USS Republic The USS " Republic " ( NCC - 1371 ) was a 23rd century Federation starship operated by Starfleet . In 2254 , James T . Kirk served as an ensign aboard the " Republic " , along with Benjamin Finney , a friend of Kirk ' s . During a duty shift , Finney accidentally left a circuit open to the atomic matter pile s which could have resulted in the destruction of the ship ; Kirk logged the incident , and Finney was denied promotion . ( ) In 2293 , the " Republic " was assigned a Neutral Zone patrol mission . The ship was named on a Starship Mission Assignments chart on the bridge . ( ) By the early 24th century , the " Republic " was assigned as a training ship for Starfleet Academy cadet s . Although it continued to serve the fleet through as late as 2374 , it had not left the Sol system since the 2320s . ( ) Appendices . Background information . In , Kirk says that Captain was his commanding officer from the day he left the Starfleet Academy till his death in 2257 while on the , suggesting that Garrovick may have captained the " Republic " . However , multiple mentions in other episodes date Kirk ' s Academy years from 2252 to 2257 . This suggests that Kirk was assigned to " Republic " as an Ensign while he was still in the Academy . This is also consistent with him saying he was a " young Lieutenant " when he visited Neural in 2255 ( ) . Garrovick , therefore , may not have been " Republic " s Captain . Although many reference sources included " Republic " as a heavy cruiser , its status in canon is , to date , uncertain . Kirk himself stated in the episode the ship ' s nomenclature as " United Starship " Republic " , number 1371 " . Theories about " Republic " began early on , with reference works published in the 1960s . Actually , these theories were backed up by production sources such as producers D . C . Fontana and Robert Justman , who composed a fourteen ship list at the start of its second season , belonging to the " Constitution " - class , then still referred to as " " Starship " - class " by them and including " Republic " . ( " The Making of Star Trek " , p . 165 ) When he embarked on his influential " The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship " article and became aware of the original reference , TOS fan Greg Jein , like many other contemporary fans , proceeded from the assumption that " Republic " was no longer in service as a " front line " ship , as its registry number was not included on a in Commodore ' s office at Starbase 11 in " Court Martial " . However , Jein has included the ship in an effort he made to marry " Constitution " - class vessels to established registry number s , citing " Republic " as an older " Mark VI " sub - class variant . Yet , as the ship was never shown on screen ( nor did the remastered version of the series allow for retcon ning the ship into any of the episodes , as was the case with ) , either as the ship proper or in any graphical representation , its configuration was never established in canon . " Republic " s registry number is , as above indicated , derived from " Court Martial " itself , where Kirk explicitly states the number in dialogue . Senior Scenic Artist Michael Okuda – who is , like Greg Jein , a TOS fan – was also aware of the original reference and used the correct registry in his below - mentioned " Operation Retrieve " mission charts , and thereby overturning Jein ' s assumption . Through reference book s he subsequently wrote and following the original intent of the TOS producers , Okuda has propagated the notion that " Republic " belonged to the " Constitution " - class . ( " Star Trek Encyclopedia " ( 4th ed . , vol . 1 , p . 158 ; vol . 2 , p . 217 ) This notion has been adhered to in every ( in - universe ) reference work since , encompassing the " Star Trek Fact Files " and the more recent " Haynes Enterprise Manual " . Ronald D . Moore , also an avid TOS fan and the writer of " Valiant " , stated that the mention of " Republic " in that episode was probably to the same ship that Kirk served on . ( " Star Trek Encyclopedia " ( 4th ed . , vol . 2 , p . 217 ) It was debatable whether a ship that old would still be useful as a training ship over 125 years later , except possibly as a study of antiquities . However , several 21st century nautical services from a wide variety of seafaring nations observe the practice of continuing to use sailing ships as training vessels ( the US Coast Guard , for example , has used the barque " Eagle " for cadet training since the 1940s ) . In , Geordi La Forge mentioned that many systems are essentially unchanged since Montgomery Scott ' s time ; if this was so , a ship as old as USS " Republic " , especially if regularly refitted and upgraded , would be just as useful as a brand new ship in that regard . According to a ship listing included in the plans , and not seen in the extended cut of the sixth movie , " Republic " was commanded by , and this ship was located in Sector 22956 . The ship ' s captain was named after Production Designer Herman Zimmerman . Apocrypha . An early comic book from Marvel ' s " " series depicted this as a vessel , based on the illustration of that class by Rick Sternbach in the " Spaceflight Chronology " reference book ( and described in John M . Ford ' s novel " The Final Reflection " ) . This would make sense for the registry number and the general era the ship existed during ; however , it bears no regard for the creator and producer intentions , nor was it confirmed by any filmed " Star Trek " , since these licensed books and materials are non - canon . " Who ' s Who in Star Trek 1 " gave its registry as NCC - 1373 . At the beginning of the video game " " , the " Enterprise " engages the " Constitution " - class starship " Republic " in a mock battle . In the game , the commander of " Republic " , Captain Richard Cornelius Patterson , sends the player his congratulations if " Republic " is defeated in the exercise . If the player loses the mock battle , he sends the message " " Better luck next time . . . " " Later in the game , " Enterprise " finds " Republic " adrift , wrecked by a duplicate version of " Enterprise " , her crew slaughtered and the ship in a decaying orbit . In the " Star Fleet Battles " game series , the USS " Republic " was near a convoy on the first day of the Romulan entry in the General War and successfully fought off five Romulan ships with the help of a police ship and the convoy itself . The story and game scenario were entitled " And To The Republic " and the scenario was also rewritten for the " Federation Commander " game system .