Rank & role
Ensign
The junior commissioned grade. Stands watches; does not hold the chair.
Table
Rank & role
Ladder
Command — an institutional appointment
Canon status
Confirmed
About the rank & role
Two ladders run in parallel and are frequently confused: a NAVIGATION ladder, which is a licensed technical qualification, and a COMMAND ladder, which is an institutional appointment. A ship can carry a highly-rated navigator who commands nothing, and the rank of Captain did not exist at all until it was created mid-voyage in 2192.