Insubordination Insubordination was the act of a subordinate member of an organization willfully refusing to obey an order from their superior . Organizations with a chain of command , such as military forces , have insubordination as an offense to ensure that subordinates follow their given instructions . Officer s who commit this act may face a number of penalties , such as being placed on report , transferred , or possibly stronger penalties such as being demoted or dismissed from service in the case of repeated offenses . In 2151 , Captain Jonathan Archer threatened to throw Commander Charles Tucker III in the brig of for insubordination if he revealed to a group of marauding aliens the location of the ship ' s vault containing bars of gold , though all of this was a ruse to trick the Ferengi , as there was actually no vault . ( ) In 2154 , after Sub - Commander T ' Pol refused an order to complete an antimatter transfer , Captain Jonathan Archer stated that she could still be charged with insubordination , even though she wasn ' t wearing a Starfleet uniform . When she replied that they should perhaps contact Admiral Maxwell Forrest to discuss his recent behavior , he relieved her of duty as first officer and had her confined to quarters . ( ) In 2286 , Admiral James T . Kirk was convicted of insubordination by the Federation Council , specifically for disobeying Starfleet ' s directive prohibiting travel to the planet . The Council sentenced Kirk to a permanent reduction to the rank of Captain , and re - assigned him as Commanding Officer of the . ( ; ) In 2366 , Lieutenant Reginald Barclay displayed insubordinate behavior toward holographic versions of both Geordi La Forge and William T . Riker . In the real world , Barclay was not openly insubordinate , but was frequently placed on report for infractions such as showing up late for duty shift s and displaying poor performance . ( ) That same year , Ensign was placed on report for insubordination towards Lieutenant Worf , his superior officer . Such behavior was surprising , as D ' Amato had a history of being an excellent officer . It was unknown at the time that his behavior was due to the telepathy of Sarek , who was suffering from Bendii Syndrome and unknowingly projecting his emotions upon others . ( ) In 2370 , Jean - Luc Picard , posing as a smuggler named , described a captured William T . Riker as a Starfleet officer with a history of insubordination . Picard claimed that one instance of such behavior resulted in Riker being relieved of duty at Minos Korva . ( ) While searching for the Jean - Luc Picard told Erik Pressman that , if Asteroid gamma 601 proved too dangerous , he would abort the mission . Furthermore , he informed Pressman that he was willing to face a court martial for insubordination . ( ) Beginning sometime in 2372 , Lieutenant Tom Paris began displaying willful and insubordinate behavior , such as uncaringly showing up late for duty shifts , skimming profits from a gambling operation and talking back to commanding officer s , particularly Commander Chakotay . It was later revealed , however , that this behavior was part of a cover to make it seem reasonable that Paris would want to leave " USS Voyager " , which itself was part of a greater plot to flush out a spy . ( )