Lieutenant

<Lieutenant Junior Grade - Lieutenant Commander>

## Background

"*Do you think it would cause a complete breakdown of discipline if a lowly lieutenant kissed a Starship Captain on the bridge of his ship?*"
"*Let's try... See? No change. Discipline goes on.*"

– **Areel Shaw** and **James T. Kirk**, 2266 ("Court Martial")

"*I see the Federation insults us by sending a Lieutenant to greet us.*"

– '*Koloth**, regarding Jadzia Dax'***, 2370 ("Blood Oath")

**Lieutenant** (US: /luːˈtɛnənt/ loo-TEN-ənt, UK: /lɛfˈtɛnənt/ lef-TEN-ənt) was a junior officer military rank, the equivalent of which was used by the service organizations of many civilizations. The German word for "lieutenant" was "Leutnant". (TNG: "Tapestry") The British pronunciation was "lef-tenant". (TNG: "Ship in a Bottle")

## Military Rank

### Naval Ranks

As a traditional naval ranks, lieutenant was the grade between ensign and lieutenant commander. It was used on Earth in the Royal Navy of Old Britain. (ENT: "Minefield")

The Andorian Imperial Guard in the 22nd century used the rank of lieutenant. (*Star Trek: Enterprise*)

From the 22nd through the 24th centuries, the Klingon Defense Force used the rank of lieutenant. (*Star Trek: The Original Series*; *Star Trek: The Next Generation*; *Star Trek: Deep Space Nine*) When Lieutenant Commander Worf, who was posing as the Klingon Commander Sorval, was confronted by an inquisitive officer aboard the IKS *Drovana*, he rebuffed the officer, threatening that he "*will not be questioned by a Lieutenant who should be cleaning my quarters. Leave us, or I shall have you stripped of rank and sent home in a transport!*" (DS9: "Sons of Mogh")

In Starfleet, during the 22nd century, the rank of lieutenant was directly between ensign and commander. (*Star Trek: Enterprise*) By the 23rd century, the Federation used additional grades in this transition, adding lieutenant junior grade before lieutenant, and lieutenant commander before commander. (*Star Trek: The Original Series*; *Star Trek: The Animated Series*; *Star Trek: The Next Generation*; *Star Trek: Deep Space Nine*; *Star Trek: Voyager*; *Star Trek: Discovery*)

When Lieutenant Commander Michael Eddington left Lieutenant Reese in command of the Deep Space 9 until Sisko's return in 2372, the confused Reese felt "*that it's unusual for a junior officer to be left in [charge].*" Eddington then told Reese that "*if you're not up to the job, I'll find someone else who is. The safety of this station may depend on you and I need to know if you can handle it.*" (DS9: "For the Cause")

After the USS *Defiant* had time travelled back to 2268 from 2373, the *Defiant* crew dressed in period attire in order to infiltrate the USS *Enterprise*. As the crew emerged from their quarters, Julian Bashir address Sisko by his original rank of Captain, but Sisko corrected him, showing his two sleeve stripes, and explained that it was "*Lieutenant, actually. I didn't want to push my luck.*" Bashir later took this knowledge into consideration when he questioned Miles O'Brien why he thought the man that was supposedly Captain James T. Kirk was wearing lieutenant's stripes? (DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")