Commanding officer

A commanding officer, abbreviated CO, skipper, or ship's captain was a term used to describe one's hierarchical position in relation to others within the same environment, such as a mission commander or mission leader. On starships, it was general practice to address the commanding officer as "captain", regardless of their actual rank or position. Proper naval parlance said that, even if a vessel was commanded by an officer whose rank was lower than captain, that officer was still able to be referred to as "captain" while on the deck of their own vessel, no matter their literal commissioned rank. In some cases, the term "commander" was the chosen title. ()
== Military units ==
On Earth, the title of captain was used as far back as the Middle Ages, where a captain was a nobleman commissioned to command a company of soldiers. One of the characters of William Shakespeare's play Henry V was quoted as saying "Under what captain serve you?" when approached on guard duty. ()
One meaning of commanding officer was the highest-ranking officer and commander of a unit. On starships, the CO usually held the rank of captain, though in some eras a commodore may have also held this position. On starbases, the CO was sometimes referred to as "portmaster" and was usually a flag officer. () Some bases, however, were commanded by commodores, captains or commanders. ( seasons 1-3; ; )
Aboard starships, it was the commanding officer's duty, "whether pleasant or unpleasant, to listen to the reports, observations, even speculations, on any subject that might affect the safety" of their vessel. ()
Starship commanders, often located hundreds of light years away from and out of communications with higher authority, needed to be able to function autonomously and make independent command decisions affecting Federation policy and countless lives. Accordingly, few Starfleet officers ever gained the captaincy of a starship, the result of decades of sustained excellence as a Starfleet leader. ()
Commodore Matt Decker, mournful of the loss of his ship and crew, explained his rational for his suicide run at the "planet killer", stating, "The commander is responsible for the lives of his crew… and for their deaths. Well… I should have died with mine." Kirk, in turn pleaded "You can't throw your life away like this. Matt, you're a starship commander. That makes you a valuable commodity. We need you… your experience, your judgment. Matt! We're stronger with you than without you!" () 
It was customary for commanding officers to hold the rank of Captain as well as the title, although there were rare exceptions, such as the case with Lieutenant Commander Tom Markel aboard the survey ship . (). Other examples included Starfleet Command temporarily assigning a number of officers to command vessels that blockaded the Romulan support of the House of Duras in 2368, including Lt. Cmdr. Data aboard the . () Commander Sisko commanded the Defiant, a ship without permanent crew, for nearly a year before he was promoted to captain. () Other DS9 personnel were also seen commanding the Defiant, including Major Kira Nerys and Lieutenant Commanders Jadzia Dax and Worf. (; ) 
In rare occasions, the commanding officer needed not be a ranking officer, especially in dire circumstances. ()
Dukat once claimed it was Cardassian tradition for the commanding officer to entertain his guests. ()
The Takret Militia soldiers also refer to their superiors as commanding officer. () As did the Kelvan and the Kalandan people. ()
== Chain of command ==
The term "commanding officer" could also be used to refer to the officer whom one directly reported to in the chain of command or in a department, such as a department head. Occasionally, it simply identified an officer of higher rank in comparison to another, or the officer with the most experience if more than one officer held the highest rank at the time, although this was usually referred to as a ranking officer. 
Leonard McCoy once pointed out to Spock that both of them answered to the same commanding officer, in which case he was referring to James T. Kirk. ()
Kirk, who greatly lamented the loss of three security men on Gamma Trianguli VI, had his self-recriminations reassured by Spock, who explained that "No one has ever stated that Starfleet duty was particularly safe. You've followed the correct and logical course, done everything a commander could do." ()
In 2366, the Romulan defector "Setal" admitted to Commander William T. Riker that his commanding officer was Admiral Alidar Jarok. ()
Also that year, Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge referred to himself as the commanding officer of Lieutenant Reginald Barclay. ()
In 2367, Lieutenant Commander Data sought advice from Lieutenant Worf regarding dating Lieutenant Jenna D'Sora. He felt himself unqualified to give advice as Klingons conquered that which they desired, but told Data that Lieutenant D'Sora served under his command and that he would be very displeased if she were mistreated. He then added "sir," reflecting the fact that Data himself outranked him. ()
In 2368, Worf acknowledged the fact that Riker was his commanding officer before the latter agreed to the former joining him on an "unannounced visit" to . ()
In 2369, Riker was adamant about following the orders of one's commanding officer when confronting his transporter duplicate Thomas Riker. ()
In 2370, Riker again brought up the issue of one's commanding officer when he, under threats by Arctus Baran, demanded that Data withdraw the from their attempt to stop Baran's mercenary ship. ()
Later that year, as Worf lamented the loss of Sito Jaxa, he was asked to vacate his table by , who suggested he sit in the empty seat with other lamenting lower decks officers. While Worf appreciated Ben's motivation, he felt it was not appropriate as "You were her friends. I was only her commanding officer." Ben, however, reassured Worf that he happened to know that she also considered Worf as a friend. ()
==Memorable quotes==
== Appendices ==
=== See also ===
* Company commander
* Master
* Senior mission commander
* Squadron commander
===External link===
*
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ja:指揮官
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Category:Titles