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So, I've been rewatching Star Trek:TNG, and Miles O'Brien is there occasionally. He's a Chief in TNG, and he's a Chief in DS9. Now, I was in the Navy, and I've always assumed that rankings in the Star Trek universe were based on the Navy. But I find it difficult to think that in the 14 years (7 for TNG and 7 for DS9) that Miles would never have been promoted. Is there any in universe reason given for this?

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PiousVenom
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  • Is there a rank NOT called "Chief" in US Navy that's higher than assorted "Chief" ranks? Wiki seems to say "no": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_enlisted_rates - so it may be that O'Brian was promoted but the creative team didn't deign to give him full rank name, not knowing the difference? – DVK-on-Ahch-To Feb 08 '13 at 00:26
  • A different question is, wasn't O'Brian an officer? Then he can't be Chief (which is an enlisted rank) – DVK-on-Ahch-To Feb 08 '13 at 00:27
  • There are 2 more ranks above Chief in the US Navy. Senior Chief, and Master Chief. – PiousVenom Feb 08 '13 at 00:27
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    He's ALWAYS referred to as "Chief". There's never a moment where he has an officer rank. – PiousVenom Feb 08 '13 at 00:27
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    That's exactly what I meant. To a random ST writer, there may not be any reason to NOT drop the "Senior" or "Master" part of the rank for better sound. – DVK-on-Ahch-To Feb 08 '13 at 00:37
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    Anti-Irish bigotry survives into the 24th century, quite obviously. – John O Feb 08 '13 at 00:46
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    'Transportation Chief' to 'Chief of Operations' may be a promotion. – Solemnity Feb 08 '13 at 02:32
  • @Solemnity - I'm not an expert on the Navy, but it seems the same rank (E-7?) – DVK-on-Ahch-To Feb 08 '13 at 14:33
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    @DVK you would be correct. I am in the Coast Guard (we use the same rank structure as the Navy) the "Chief" part would be his rank, and the "Transportation/Operations" would probably be his rate (or job speciality) – Monty129 Feb 08 '13 at 17:18
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    @Monty129 Sure.. But I think we can all agree that DS9 was a promotion of sorts. In a different reference world it'd be like going from managing a crew of 6 to managing an office. – E.T. Feb 10 '13 at 07:17
  • Yes I absolutely agree. In the Coast Guard we have a title for an enlisted person who is in charge of a small boat or station called the Officer In Charge. While it's not a promotion in rank it is a promotion similar to what Chief O'Brien went through from TNG to DS9. – Monty129 Feb 10 '13 at 10:53
  • @DVK - "Master Chief" O'Brien? Damn. – Petersaber Jun 10 '15 at 10:27
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    @Petersaber: E-7 is not Master Chief. It's just Chief. E-9 would be Master Chief. – PiousVenom Jun 10 '15 at 12:42
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    @MyCodeSucks that was a Halo joke. Sorry. – Petersaber Jun 10 '15 at 19:05
  • He is already Chief. You can't promote someone higher than Chief :) – user486818 Dec 19 '16 at 04:15

1 Answers1

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According to Memory Alpha, he actually WAS promoted:

Problematic Rank History

The character of Miles O'Brien, and the exact rank he held in Star Trek, has a history of its own spanning the length of the character's existence. In thirteen years of the character's appearances, only in the last four was his rank established to be presumably Senior Chief Petty Officer (although this term was never directly used onscreen). Through various other stages of the character's development, O'Brien was referred to as a Crewman, a Lieutenant, and various script notes indicated he was a "Warrant Officer."

This is based on 1994 "Shadowplay" episode where his title is stated to be "Senior chief specialist".

However, the whole story with his ranks seems to be one confusing ball of uncertainty, covered in detail in this Memory Alpha article. He had officer ranks shown or implied at some times (being called "Lieutenant", having officers reporting to him, wearing Lieutenant's pips; and holding Tactical Office position before Enterprise-D).

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DVK-on-Ahch-To
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    Just watched TNG, s4e2, where Warf's father calls him a "chief petty officer, like myself." – Kevin Jun 29 '13 at 00:44
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    In the US Navy (and services using Navy ranks), "Chief" is the form of address for a Chief Petty Officer, a Senior CPO, and a Master CPO. Therefore O'Brien plausibly could have been promoted through those grades during the shows. Edited to add: The same applies to Chief Warrant Officer grades 2 through 5. – Codes with Hammer Jan 15 '19 at 21:53
  • Just gotta say, I love the phrase "one confusing ball of uncertainty" – DocBon3saw Aug 05 '20 at 19:53