Ensign

<Master Chief Petty Officer - Lieutenant Junior Grade>

## Background

"*Chief, I was just coming to see you. Can you believe it? They made me an Ensign.*"
"*I hadn't realized things were going so bad.*"
"*Scary, isn't it? If my classmates at the Academy could only see me now.*"

– **Nog** and **Miles O'Brien**, 2374 ("Favor the Bold")

**Ensign** was a commissioned rank, the equivalent of which was used by the service organizations of many civilizations, namely by Starfleet, the Orions, and the Bajoran Militia. The rank or term "ensign" itself, was unfamiliar to the Kraylor. (VOY: "Nightingale")

## History

As a traditional naval grade, ensign was the lowest junior officer rank, below lieutenant junior grade or lieutenant. (VOY: "Nightingale") In Starfleet, it was usually the first rank assigned to new officers upon graduation from Starfleet Academy. (VOY: "Caretaker", et al.)

Naomi Wildman believed that she would be able to rise up the ranks aboard USS *Voyager*, as it crossed the Delta Quadrant, charting her journey as, "*I'll be bridge assistant for a while, then I'll be promoted to Ensign. It'll be Lieutenant after that, and by the time we reach the Alpha Quadrant, Captain Wildman.*" (VOY: "Infinite Regress")

When Lieutenant Commander Janice Rand noted Ensign Tuvok preparing a Vulcan blend of tea especially for Captain Hikaru Sulu, she chided him, asking "*Trying to make Lieutenant in your first month? I wish I'd have thought of that when I was your age. Took me three years just to make Ensign.*" Tuvok, however, assured her that he had no ulterior motives. (VOY: "Flashback")

According to Lieutenant Commander Data, for one to move up the ranks, and "*one proved themselves more capable, typically after three years as an ensign, they would be considered for promotion into the lieutenant tier.*" (TNG: "Datalore")

## Duties & Responsibilities

An ensign's primary duty was professional growth, both as a leader and as an occupational specialist. Ensigns were mentored by more senior officers as well as chief petty officers as part of their development as Starfleet leaders. (DS9: "The Ship", "Starship Down") On some of the larger starship classes, such as the *Galaxy*-class starships, it was not uncommon for veteran and seasoned enlisted personnel to have ensigns working for them as technicians, thus having the ensign "learning the ropes" of the more technical aspects of starship design, such as transporter components. (TNG: "Clues")

Following the graduation of Marta Batanides and Jean-Luc Picard from Starfleet Academy, and prior to their respective first assignments, Batanides suggested that "*Maybe these bars are just starting to feel a little heavy, Ensign,*" after noting Picard's "*hidden streak of responsibility,*" which Picard otherwise shrugged off as being part of "*just getting older*" (TNG: "Tapestry")

When Benjamin Sisko was an ensign, he met Curzon Dax, who, as he later explained, "*took a raw young Ensign under his wing and taught me to appreciate life in ways I'd never thought about before. He taught me about art and science and diplomacy. Whatever sense of honor I might have today, he nurtured.*" (DS9: "Dax")

According to Lieutenant Jadzia Dax, Commander Benjamin Sisko "*wouldn't allow any Ensign take a runabout into the Gamma Quadrant the day after she arrives.*" (DS9: "Melora")

Following the promotion of Ezri Dax to lieutenant junior grade in 2375, Julian Bashir told her, "*I'm glad they made you a lieutenant. It would have been hard taking advice from an ensign. (DS9: "Afterimage")*

Though junior officers, Ensigns, were permitted to fulfill the position of bridge officer, acting captain, and even be a member of the senior staff. (ENT: "Cold Front", "The Xindi"; TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before", "Hide and Q"; VOY: "Caretaker", "Warhead")

## Experience and Protocol

"*An ensign ought to salute before addressing a captain.*"

– **Paul Mayweather addressing his brother Travis Mayweather upon entering the bridge of the ECS *Horizon***, 2153 ("Horizon")

During a scenario devised for the M-5 drills in 2268, Captain James T. Kirk chose the ship's chief geologist Rawlins for a member of his landing party. When the M-5 computer made a difference choice, geologist Carstairs instead, Kirk did not see it the same way, explaining that Carstairs was "*an ensign, no experience. This is his first tour of duty*" aboard the USS *Enterprise*. M-5, however, disagreed because it knew that "*Geologist Carstairs served on Merchant Marine freighters in this area. Once visited planet on geology survey for mining company.*" (TOS: "The Ultimate Computer")

When Ensign William T. Riker served aboard the USS *Pegasus* in 2358, seven months after his graduation from the Academy, he noted his inexperience was what allowed him to blindly follow the commands of Captain Erik Pressman during a mutiny. Recalling twelve years later, "*I wasn't a hero and neither were you. What you did was wrong and I was wrong to support you, but I was just too young and too stupid to realize it. You were the captain. I was the ensign. I was just following orders.*" (TNG: "The Pegasus")