Military parlance In the various military - style service organizations throughout the galaxy , and probably beyond , military parlance was the unique form of speech of the service people in the common agency or service organization . Active duty . " Active duty " was a status held by personnel and starship s . Those members of Starfleet still on active duty were placed on an active duty list . ( ) Starships on active duty did not have an honor detachment . ( ) In 2368 , following an accident which left him paralyzed , Worf was removed from active duty . ( ) In 2375 , Worf had no choice but to remove Kor from active duty , something he found difficult . ( ) Ensign ' s personal log recording from stardate 52188 . 7 mentioned that the ensign had just completed their first week of active duty . In 2375 , Seven of Nine quoted this portion of the personal log . ( ) All hands . " All hands " was a collective term for all personnel aboard a starship or starbase . A ship - wide announcement could be addressed to " all hands . " A ship that had been lost with no survivors was said to have been " lost with all hands . " After Jonathan Archer did some research in the Vulcan database , he corrected T ' Pol ' s information that the " T ' Plana " was lost with all hands . Archer also used the term " all hands " three times when informing the crew about new information . ( ) " In 2155 in the mirror universe , Captain Maximilian Forrest ordered all hands on the to escape pod s and to abandon ship as the ship took heavy damage from an attack by Tholian s . " ( ) " That same year in the mirror universe , Captain ordered all hands to battle stations on the as the ship intercepted a battle between the and a group of four rebel starships . " ( ) In 2268 , Lieutenant Nyota Uhura ordered all hands to battle stations on the when the ship received a priority 1 distress call . ( ) In 2293 , Captain Hikaru Sulu ordered all hands to battle stations on the during an attack by Kang ' s battle cruiser . ( ) In 2368 , when the was trapped in a temporal causality loop , Commander William T . Riker ordered all hands to emergency escape pods . Not long after this , Captain Picard ordered all hands to abandon ship just before a warp core breach . Both orders ended up being repeated a number of times with each successive iteration of the loop . ( ) In 2371 , Captain Picard called for all hands to make sail during a celebration on the holodeck on a simulated ship in which Worf was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander . Not long after this , Commander Riker was forced to issue a far more serious order , calling all hands to battle stations on the " Enterprise " - D after it received a distress call from the Amargosa observatory reporting that they were under attack . Not long after this , he ordered all hands to brace for impact prior to the ship ' s saucer section crashing on Veridian III . ( ) That same year , Lieutenant Tuvok warned all hands of the to brace for impact just before the ship was swiped by the tail of a space - dwelling lifeform . ( ) In 2373 , Commander Chakotay ordered all hands aboard " Voyager " to brace for impact as a subspace shock wave from a supernova approached the ship . ( ) That same year , Commander William T . Riker ordered all hands to battle stations on the as they prepared to head to the Battle of Sector 001 . ( ) That same year , when Commander Chakotay realized that the translocation by the Nyrian s to the USS " Voyager " was most likely a ploy to take control of the ship , he issued a security alert to all hands , though there were only twelve other crewmen on board at the time . ( ) " In 2374 , during an early version of alternate timeline known as the Year of Hell , Captain Kathryn Janeway warned all hands on the USS " Voyager " to brace for impact prior to the ship ' s being hit by a spatial distortion from the Krenim weapon ship which altered history . In this new altered history , during an attack by the Krenim in the Year of Hell , Captain Kathryn Janeway declared " " All hands , battle stations . This is turning into the Week of Hell . " " Later , during that same alternate timeline , Commander Chakotay ordered all hands to battle stations prior to another Krenim attack . Following this , Janeway again ordered all hands to brace for impact prior to the ship ' s being hit by a distortion from the weapon ship , which this time had no effect due to the vessel ' s new temporal shielding . " ( ) That same year , Captain Janeway ordered all hands to battle stations during an apparent attack on " Voyager " by the dream species . The event , however , was actually a fiction created as part of a collective unconsciousness to trick the " Voyager " crew into believing they were still awake . ( ) Also that year , Cadet / Acting Commander Karen Farris called all hands to battle stations on the prior to the ship ' s beginning shadowing a Jem ' Hadar battleship . ( ) In 2375 , Commander Chakotay ordered all hands to battle stations prior to an engagement with a Borg sphere . ( ) In 2376 , Captain Rudolph Ransom ordered all hands to battle stations on the prior to an engagement with " Voyager " . ( ) In Lieutenant Tuvok ' s " Insurrection Alpha " holoprogram , Commander Chakotay ' s statement " " Chakotay to all hands . Let ' s do it . " " was his signal to begin a Maquis mutiny on - board " Voyager " . ( ) " All stop " . All stop was an order given aboard a vessel to stop all engines from moving either fore or aft . Jean - Luc Picard gave an " all stop " order to Wesley Crusher when the encountered the " Tin Man " . ( ) As you were . " As you were " was an order to an officer or officers to resume their previous status or position . It was sometimes used gently , such as to allow officers to relax following a call for attention or a salute . In other cases , however , it could be a command when an officer assumed a hostile position or attitude . In 2374 , when Admiral William Ross paid a visit to the mess hall of the , Cadet Nog respectfully announced " Admiral on deck " and Ross told him " As you were . " ( ) In the same year , following an act of insubordination on the part of Seven of Nine , Captain Janeway temporarily stripped her of certain privileges . Seven of Nine suggested that Janeway was frightened by her individuality and Janeway growled " " As you were . " " ( ) Attention - to - orders . " Attention - to - orders " was a command that required personnel to cease making distracting movements and noises and give their undivided attention to the speaker , but which did not require those present to come to a position of attention . In 2369 , Commander William T . Riker called attention to orders before Captain Jean Luc Picard read the orders that transferred command of the USS " Enterprise " to Captain Edward Jellico at the formal change of command ceremony in Ten Forward . ( ) Brace for impact . " Brace for impact " was an alert usually declared from the bridge of a starship , before it achieved an impact that the inertial damper s could not adequately compensate for . When this alert was sounded , usually through the order of the captain or first officer , all hands were to secure their stations and prepare for impact . This alert was also used when the inertial dampers could not sufficiently level out the ship and a possible collision with an interstellar object was imminent . This alert could also be used to warn a ship ' s crew of possible emergency landing procedures . In September of 2152 , Captain Archer warned the crew to brace for impact second s before the ship was hit by the neutronic wavefront . ( ) In 2153 , when encountered a field of spatial anomalies in the Delphic Expanse , Captain Jonathan Archer warned the crew to brace for impact prior to the ship ' s being impacted by one of the anomalies . ( ) In 2369 , Benjamin Sisko told Kira Nerys , Julian Bashir , and Kai Opaka to brace for impact before the crashed on the moon of the Ennis and the Nol - Ennis . ( ) In 2371 , Commander William T . Riker warned the crew of the to brace for impact when the secondary hull was breached and necessitated an emergency landing of the saucer section ( primary hull ) on the surface of the planet Veridian III . ( ) That same year , Lieutenant Tuvok warned all hands of the USS " Voyager " to brace for impact just before the ship was swiped by the tail of a space - dwelling lifeform . ( ) In 2373 , Commander Chakotay ordered all hands aboard " Voyager " to brace for impact as a subspace shock wave from a supernova approached the ship . ( ) In 2374 , Martok told the crew to brace for impact when it appeared a Jem ' Hadar fighter was firing on them . In fact , Alexander Rozhenko had confused the reading with a battle simulation . ( ) " That same year , during an early version of alternate timeline known as the Year of Hell , Captain Kathryn Janeway warned all hands on the USS " Voyager " to brace for impact prior to the ship ' s being hit by a spatial distortion from the Krenim weapon ship which altered history . Later , in that altered history , Janeway again ordered all hands to brace for impact prior to the ship ' s being hit by a distortion from the weapon ship , which this time had no effect due to the vessel ' s new temporal shielding . " ( ) Captain Janeway warned the crew of the USS " Voyager " to brace for impact in 2375 when the ship was attempting to escape from the through its vortex by riding the incoming shock wave from the vessel ' s aft . ( ) " In an alternate timeline , " Voyager " was thrown out of a quantum slipstream corridor and headed to a nearby L - class planet to make an emergency landing . When Janeway realized they were coming in too hard , she ordered her crew to brace for impact . " ( ) Captain Jean - Luc Picard warned the crew of the to brace for impact when he ordered the ship to ram the Reman warbird " Scimitar " in 2379 . ( ) Cannon fodder . The term " cannon fodder " referred to soldiers who were seen as expendable . The term derived from soldiers who were ordered to charge into the face of artillery fire , which was practically a suicide charge . During the Dominion War , the Romulan military integrated Reman infantry into its ranks . They were used as shock troops in the most violent encounters , which Riker described as " cannon fodder " . ( ) Confined to quarters . Being " confined to quarters " ( sometimes phrased as " restricted to quarters " ) was a punishment that could be applied on Federation Starfleet starship s and starbase s . This form of discipline was generally used for more minor offenses , rather than those of a more serious nature that would require action such as being placed in the brig or a reduction in rank . On occasion , this punishment may be used as a long - term measure in special circumstances . The punishment , usually , though not always , also involved being temporarily relieved of duty . On occasion , temporary confinement to quarters was also used as a security measure to protect non - essential starship crew from an imminent threat . In 2152 , Captain Jonathan Archer restricted both Commander Charles Tucker III and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed to quarters following an unauthorized exploration of the interior of the automated repair station , stating that he was beginning to agree with Reed ' s recent assessment that security on had become lax . It was uncertain how long this punishment lasted , however , as both were called to duty following the discovery of the apparently dead Ensign Travis Mayweather . ( ) In 2154 , when Captain Jonathan Archer was suffering from reverse - imprinting on Xindi - Insectoid egg s , he confined both Sub - Commander T ' Pol and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed to quarters and threatened the same punishment for Charles Tucker III after each spoke against his actions in protecting the eggs . ( ) That same year , Commander Charles Tucker III ordered Commander Kelby confined to quarters after he displayed mildly insubordinate behavior toward him . When Kelby resisted , Tucker told him that it was either that or the brig . ( ) After Charles Evans psychokinetically caused a crewmember named to vanish in 2266 , Captain James T . Kirk arranged for a pair of security officers to accompany Evans to his quarters and confine him there . Evans repeatedly rebelled against being restricted to quarters , though , so Kirk and Spock eventually tried a more severe method of confining him there , rigging a force field on the door to Evans ' cabin . This attempt failed too , as Evans again managed to escape , and was soon thereafter taken away from the ship ( against his wishes ) by Thasian s . ( ) In 2268 , Captain Kirk confined Ensign to quarters and relieved him of duties after he hesitated in firing upon a dikironium cloud creature . Doctor Leonard McCoy felt the punishment was too harsh , but Kirk noted that one man had been killed and another might die . Garrovick , however , left his quarters after a general call to battle stations and Kirk , realizing that Garrovick had simply made a mistake , and one that ultimately was not the cause of any death s , chose to release him from his punishment and give him a chance to redeem himself . ( ) That same year , Captain Kirk confined several members of the crew of the to quarters following a barroom brawl on Deep Space Station K - 7 , including Chief Engineering Officer Montgomery Scott . Although this was supposed to be a punishment , Scott was secretly delighted as he had resisted taking shore leave and being confined to quarters gave him a chance to catch up on his reading of technical journal s . ( ; ) In 2366 , Doctor Paul Stubbs was told to return to his quarters immediately by Ensign Wesley Crusher during a red alert on the , suggesting that this may have been standard for non - essential personnel during emergency situations on the vessel . Guinan later commented to Crusher that she had never been good at being confined to quarters , something that any of her husbands could attest to . ( ) In 2370 , Lieutenant Commander Data threatened to have Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge confined to quarters for the duration of the mission to investigate the wreckage of the if La Forge persisted in using an interface probe to search for his mother against the orders of Captain Jean - Luc Picard . Realizing how important the issue was to La Forge , though , he chose to try to help keep him safe instead , stating that he couldn ' t have him confined to quarters for something he had not yet done . ( ) That same year , Commander Benjamin Sisko ordered all non - essential personnel on Deep Space 9 restricted to quarters and called for red alert after a series of attacks on the station that unknown to anyone at the time , including himself , were done by Constable Odo , under the influence of toxic gas . ( ) In 2371 , following an incident in which Lieutenant B ' Elanna Torres broke Lieutenant Joseph Carey ' s nose , Ensign Seska reported a rumor that all Maquis crewmembers on the were going to be restricted to quarters when not on duty , but Commander Chakotay told her this wasn ' t true . ( ) In 2372 , Captain Benjamin Sisko confined Lieutenant Commander Worf to his quarters during those times he was not on duty on the following a brawl involving a number of Jem ' Hadar . Omet ' iklan was not impressed with Sisko ' s choice of discipline , believing that he should have killed Worf , but Sisko felt that a dead man could not learn from his mistakes . ( ) That same year , Crewman Lon Suder was discovered to have murder ed crewmate Frank Darwin on board " Voyager " . Though Suder ' s crime was of the most extreme nature , " Voyager " s unusual circumstances of being stranded in the Delta Quadrant caused Captain Kathryn Janeway to choose to keep Suder confined in his quarters under maximum security containment for the duration of their journey home . ( ) This punishment continued up until Suder ' s death later that year . ( ) Also that same year , the captured Kazon Tieran was confined to quarters on a secured deck on " Voyager " following a series of attacks by Kazon vessels . ( ) In 2373 , Captain Benjamin Sisko confined Cadet Nog and his son to quarters after they accused Kai Winn Adami of burglary and kidnapping and Jake claimed that they had gotten a little drunk . In fact , the two were investigating the disappearance of Doctor Elias Giger , who was in possession of a Willie Mays baseball card that Jake wished to give to his father . ( ) In 2374 , a number of both the Cardassian and Jem ' Hadar aboard the temporarily Dominion - occupied Deep Space 9 / Terok Nor were confined to quarters pending disciplinary hearings following an incident involving a missing PADD that was actually caused by the Deep Space 9 resistance cell . ( ) That same year , Gul Damar suggested to Gul Dukat that his daughter Tora Ziyal be temporarily confined to quarters , as he believed her to be part of the Deep Space 9 resistance , but Dukat resisted the suggestion . ( ) Also that same year , a holographic simulation of Captain Sisko supposedly relieved the senior staff of Deep Space 9 of duty and confined them to quarters pending an investigation by Internal Affairs . This , however , was all a ruse created in a holosuite by Luther Sloan to test Doctor Julian Bashir and Bashir was , in fact , the only one who suffered any sort of confinement . ( ) In 2375 , Doctor Beverly Crusher confined a number of Son ' a hostages to quarters after they refused an examination . ( ) In 2376 , Captain Kathryn Janeway confined Captain Rudolph Ransom and the other surviving members of the to quarters on " Voyager " after learning of their killing of nucleogenic lifeform s as a source of warp power for the " Equinox " . Ransom pleaded for leniency , stating that they were only following his orders , but Janeway replied that this was their mistake . Almost all of them later escaped to the " Equinox " and attempted to flee " Voyager " . Later , after Janeway took extreme measures to get information regarding Ransom out of Crewman Noah Lessing , Commander Chakotay objected vociferously to her actions and she relieved him of duty and confined him to his quarters . Ultimately , the remaining " Equinox " crew that survived the incident were stripped of rank and made to serve on " Voyager " as crewmen . ( ) That same year , Janeway confined Ensigns Harry Kim and Tom Paris to quarters after they became drunk and participated in what they believed to be a Kinbori version of tennis and became involved in a brawl . She seemed mildly amused however , asking if they won they fight . ( ) During a level 10 security alert on - board " Voyager " , non - essential personnel were confined to quarters for their safety . ( ) Dismissed . " " That ' s a Starfleet expression for ' get out ! " " Dismissal was usually used as a formal release of a crew member from an official military function , such as a debriefing or other meeting . The senior officer typically gave such a command . On board the Federation Starfleet vessel " Voyager " , Captain Janeway used " dismissed " to end her conversations , especially those in her ready room . Neelix once demanded to be let off the ship because he was feeling uncomfortable with the risk the ship was taking . Janeway firmly denied his request and then when Neelix asked " " Are we done ? " " , she replied " " Dismissed . " " ( ) Duty . " Duty " was a term that conveyed a sense of moral commitment to someone or something . When someone recognized a duty , they committed themselves to the cause involved without considering the self - interested courses of actions that may have been relevant previously . The first duty of every Starfleet officer was to the truth , whether it was scientific truth or historical truth or personal truth . ( ; ) The first duty of any captured officer was to attempt escape . ( ) A duty shift was the portion of the day during which various scheduled personnel aboard a starship or space station were on duty . The three shift rotation schedule was common in the Federation Starfleet . ( ; ; ) Crew evaluation s were part of the duties of the senior staff aboard the to discuss candidates for promotion . William T . Riker and Deanna Troi were not fond of writing the required crew evaluation report s . ( ) A starship was on detached duty when it was sent on a special mission , or was " detached " , from what it would normally be doing . The was placed on detached duty in 2370 , in order to investigate the disappearance and death of Captain Jean - Luc Picard . ( ) Off duty was a common term used to describe the time without work and also shore leave . ( ) Following a medical episode , Starfleet officers could also be placed on restricted duty , limiting their workload over a certain time period . Captain Benjamin Sisko was placed on restricted duty for three days while suffering from a Prophet - induced vision , in 2373 . ( ) Engage . " " Helm , lay in an intercept course and engage at maximum warp . " " " Engage " was mostly used as verbal confirmation to an earlier order given to the helmsman about the warp engine s or impulse drive . It could also be used as a verb within the order referring to some other technological device , such as a tractor beam . The term execute was also used , namely by Captain Styles , while ordering the to use its transwarp drive for the first time . ( ) Front line . " Front line " was a military term for the outer - most edge of controlled territory in war , where the majority of military forces and combat are located . It is often shortened as " front " , which centers around a specific geographic location , such as the " Bolian front " , " Vulcan front " , or " Chin ' toka front " . ( ) " In an alternate timeline , Deep Space 9 was on the front line of a Federation war with the Klingon Empire before being turned over to them . " ( ) In 2373 , Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge was upset when the was ordered to patrol the Romulan Neutral Zone as a Borg cube approached Earth , stating that as the most advanced starship on the fleet , it should be on the front line . ( ) Three months into the Dominion War in 2374 , Benjamin Sisko told Jadzia Dax that he hoped the would be sent back to the front lines . ( ) The Rutharian sector was considered a long way from the front lines in 2374 , whereas AR - 558 was considered to be on the front lines in 2375 . ( ) After it was taken by the Federation Alliance , the Chin ' toka system also became a major front in the war . Before the Second Battle of Chin ' toka , Weyoun expressed his concerns to the Female Changeling that her proximity to the front concerned him . ( ) Starfleet regulations state that personnel should be rotated off the front lines after ninety days . ( ) The arrived at Deep Space 9 in early 2375 for supplies , as they were headed to the front lines of the Kalandra sector . ( ) Vulcan Captain considered DS9 to be " behind the lines " , something Benjamin Sisko disagreed with , telling him that the station had seen its " share of action " . ( ) The USS " Defiant " traveled to the front lines in early 2375 on a supply run . Julian Bashir took several recordings of Vic Fontaine ' s songs although the hologram questioned whether or not the troops of the front lines wanted to hear them . Quark was also aboard the " Defiant " , as he was on a fact - finding mission for Grand Nagus Zek to give a report of life on the front lines . This made Quark uneasy , as he told Ezri Dax that war was not as profitable the closer you are to the front lines . The mission was also the first time Ezri had been to the front lines . ( ) Late in 2375 , the Female Changeling told Thot Pran that " the sooner we can regain the offensive on the front lines , the better . " She believed this could be done by accelerating installation of Breen weapons on Dominion ships . ( ) Later , during the Battle of Cardassia , Pran told the Female Changeling he felt that the situation demanded his presence on the front lines . ( ) Killed in action . Killed in action ( abbreviated KIA ) was a term used to describe those who were believed to be dead as a result of combat . Ship s could also be referred to as having been killed in action if utterly destroyed . ( ) A member of Connaught Rossa ' s family was killed in action at the Krasner outpost . ( ) Bajoran Resistance leader Li Nalas was reported killed in action , though his remains were never recovered . ( ) Several members of Starfleet were reported killed in action during the Dominion War . ( ) Mess call . Mess call described a time set aside for a crew or some other military unit to cease regular duties and consume food . In 2267 , Captain James T . Kirk described the feeding of Vaal as a " mess call " . ( ) Missing in action . Missing in action ( abbreviated MIA ) was a term used to describe individuals who had gone missing while fighting a battle . In 2152 , described his temporarily invisible hand as being " still missing in action " after it became cloak ed . ( ) Now hear this . " Now hear this " was a term used to preface ship - wide announcements aboard Starfleet starship s to call the listener ' s attention . The announcement then issued orders to the entire crew or directed an individual crewmember to report to a particular location . ( ) The phrase was used by Captain Jean - Luc Picard on at least two occasions during the Farpoint Mission in 2364 ( ) and by an unidentified crewmember on board the in the alternate timeline in which the Federation was at war with the Klingon Empire . ( ) On report . " " I ' m putting you on report , in case that means anything anymore . " " " On report " was a term referring to the punishment of a crewmember that enabled them to continue their duties , but with stricter supervision or more regular assessments , similar to being on probation . Regular reports would be filed about the crewmember ' s performance , usually by his or her superior officer . Being on report might be recorded in one ' s crew report or personnel file ( ) and could potentially have an adverse effect on a crewmember ' s future opportunities for advancement . ( ) In 2154 , after Lieutenant Malcolm Reed disobeyed an order from Commander Charles Tucker III in order to save his life , Tucker told him that he was placing him on report , but was only joking . He grinned and described Reed as being an " easy target . " ( ) Commander William Riker once told Lieutenant Reginald Barclay that he was tired of seeing his name on report . ( ) Captain James T . Kirk once told an Ensign to " consider yourself on report " when the Ensign tried to stop the Captain from sacrificing himself . ( ) Permission to speak freely / frankly . As part of a military organization , lower - ranked officers generally did not have the authority to speak their minds to their superiors . They might have been granted it , however , by asking for " permission to speak freely . " In some cases , if the officer wished to speak in a particularly acrimonious manner , this may have been amended to " permission to speak frankly . " Sometimes the adjective used was " candidly " . An officer that spoke their mind without first asking for this permission could face penalties such as being placed on report or being charged with insubordination . The commanding officer could choose to either grant the request ( " granted " ) or deny it and , if denied , the lower - ranking officer might again have been subject to penalties . The commanding officer might have also choosen to simply state " always , " indicating that they valued the opinion of the lower - ranked officer at any time , with no further need to ask for permission . This permission , however , may have been withdrawn later . The request for " permission to speak freely " was often accompanied by the commanding officer ' s rank , or the terms " sir " or " ma ' am . " In some cases , officers were known to make this request and then simply speak their mind without waiting for the granted permission . It was up to the commanding officer to decide whether or not to enforce a penalty for this . " In the alternate reality split in 2233 , asked for permission to speak freely following Spock ' s marooning of on . Spock stated " " I welcome it . " " " ( ) When having dinner with Lyndsay Ballard , Captain Kathryn Janeway told her " " We ' re not on the bridge , Lyndsay . You have permission to speak freely . " " Ballard asked if she really meant this , and Janeway replied that she wouldn ' t have said it if she didn ' t . ( ) Sir . Sir was a term used by Starfleet and Bajoran officer s to address officers of higher rank . Although the term was generally considered to be male - specific , it was also used when addressing female officers as well . Protocol also allowed for its use between officers of identical rank , particularly where one held a higher overall position in a command structure . Upon his promotion to captain in 2285 , Montgomery Scott addressed Captain Styles as " sir " while serving as chief engineer under the latter ' s command aboard the starship . Scott later addressed his fellow Captains Kirk and Spock as " sir " when serving with them aboard the " Enterprise " - A . ( ; ) Chief Miles O ' Brien called Doctor Julian Bashir " sir " because Bashir was his superior officer . Bashir did not like the term and asked O ' Brien if he would call him simply Julian . ( ) The doctor was not the first person to turn down O ' Brien ' s use of the word – in 2367 , after he referred to Sergey Rozhenko , Worf ' s adoptive father , as " sir " upon meeting him , Rozhenko lightheartedly asked his fellow chief petty officer not to use the term , as he had " worked " for a living . O ' Brien also called Commander Sisko " sir " . ( ) Nog addressed Chief O ' Brien as " sir " when O ' Brien inspected the cargo , self - sealing stem bolt s , for which Nog and Jake Sisko had recently traded . ( ) Later , when Nog was beginning his Starfleet Academy training , O ' Brien wryly commented that after graduation , he would have to address Nog as " sir . " ( ) Captain Kathryn Janeway disliked being called " sir ; " notwithstanding Starfleet protocol , she preferred to be addressed by her rank . She also accepted " ma ' am , " but only when the crew was " in a crunch . " ( ) While being interrogated by Rear Admiral Brand , Ensign Wesley Crusher addressed the female admiral as " sir " . After Deanna Troi had passed the Bridge Officer ' s Test and had been promoted to commander , she told Data , " " From now on you can call me sir " " . ( ) When Admiral Alynna Nechayev chastised Captain Jean - Luc Picard for failing to implement the invasive program against the Borg and ordered him to destroy them if presented with a similar opportunity , Picard stood and replied , " " Yes , sir . " " ( ) The skeleton crew of the USS " Enterprise " - D called Doctor Beverly Crusher " sir " when she was serving as their commanding officer while Picard and the rest of the senior officers were on the surface attempting to retrieve Data . ( ) " Sir " was also used from time to time when speaking to the masters of other vessels . Harry Kim addressed Supervisor Yost in this way . ( ) Shipboard guests were also to be addressed as " sir " or " ma ' am , " irrespective of status , as shown by Jean - Luc Picard when welcoming Minister Campio aboard the " Enterprise " - D and by Tuvok when attending to Neelix in guest quarters on " Voyager " . ( ; ) Tour of duty . " Tour of duty " was a term used by Starfleet officer s when they were talking about their " time on a mission " . The geologist was on his first tour of duty in 2268 . ( ) The same year , Captain Kirk informed two security officer s that their tour of duty on Triacus would last one hour . ( ) The Klingon Commander K ' Nera asked Worf to join him and the other Klingons when his tour of duty aboard the " Enterprise " - D was completed . ( ) On stardate 42494 . 8 , the began its tour of duty in Sector Gamma 7 . ( ) Data called Roga Danar ' s service in the Tarsian War an honorable tour of duty , receiving two promotions and the rank of a subhadar . ( ) Commander Riker was sceptical about Captain Picard ' s behavior when the captain ran the crew through efficiency drill s for the first time in Riker ' s tour of duty aboard the " Enterprise " - D . ( ) Chief Miles O ' Brien thought when he was hunting down the Cardassian vole s with a sonic generator , he would be doing this for the rest of his tour of duty . ( ) During the Occupation of Bajor , the Cardassian troops received Bajoran comfort women to make their tour of duty less stressful . ( ) Warning shot . A " warning shot " was the use of a weapon in the direction of a target , but not intended to hit the target . This could be done for many reasons , but was commonly done to send the message that direct fire would occur if the target did not give an appropriate response . ( ) According to Ambassador Soval , Vulcan s usually did not fire warning shots . ( ) A type 3 stealth assault involved firing a warning shot at a targeted vessel to force it to comply with the demands of the Hierarchy vessel employing the tactic . ( ) Wounded in action . Wounded in action ( abbreviated WIA ) was a term used to describe those who had been wounded in combat . In 2374 , Jadzia Dax recognized Maria Tatalia ' s name on a Dominion War casualty list . Tatalia was listed as wounded in action . ( )