Ensign (Star Trek)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Starfleet ranks and insignia Ensign |
|
| Enterprise: |  |
| Enterprise (mirror): |  |
| Star Trek pilots: | No insignia |
| TOS: | No insignia |
| TMP: |  |
| TOS films: |  |
| TNG 1st season: |  |
| TNG, DS9, VOY: |  |
| TNG (alternate universe): |  |
| VOY (provisional): |  |
| 29th century: |  |
Ensign is the lowest commissioned Starfleet officer rank in the fictional Star Trek universe.
The rank extends at least as far back as the 22nd century; Star Trek: Enterprise features two major characters who are ensigns: Hoshi Sato and Travis Mayweather.
Ensigns appear in Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS), although the first characters to hold the rank are minor extras. The first ensign appears in "Court Martial", where the rank is held by an unnamed personnel officer who offers testimony at Captain Kirk's trial. In all Star Trek incarnations, ensigns often (but not exclusively) succumb to the "redshirt" or "Ensign Expendable" syndrome on away missions. In fact, the red-shirted security ensigns in the original series are the source of the terms.
In early episodes, ensigns wear no visible rank insignia whatsoever, making the rank confusing with enlisted crewmen. Pavel Chekov, introduced in TOS' second season, is the first regular Star Trek character to hold the rank. Chekov was often written as the young junior officer with much to learn — much as is the case with actual ensigns in many modern day navies.
In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, ensigns wear sleeve stripes similar to TOS stripes for junior grade lieutenants. An unnamed alien who appears early in the film, showing support for Captain Willard Decker during a conversation on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, holds the rank of ensign. The helmsman of the Enterprise-B, Demora Sulu, is an ensign.
Starfleet ensigns also appear in Star Trek: The Next Generation, in which various flight control officers and other minor characters hold the rank. Wesley Crusher receives a field commission to ensign at the conclusion of "Ménage à Troi". Star Trek: Voyager's Harry Kim also holds the rank as does Tom Paris for a time, when he is demoted as a disciplinary measure. Nog from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is commissioned as an ensign in "Favor the Bold".
As an entry level rank in the U.S. Navy, a typical ensign can expect to spend two to three years "in grade" before promotion to the rank of lieutenant (junior grade). In Star Trek, however, Harry Kim spends his seven years aboard Voyager as an ensign, and both Hoshi Sato and Travis Mayweather are ensigns in the final episode of Enterprise, suggesting that they remained at that rank for nearly ten years.
[edit] See also
- Ensign for similar non-fictional uses
