Other than Chief O'Brien, how come we never ever saw enlisted personell on Star Trek?

[TheMightyFavog]

I mean, other than Miles O'Brien on TNG and DS9, everyone was an officer, what's up with that?

[Pierre.Suave]

1. the serfs dont get airtime...

I guess, maybe they had a union that did not allow them to beam down to the planet, so they had to take the new Lieutenants instead.

[newmajority]

2. They learned how to hide in the original series

After watching everyone in a red shirt die (except Scotty) could you blame them?

[Orsino]

6. "Promotion to ensign? Uh, thank you, sir,,,"

"Let me guess--just in time for the landing party?"

[Mojambo]

3. They were constantly walking the hallways and getting on and off turbolifts. nt

[sammythecat]

4. Who the fuck cares? Whadya want to know for?

:rofl: Sorry. It just came to mind and I had to write it.

I've seen some come out of the woodwork whenever they needed security or something like that. Maybe most of the places we saw on the Enterprise, like the bridge, were places that normally wouldn't have enlisted personnel hanging around.

Maybe the Enterprise was so ultra-sophisticated that few were required and most of the duties carried out by officers? I imagine if we ever have a space station, the crew will all be officers or civilians.

[Archae]

5. In one TNG episode, we did.

"Below Decks."

[Orsino]

7. Archer's Enterprise seemed to have a few of 'em.

And Crewman Daniels, of course, was a nifty recurring role.

[YankeyMCC]

9. Actually the focus of that episode were junior officers not enlisted ranks nt

[sarge43]

8. "Don't call me sir; I work for a living."

Yeoman Rand-OS, yeomen are traditionally navy admin types
CPO Sergey Rozhenko, Transporter Chief, Worf's foster father-TNG
Enlisted 1st Class Simon Tarses, Med Tech - TNG, "Drumhead"

If there were any enlisted on DS-9, they didn't get any face time. Can't speak to Voyager and Enterprize.

TNG "Lower Decks", Lavelle, Sito, Taurik and Ogawa were ensigns.

[hobbit709]

10. Or the variation

"Don't call me sir, my parents were married"

[sarge43]

11. "My parents were married - to each other."

Thanks, hobbit709. I do miss the lower deck snark.

[hobbit709]

12. Best one I ever saw of an officer putdown

when I was stationed in Italy, one of the guys on our site witnessed a car wreck in town and pulled the driver out just before the car burst into flames. The mayor and other local dignitaries honored my friend (Ed) at a ceremony and our Captain was there. When they called Ed a true gentleman, Ed was just drunk enough on the local vino to smile and turn to the Captain and say "And it didn't take an act of Congress to make me one"

[sarge43]

13. My fave, by an officer no less

Retirement party O Club, "Well Major Smith, what are your plans in civie world?" "Ah sir, I thought I'd go to the Greyhound bus station, do blow jobs and get my self respect back."

[Guaranteed]

22. Delete nt

[Rabrrrrrr]

14. Because if you're not an officer, you don't count. Just like real life.

I mean, who wants to watch stories about people who don't have enough initiative to strive to be an officer?

Though as another pointed out, we did see a few non-officers.

And as I'll point out, we also did see some civilians who worked aboard ship - the barber (at least, I assume he wasn't StarFleet; he didn't seem to be), I think the teachers they occasionally showed in the children's classrooms were not Star Fleet, Guinan of course, and I imagine some others.

[sarge43]

15. Everyone has a story

A writer can make the story interesting -- if s/he is a good writer. It also helps if you know what you're writing about. I believe this was the principal reason why we didn't see more grunts, especially once Roddenberry transported to the big O Club in the sky.

".... you don't count." If all the noncoms disappeared tomorrow, the US military would collapse into a hysterical heap.

".... who don't have enough initiative to strive to be an officer?" A lot of us non-strivers took a long hard look at the system and figured out that being a commissioned officer read a hellva lot better than it lived. Clarke put it nicely in Rendezvous with Rama, from memory: A sergeant has enough authority for any sane person. I for one didn't want official life and death authority over anyone nor the ability to permanently wreck his life. Enough to get the job done is adequate to requirements and noncoms do have command authority over subordinates within the scope of their office - sufficient. Yeah, the pay and living conditions are better, but like most things in life, what you have to give to get is often not really worth it.

(typo - as usual_

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. Sorry - I should have included the sarcasm tag in the post.

It is, in many ways, the way story telling has always been in human history: the stories are about the powerful, the wealthy, the high ranking. And if the story begins with a person of humble beginnings, he or she turns into the powerful, the wealthy, or the high ranking.

Just once it would be good to read a story, say a fantasy story, in which the little boy who grows up on the farm and ends up saving the world ISN'T a hidden bloodline of the kings, or the gods, or other great thing, but is, in fact, just a simple farm boy who ends up being in a position to save the world and who, after the saving, goes back to the farm because he isn't a king or a god or supremely powerful wizard.

[sarge43]

26. You're right.

That scenario would be a refreshing change.

One of the many things I liked about HBO's Rome - one of the very few historical dramas that even mentioned ordinary people, let alone take a close look at their lives. While Pullo, the classic grunt, didn't save the world, he certainly had an impact and could have become a playa, yet he did walk away and went back to the farm.

[evlbstrd]

24. Spoken like a lifelong civilian.

[edbermac]

16. I couldn't figure out why they had kids on the ship.

Every other episode they'd get attacked by the Klingons or the Romulans or the Borg or the Ferengi or God know who else. If I were a five year old, I'd be scared shitless.

[Ellen Forradalom]

17. There aren't any weeds to pull or potatoes to peel in space.

[LynneSin]

18. Weren't those the redsuit guys that got killed in every episode of the original ST

You always knew who would bit the dust when a few minor characters with red suits would beam down the the team. I would assume they were the enlisted ones

[LibertyLover]

19. In the original Star Trek

Janice Rand was Kirk's yeoman and so was enlisted.

[TheMightyFavog]

21. I thought Rand was Kirk's personal way of "releiving tension."

Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, know hat I mean? Say no more.

[chemenger]

20. Because the enlisted personnel were always getting killed?

Leaving only the officers.

[Guaranteed]

23. They were down in the boilerroom.

The Enterprise was steam-powered, you see.