Demotion A demotion was when an individual within a military or other hierarchical structure was given a reduction of rank by a commanding officer . A demotion was by definition the opposite of a promotion . Punitive cases . In most cases , a demotion was a form of punishment for a failure to follow orders or other forms of gross negligence , short of a court martial . " In 2259 of the alternate reality , was demoted from captain to the rank of commander after he had violated the Prime Directive on the planet Nibiru . Later , Kirk was assigned as first officer of the under Captain . " ( ) In 2266 , Decius was demoted two steps in rank by his commanding officer for sending an unauthorized transmission to the praetor on Romulus . ( ) In 2269 , Janice Lester ( posing as James T . Kirk ) and Leonard McCoy discussed the service record of Arthur Coleman , who had lost his post as chief medical officer . Lester told McCoy that promotions and demotions were subject to political maneuvering , but McCoy stated this wasn ' t the case either at Starfleet Headquarters or the Starfleet Surgeon General . ( ) In 2286 , Admiral Kirk was demoted to captain by the Federation Council for disobeying a direct order from the Commander , Starfleet , Harry Morrow . ( ; ) Following an incident on Garon II in the 2360s , Ro Laren was demoted to ensign . ( ) In 2372 , Dukat was demoted from chief military advisor of the Detapa Council to commanding the freighter " Groumall " . Dukat later thought about demoting his rival Gul Marratt and assigning him to the Cardassian embassy on , when it seemed Dukat could return to power . ( ) Later that same year , when Worf and his brother Kurn were infiltrating the , the two were confronted by a lieutenant . Worf , who was posing as Commander Sorval , threatened the officer to " " leave us , or I shall have you stripped of rank and sent home in a transport . " " ( ) In 2374 , when Damar was manning the security office on Deep Space 9 instead of Odo , Major Kira Nerys sarcastically asked him if Dukat had demoted him to security detail . ( ) The same year , Seven of Nine reassigned Harry Kim to chamber maintenance and gave him the new designation Two of Ten , essentially demoting him . When Kim protested , Seven claimed this was a useful Starfleet protocol she had adapted . ( ) In 2375 , Tom Paris was demoted from lieutenant junior grade to ensign for disobeying orders by Captain Kathryn Janeway . ( ) In 2376 , Janeway stripped the surviving crewmembers of rank , demoting them all to crewmen . ( ) That year , mistakenly informed his superiors that The Doctor was in command of the . Fearing demotion , he asked the " Voyager " to maintain that illusion to a number of Hierarchy ships . ( ) " In an alternate timeline 2404 , Captain Harry Kim worried that Starfleet Command would demote him back to ensign once they learned about him and Kathryn Janeway attempting to alter the timeline . " ( ) Non - punitive cases . In other cases , a temporary grade reduction may be given to an officer as a non - punitive formality , or political move . In the early 2270s , Rear Admiral James T . Kirk replaced Captain Willard Decker as the captain of the , giving the captain a temporary grade reduction to commander and had him stay on as the ship ' s executive officer . ( ) Commander William T . Riker was granted as field commission to captain of the following the capture of Captain Jean - Luc Picard by the Borg in 2366 . After the return of Picard to the " Enterprise " , Riker resumed his role as first officer and returned to his previous rank of commander . ( ) Late in the Dominion War in 2375 , General Martok was honored by Chancellor Gowron with the Star of Kahless , who described the general as " " the most famous warrior in the Empire . " " Following the ceremony , Gowron took over Martok ' s command with the preface that " " I can ' t ask you to carry this weight forever . It ' s time for me to take a more active role in this war , " " before announcing that " " I ' m assuming direct command of our forces . " " Gowron sugar - coated the demotion by telling Martok to " " Be happy . You ' re a warrior again . No more meetings , no more reports to file . You ' ll be out there , savoring the heat of battle . I envy you . " " In reality , according to Worf , this was a political move made by the chancellor because he wished to be the savior of the Empire himself . ( )