign (O-1) or a Lieutenant, Junior Grade (O-2).
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| | |
| * Communications (COMM): The communications officer is responsible for
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| ensuring the proper function of ship's communications equipment,
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| especially the software (such as the universal translator) side.
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| Because this billet benefits more from experience than
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| education, the communications officer is often a warrant
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| officer (W1-W2).
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| | |
| * Cryptography & Intelligence (CRYPTO): The crypto department works
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| closely with both the communications divisions officer and the
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| combat information center (CIC) officer to process and direct
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| intelligence to the appropriate parties. This division officer
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| is typically an Ensign (O-1) or a Lieutenant, Junior Grade
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| (O-2), but may also be a chief warrant officer (CW1-CW2).
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| | |
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| * Combat Systems Department (TAC)
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| | |
| The combat systems department is headed by the chief tactical officer (TAC).
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| This officer is typically a Lieutenant, Junior Grade (O-2) or a Lieutenant
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| (O-3) on an CIRCE-class ship. TAC is assisted by several division officers,
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| who handle key parts of the offensive and defensive ship systems. These
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| divisions are, as follows:
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| | |
| * Torpodoes (STRIKE): Strike, as the torpedoes' division officer is
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| called, is responsible for the ship's torpedo systems, both
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| regular and quantum (flux). The torpedo crews (who handle
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| this manually in the event of system failure) report to
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| Strike, and this officer is also responsible for torpedo
| |
| stores. Strike is often lead division officer, and is
| |
| typically an Ensign (O-1).
| |
| | |
| * Phasers (GUNS): Guns, or the phaser division officer, is
| |
| responsible for the performance of ship phaser systems,
| |
| including phaser and gatling (pulse) cannons. Gun crews,
| |
| who handle the firing of phasers in the event of control
| |
| system malfunction in combat, report to the phasers
| |
| division officer. Guns is typically an Ensign (O-1).
| |
| | |
| * Shields: The shield division officer is responsible for the
| |
| ship's shields (excluding navigational deflectors which
| |
| are handled by the NAV dept), including optimizing their
| |
| protective value. Because shield systems are highly
| |
| vulnerable to opposition fire, the shields DivO often works
| |
| closely with DAMCON (below) and the R- and E- divisions in
| |
| engineering. Shields is typically an Ensign (O-1).
| |
| | |
| * Electronic Counter-Measures (ECM): Electronic counter-measures are
| |
| critical to the survival of a ship in combat. Despite a
| |
| battlecruiser's higher mass/power ratio than most capital
| |
| ships (which make the ship more maneuverable), ECM still
| |
| perform critical functions on these largely military ships.
| |
| Counter-measures are used to draw off opposition fire,
| |
| particularly torpedoes and particle beams (causing false
| |
| weapons lock). ECM is typically an Ensign (O-1).
| |
| | |
| * Fire Control (DAMCON): DAMCON is responsible for coordinating
| |
| damage control efforts during and after combat. DAMCON works
| |
| very closely with the R-division (repair & maintenance) in
| |
| engineering and is always the liaision officer to engineering
| |
| for the combat systems department. DAMCON is typically an
| |
| Ensign (O-1), ideally with some engineering expertise as well.
| |
| | |
| * Pinpoint Defense Systems (PDS): PDS is responsible for operating and
| |
| maintaining the pinpoint defense system, a network of short-
| |
| range lasers designed to intercept and destroy incoming missile
| |
| fire. This officer is typically an Ensign (O-1) on a larger ship
| |
| like CIRCE, though he or she can be an experienced rating as
| |
| well.
| |
| | |
| | |
| * Navigation/Astrogation Department (NAV)
| |
| | |
| Primarily, navigation officers are responsible for plotting the safest, most
| |
| efficient course of travel (a task which can be elusive even with the computer)
| |
| and for coordinating with OPS and TAC to take into account their considerations
| |
| for plotting approaches to systems, etc. Moreover, NAV/A handles stellar
| |
| cartography and keeps the star charts updated (Star Fleetis constantly
| |
| bombarding its ships with updates).
| |
| | |
| Navigation also supervises itself (traditionally a good billet for
| |
| professional development of young officers.) NAV is typically an Ensign
| |
| (O-1) or Lieutenant, Junior Grade (O-2), and is assisted by three division
| |
| officers, all typically Ensigns (O-1) or experienced petty officers.
| |
| | |
| * Stellar Cartography (STELCART): While science officers often make
| |
| use of stellar cartography, this center falls under the
| |
| purview of navigation. The stellar cartography division
| |
| officer is directly responsible for keeping the charts up-
| |
| to-date and for providing navigation the information
| |
| necessary to plot and plan the safest, most efficient
| |
| course.
| |
| | |
| * Ship Control (HELM): The ship control division is responsible for
| |
| the training of helmsmen and assistant helmsmen
| |
| (quartermaster's ratings, no relation to supply) and is
| |
| the physical location of the navigation watch. Ship control
| |
| develops and refines evasive manuevers (with the
| |
| collaboration of TAC and OPS) and is responsible for the
| |
| performance of the helm and for the performance of
| |
| navigational deflectors.
| |
| | |
| * Navigational Sensors (NAVSEN): Navigational sensors are distinct
| |
| from the rest of ship's sensors. They maintain continuous
| |
| sensor sweeps and are critical to the safe operation of the
| |
| ship. The information this division supplies permits
| |
| continuous course corrections and adjustments. The division
| |
| officer is accountable to NAV for the performance of this
| |
| system.
| |
| | |
| | |
| * Security Department (SEC or CSO)
| |
| | |
| The security department on the CIRCE is fairly large. Security is concerned
| |
| primarily with maintaining crew discipline and enforcing Star Fleet
| |
| Regulations. There are three standing watches (which rotate through twice
| |
| a daily cycle). Each watch has three squads of ten men-at-arms (the
| |
| enlisted rating of security personnel). In addition, there is an
| |
| administrative squad which primarily handles criminal and forensic
| |
| investigations and paperwork. The CSO on an CIRCE-class battlecruiser is
| |
| typically a Lieutenant, Junior Grade (O-2) or a Lieutenant (O-3).
| |
| | |
| On smaller vessels, the department head for security may very well be a
| |
| senior non-commissioned officer. In such cases, he/she is known as the
| |
| CMAA (Chief Master-of-Arms & Armaments). Where TAC and CSO are combined
| |
| on some vessels, there is a CMAA who reports to the TAC/CSO. Otherwise,
| |
| this officer reports to the XO directly, as he does on the EXCALIBUR.
| |
| | |
| | |
| * Legal Services Department (LS)
| |
| | |
| The legal services department provides legal support for the staff and
| |
| crew. The Senior Legal Officer (SLO) and his or her staff would assist
| |
| the Protocol Officer and the Captain in matters of interstellar law or
| |
| Federation law researching precedents, representing the Federation in a
| |
| court of law, etc.
| |
| | |
| The Senior Legal Officer would be assisted by a complete staff on a
| |
| starship the size of EXCALIBUR, given her diplomatic duties. Typically,
| |
| the SLO would be a LCDR (O-4) or possibly a Commander (O-5), or a
| |
| Marine of comparable rank. Any Junior Legal Officers would likely be
| |
| Lieutenants (O-2 or O-3), and the research staff would be headed by
| |
| several staff Ensigns and manned by paralegal ratings.
| |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| FLIGHT OPERATIONS GROUP (FlOPS)
| |
| -------------------------------
| |
| | |
| The flight operations officer is responsible for all embarked craft
| |
| and the captain's yacht- this includes any maintenance or repairing and
| |
| upgrading they might need. Flight ops is also responsible for all
| |
| space traffic in the general area of EXCALIBUR, just like 21st-century air
| |
| traffic controllers. The flight operations officer is typically an
| |
| ensign (o-1) or a liuetenant, junior grade (O-2), and is considered a
| |
| good billet for a young officer looking to gain command experience.
| |
| | |
| | |
| * Flight Control Department
| |
| | |
| The flight control officer (FCO) is the air traffic controller of the
| |
| ship, coordinating departures and arrivals of all inconing and outgoing
| |
| vehicles. This officer is usually an ensign (O-1).
| |
| | |
| | |
| * Shuttle Operations and Maintenance Department
| |
| | |
| This department is responsible for the repair and maintenance of all
| |
| embarked and guest vehicles on EXCALIBUR, including the Captain's yacht.
| |
| It is also responsible for any software and/or hardware upgrades to said
| |
| vehicles. Finally, it is also responsible for assigning pilots to any
| |
| embarked craft when necessary. usually, this department is commanded by
| |
| a Shuttlecraft Technician, and is usually some grade of petty officer
| |
| (E-7 or higher).
| |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| ENGINEERING GROUP (ENG)
| |
| -----------------------
| |
| | |
| Engineering is responsible for the repair, maintenance, and proper
| |
| functioning of the ship's physical components. Headed by the chief
| |
| engineering officer, engineering is broken down into five functional
| |
| departments, three (propulsion, gravitics, electronics) involve specific
| |
| technologies, whereas the other two (diagnostics and repair & maintenance)
| |
| are logistical in nature. All department heads report to the chief
| |
| engineering officer.
| |
| | |
| The chief engineering officer (ENG) supervises the division officers and
| |
| reports directly to the executive officer (XO). ENG is responsible for
| |
| the professional development of engineering officers. ENG is typically at
| |
| least a lieutenant (O-3), and is often a lieutenant commander (O-4).
| |
| | |
| In dealings with enlisted personnel, ENG is assisted by a first mate. On
| |
| the CIRCE, the first mate should ideally be a warrant officer, but would
| |
| most often be a senior or master chief. By naval convention, engineering
| |
| divisions are referred to by their one or two letter abbreviation.
| |
| | |
| * Propulsion Department (P)
| |
| | |
| The propulsion department is responsible for operation of the manuevering
| |
| engines, impulse engines, warp drives, and d-warp drives (nodes). Propulsion
| |
| is the largest of the engineering divisions and the division officer is at
| |
| least an ensign (O-1). Propulsion may be further divided into warp,
| |
| dimension warp, and impulse divisions with warrant officers and petty
| |
| officers supervising those.
| |
| | |
| | |
| * Gravitics Department (G)
| |
| | |
| Gravitic systems include those technologies which manipulate gravity per
| |
| the SF Engineering page (shields, long range sensors, tractor beams, and
| |
| gravitic cloaks when appropriate). The gravitics department head is an
| |
| ensign (O-1).
| |
| | |
| | |
| * Electronics Department (E)
| |
| | |
| Electronic systems are those technologies which rely on electro-magnetics,
| |
| namely short range sensors, navigational sensors, transporters, structural
| |
| integrity fields, etc. as well as internal ship systems. Like the G-
| |
| department, the electronics department head is typically an ensign (O-1).
| |
| | |
| | |
| * Diagnostic Department (D)
| |
| | |
| The diagnostic department head is responsible for the ensuring the
| |
| operation of all shipboard diagnostic systems, particularly their
| |
| software components. This officer works closely with the computer core
| |
| division officer in operations and with the R&M division officer.
| |
| Diagnostic department heads are typically ensigns (O-1), and may even
| |
| be chief warrant officers.
| |
| | |
| | |
| * Repair & Maintenance Department (R)
| |
| | |
| The repair & maintenance department coordinates all of engineering's
| |
| repair and maintenance efforts. This department head works closely with
| |
| the fire control (DAMCON) division officer in the combat systems
| |
| department and with the ship services division officer in operations.
| |
| The R-department head is typically at least an ensign (O-1), but is
| |
| typically a lieutenant, junior grade (O-2), given the interdepartmental
| |
| liaison duties.
| |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| SCIENCES GROUP (CSciO or SCI)
| |
| -----------------------------
| |
| | |
| The science department (Sciences) has a dual role aboard a CIRCE-class
| |
| ship. First, and foremost, the science department is tasked with
| |
| solving problems of a scientific nature brought to it by the command
| |
| staff. These problems may be mission-related, or may reflect the
| |
| challenges of space travel and exploration in a more general sense.
| |
| A good chief science officer (SCI) will study the mission briefing
| |
| material for ways in which the science department may support overall
| |
| mission goals. This aspect of the science department's role is most
| |
| obvious during an operational phase.
| |
| | |
| Otherwise, the science department engages in ongoing research. When
| |
| not called upon to perform specific tasks, the members of the
| |
| department will be pulling together work done on previous missions,
| |
| writing classified material up for Star Fleet and unclassified material
| |
| up for publication, as well as conducting their own personal research.
| |
| The SCI has a control function, making certain that Star Fleet by and
| |
| large ends up funding research of some utility to the organization as a
| |
| whole.
| |
| | |
| The chief science officer is not a scientist, but rather the chief
| |
| administrator of the sciences department and is typically a Lieutenant
| |
| (O-3), but may be a reasonably experienced Lieutenant, Junior Grade
| |
| (O-2). In this task, SCI is assisted by division officers who are also
| |
| administrators, and are typically junior officers of varying ranks.
| |
| Their most important tasks are to serve as an interface between the
| |
| scientists and the command staff. In that, they are tasked with
| |
| translating mission related demands into a scientific framework,
| |
| putting together project teams (multi-disciplinary or otherwise), and
| |
| judging between competing demands for resources. The specific number
| |
| of divisions will vary at a given time, but be grouped around loosely
| |
| related fields: social sciences, physical sciences, biological
| |
| sciences, etc.
| |
| | |
| Division officers are assumed to have undergraduate degrees (but no
| |
| more) in the discipline which they supervise. 'Supervise' is a term
| |
| used loosely because they are not supervising the content of research,
| |
| but rather supporting the efforts of ongoing scientific study. Most
| |
| of the scientists in their divisions will outrank them considerably
| |
| (and have advanced degrees); however, they report to the DivO in an
| |
| administrative sense. Also, the DivO's are responsible for making the
| |
| SCI aware of potentially mission relevant research done in their
| |
| division, as these things occasionally work the other direction as
| |
| well.
| |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| MEDICAL GROUP (MED)
| |
| -------------------
| |
| | |
| * Medical Department
| |
| | |
| The chief medical officer (CMO) is a department head and member of the
| |
| senior staff. On the EXCALIBUR, this officer is typically a Lieutenant
| |
| Commander (O-4). The officer must be a medical doctor and must have
| |
| completed residency. The officer need not be a specialist. The chief
| |
| day-to-day responsibilities of the CMO are administrative. Though the
| |
| CMO may well choose to see patients, the officer does not have a sickbay
| |
| shift.
| |
| | |
| * Staff Attending Physicians: There are generally three staff
| |
| attendings in addition to the chief medical officer.
| |
| Their ranks are typically Lieutenant (O-3), but may be
| |
| Lieutenant Commanders (O-4). Regardless of their ranks
| |
| vis-a-vis the CMO, they report directly to that officer.
| |
| Many of these officers are board certified specialists,
| |
| but do not need to be.
| |
| | |
| * Residents: There are also usually three residents whose shifts
| |
| mirror that of the attending physicians. They are the
| |
| doctors who do the bulk of the 'grunt work' in sickbay.
| |
| While attendings must sign off on their diagnoses and
| |
| treatment plans, they are the ones most likely to see
| |
| patients. They may or may not be studying to become
| |
| specialists. All of these officers are at least Lieutenant,
| |
| Junior Grades (O-2). With only three total, there is no
| |
| head resident. First year residents are called interns.
| |
| | |
| * Head Nurse: The head nurse is usually a Lieutenant (O-3) and is
| |
| the officer to whom the nurses report. She reports to
| |
| directly to the chief medical officer, though her nurses
| |
| report to the attending physician in charge of a given
| |
| shift.
| |
| | |
| * Staff Nurses: There are nine staff nurses. At any given time,
| |
| about half of these will be Lieutenant, Junior Grades (O-2)
| |
| and the other half Ensigns (O-1).
| |
| | |
| * Pharmacologist/Toxicologist: There is one pharmacologist/
| |
| toxicologist on staff. That officer will be a Lieutenant,
| |
| Junior Grade (O-2), Lieutenant (O-3) or possibly a
| |
| Lieutenant Commander (O-4), depending on experience and
| |
| education.
| |
| | |
| * Medical Techs, Orderlies, etc: There are a number of paramedics,
| |
| medical techs, orderlies, corpsmen of various enlisted
| |
| ratings, etc. In general, senior medical techs are
| |
| warrants, all others are petty officers. Paramedics are
| |
| senior noncoms (with very experienced ones being chiefs),
| |
| orderlies are junior enlisted.
| |
| | |
| | |
| * Counseling Department
| |
| | |
| The counseling department varies a good deal from ship-to-ship; generally,
| |
| however, there is always a counseling division and a protocol division.
| |
| | |
| * Counseling: The ship's counselor is responsible for the mental
| |
| health of the crew and for advising the captain in matters
| |
| of shipboard morale. Some ship's counselors go at it alone,
| |
| others have assistant counselors. There is an enlisted
| |
| rating of naval counselor. These people are not professional
| |
| mental health providers, but rather an equivalent of social
| |
| workers. All ship's counselors have counseling certification
| |
| from Star Fleet and are assumed to have at least
| |
| undergraduate degrees (but more often intermediate and
| |
| advanced degrees) in a related field: psychology, psychiatry,
| |
| anthropology, or sociology.
| |
| | |
| * Protocol: The protocol officer reports to the COU. His duties
| |
| involve advising the XO on matters of shipboard and service
| |
| protocol and by assuming responsibility for selected tasks.
| |
| These duties are outlined in detail because the average player
| |
| may not have had much contact with this particular billet.
| |
| | |
| Shipboard protocol duties involve: Supervising ship ceremonies
| |
| while underway, including but not limited to marriages,
| |
| funerals, change of command, parade reviews, commissionings,
| |
| and shipwide award ceremonies; acting as the Vice President of
| |
| the Mess (for formal messes in the wardroom) [Note: The CO is
| |
| the President of the Mess. In the absence of a protocol
| |
| officer, this falls to the XO]; handling preparations for
| |
| diplomatic functions held aboard the ship, and caring for the
| |
| needs of VIPs and their accomodations; accompanying the CO on
| |
| casualty calls while in port; assisting legal officers, the
| |
| captain, and executive officer with the conduct of boards of
| |
| inquiry, Captain's Masts, and summary court martials while
| |
| underway.
| |
| | |
| Mission related protocol officer duties include: advising
| |
| away team members on local customs, laws, and institutions,
| |
| especially as they govern the proper treatment of foreign
| |
| heads of state and other officials; accompanying away teams
| |
| on formal diplomatic functions or at the request of the XO
| |
| or CO; lending relevant assistance as requested or required
| |
| in the protocol officer's own area of professional or
| |
| academic expertise; and, and participation in the officer-
| |
| of-the-day rotations where appropriate and if qualified.
| |
| | |
| | |
| CONCLUSIONS
| |
| ===========
| |
| | |
| I know some of this sounds confusing; it can be, especially if one doesn't
| |
| have any military experience (such as myself). This was provided in order
| |
| to help you get a grasp of your responsibilities with regards to the ship
| |
| in general and your individual departments. Personally, I have found it
| |
| quite helpful in structuring my own departments on various other ships.
| |
| You, of course, have the freedom to use this at your leisure. However,
| |
| should you choose to create PNPC characters within your department (which
| |
| might be a good idea for most of us), I would like to see you follow these
| |
| guidelines as to their jobs, etc.
| |
| | |
| Of course, if you have any questions about this or are in need of
| |
| clarification, feel free to drop me a line.
| |
| | |
| | |
| Respectfully,
| |
|
| |
| Juan Angel Romero
| |
| CAPT Jennifer Hawk
| |
| Commanding Officer
| |
| USS EXCALIBUR NCC-1844-B
| |
| Tactical Squadron 24
| |
| BLUE Fleet
| |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| VERSION HISTORY
| |
| ===============
| |
| * 1.0-Copied from the USS CIRCE and changed to fit the EXCALIBUR (SD 191004)
| |
