Duty shift A duty shift was the portion of the day that various scheduled personnel aboard a starship or space station were on duty . Officers were expected to report on time for their duty shifts and those that failed to do so , without a good excuse , could face penalties such as being placed on report . ( ) Seven of Nine once commented that crewmen Boylan and White were frequently late for their duty shifts . ( ) During her time on the , Ensign Lyndsay Ballard was known for rarely , if ever , showing up for her duty shifts on time . ( ) Duty shifts could be exchanged or bartered to some extent . On board " Voyager " , for instance , Neelix once wagered The Doctor three duty shifts in his kitchen for three in sickbay in a shell game . ( ) Similarly , Odo once assumed a Starfleet security officer ' s shift aboard Deep Space 9 , in order to stand personal watch over First Minister Shakaar Edon and Kira Nerys . ( ) Frequency . In Starfleet , days were typically divided into thirds , resulting in three duty shifts . ( ; ; ) For a brief period of time while Captain Edward Jellico was in command of the in 2369 , the ship was put on a four shift rotation . Each shift was designated by a Greek letter : Alpha , Beta , Gamma , and Delta . This proved difficult for the crew to adjust to because they were used to a standard three - shift rotation . ( ) Deep Space 9 was initially put on a three - shift rotation when the Federation took over its administration , but this changed in 2372 due to innovations by Major Kira Nerys . Kira first revealed her plans to Captain Benjamin Sisko when he was seriously injured . She ' d hoped that discussing station business might keep him conscious . Later , after he ' d recovered , Sisko decided to put the station on a four - shift rotation , saying that the idea had " occurred " to him . He thought the crew " might appreciate more flexibility in their schedules " . ( ) The concept went through a probationary period until it was finally made permanent because , as Kira put it , there were " less mistakes due to fatigue " . ( ) Type . Day shift . The day shift or day watch is the first duty period which theoretically happens during whatever would be considered day in space . It takes its roots from day shifts currently in use in military and other jobs . The day shift would presumably be followed by the night watch , which was a time of limited activity . ( ) Commander William T . Riker usually commanded the first bridge shift of the day watch , known as alpha shift . ( ) In 2367 , Worf was in command during the final shift of the day . ( ) Swing shift . The swing shift is a duty shift that is after the day shift , but before the night shift . Crewmembers of Deep Space 9 who were on the swing shift included Whatley , Duarte , Abdon , , Tekoa and Rom . ( ) Night shift . The night shift is a duty period that occurs during the hours in which an officer would otherwise be sleep ing . It is usually relegated to the junior officer s , as most people are not fond of the night shift . Aboard starships and space stations , however , there is technically no such thing as " night " or " day " . The night shift is preceded by the swing shift . ( ) On the " Enterprise " - D , this shift was known as night watch , in contrast to day watch . Lieutenant commander Data was often in command of the bridge during the night watch , as he did not require sleep . ( ) Doctor Beverly Crusher has volunteered at times for the night shift , as she did in 2370 while Data was away on a mission . She explained that she liked doing this to refresh her starship operations management skills . ( ) The was attacked by the Borg during its night shift . ( ) After Rom resigned from his position of Assistant Manager of Policy and Clientele at Quark ' s in 2372 , he joined Deep Space 9 ' s engineering crew and was assigned to the night shift . ( ) In early 2373 , Miles O ' Brien arranged to have him transferred from the night shift to the day shift . ( ) Later in 2372 , after a magnetic constrictor accident on the , B ' Elanna Torres had to work during the night shift to repair the damage caused by the accident . ( ) Ensign Harry Kim served as " Voyager " s commanding officer during the night shift , twice a week . ( ) Ensign Jenkins also served as a night shift navigation officer aboard " Voyager " . ( ) Rotations . Alpha shift . Alpha shift was a duty shift aboard the and the USS " Enterprise " - D , the first shift of the day watch . Aboard the " Enterprise " - A , the shift began at 0800 and ended at 1600 hours . Aboard the " Enterprise " - D , it ended at 1200 hours . In 2293 , around stardate 9521 . 6 , Captain James T . Kirk was on duty during the alpha shift . ( ) In mid - 2370 , Commander William T . Riker served as commanding officer of the alpha shift . Lieutenant Commander Data served as operations officer , Lieutenant Worf as tactical officer , and Ensign Sam Lavelle as flight controller . Ensign Sito Jaxa was the relief tactical and ops officer . ( ) Beta shift . Beta shift was the second duty shift of the day watch on board the " Enterprise " - D , beginning at 1200 hours . In mid - 2370 , Commander Riker apparently served as commanding officer of the beta shift , continuing from alpha shift . Other officers on duty at this time included Lieutenant Jae and Ensign Gates . ( ) Gamma shift . Gamma shift was the third duty shift on board the " Enterprise " - D . In 2369 , was assigned by Geordi La Forge to head an engineering team that covered gamma shift from 2300 to 0700 hour s . ( ) Lieutenant McDowell was part of the gamma shift on board the ship soon after , until Captain Edward Jellico ordered to rearrange the duty shifts and let the new delta shift replace the gamma shift . ( ) In 2370 , during a training simulation , Commander Riker informed the alpha shift , including Lieutenant Commander Data , and the ensigns Sito Jaxa and Sam Lavelle , that their response time was seven percent slower that the response time of the gamma shift . ( ) Delta shift . Delta shift was the fourth duty shift on board the " Enterprise " - D in 2369 . Captain Edward Jellico ordered to rearrange the duty shifts and let the delta shift replace the gamma shift . ( ) Apocrypha . In the Fifteenth UK Story Arc , Uhura commanded a six - hour ' second watch ' during the ' s night period .