The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager
| Insignia | Starfleet Rank | Remarks |
| Flag Officer Ranks | ||
 | 5-Star Admiral (Fleet Admiral) |
Fleet Admiral is commonly conferred to the supreme Commander-in-Chief in Starfleet (e.g. Fleet Admiral Shanthi, ST:TNG "Pegasus"). However, this rank has never been seen in Star Trek history. Several Fleet Admirals named in Star Trek are only holding Admiral or Vice Admiral ranks, such as the gorgeous blonde 3-Star Admiral Alynna Nechayev. |
 | 4-Star Admiral (Admiral) |
Not many admirals in Starfleet Command achieve 4-Star status either. Admiral Paris (dad of Lt. Tom Paris) was 3-Star in the begining, but achieved 4-Star at the later part of ST:VGR. Commander William T. Riker attained 4-Star Admiralty in an alternate future reality (ST:TNG "All Good Things..."). |
 | 3-Star Admiral (Vice Admiral) |
3-Star Admirals are quite commonly seen, and are usually held by promising high-flyers in Starfleet Command and the "good bosses" such as Admiral Hayes (ST: First Contact), Admiral Dorothy (ST:Insurrection) and Admiral Ross (DS9). Captain Kathryn Janeway attained a 3-Star admiralty in ST:VGR "Endgame". |
 | 2-Star Admiral (Rear Admiral) |
2-Star flag officer is an entry-level towards admiralty, which is usually held by the "juniors" in Starfleet Command, such as Admiral Kathryn Janeway (ST: Nemesis) . Some of the "bad bosses" are also holding this rank, such as Admiral Eric Pressman (ST:TNG "Pegasus"). |
| Obsolete Ranks | ||
 | 1-Star Admiral (Commodore) |
If future Starfleet Command is to follow the current US Navy command structure, the rank of 1-Star Admiral (commonly known as Commodore) has been withdrawn. US Navy only adopted this rank during the wars, to recognise the most senior captain who lead the fleet without an admiral. The rank is abolished during peace time. The next promotion for a Captain is 2-Star Admiral. |
 | Fleet Captain | The rank of Fleet Captain has never been seen in Star Trek nor the US Navy. It was once conferred to Christopher Pike in ST:TOS but has never appeared again. Nonetheless, it is conjectured that if the rank has been conferred today, it may appear as 5 golden pips. According to Starfleet regulations, in any battle field without an admiral, the captain whose starship with the best tactical advantage (i.e. the strongest fire power) shall command the fleet, as evidenced by ST:First Contact and ST: VGR "Equinox, Part I". |
| Commissioned Officer Ranks | ||
 | Captain | The Captain rank is generally conferred to a starship skipper or Commanding Officer. Commander Riker could not attain captaincy as he has turned down 3 offers to command his own starship, whereas his Academy classmates Paul Rice was promoted to Captain when he accepted the command of U.S.S. Drake. However, Captain rank is also conferred to candidates who excel in their respective appointments or speciality. Commander Sisko was promoted to Captain despite he is commanding a starbase. Chief Engineer Scott was promoted to Captain of Engineering onboard U.S.S. Excelsior, holding the same rank as the skipper. |
 | Commander | The Commander rank is usually conferred to the First Officer of a starship or the Executive Officer (eg. Commander William Riker), but First Officer is just an appointment which can also be held by other junior ranking officers (eg. Lieutenant Commander Sisko was the First Officer onboard U.S.S. Saratoga destroyed at Wolf359). The rank could also be conferred to senior bridge officer (eg. Counsellor Diana Troi), or to any officers who excel in their appointment or speciality (eg. Dr Beverly Crusher). |
 | Lieutenant Commander | The rank of Lieutenant Commander are usually conferred to the heads of departments onboard a starship or a starbase (eg. Chief Engineer, Lt Cmdr Geordi LaForge; Chief Security Officer, Lt Cmdr Tuvok; Chief Tactical Officer, Lt Cmdr Worf; Head of Stellacartography, Lt Cmdr Darren). It could also be conferred to the Second Officer (eg. Lt Cmdr Data) and other middle-command staff. Traditionally, most aides to admirals hold the rank of either a Commander or a Lieutenant Commander (eg. Aide-de-Camp of Admiral Nechayev). |
 | Lieutenant | Lieutenant rank is common among the high-flying young officers, such as Cheif Security Officers Tasha Yar (Deceased) and Worf onboard U.S.S. Enterprise-D; Tact Officer Chang who evaluated potential candidates into Starfleet Academy; Ensign Ro who completed the advanced tactical training. However, the promotion from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander may take much longer (eg. Lt Worf took 7 years, while Lt Data took over 10 years to be promoted to Lt Commander). |
 | Lieutenant (Junior Grade) | This is a common rank for high-flying young officers but who have not gained enough seniority in service length to attain Lieutenant yet, such as Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torris and Helmsman Thomas Paris; as well as Geordi LaForge and Worf in their early years onboard U.S.S. Enterprise-D. It's also the entry-level for newly-graduated Starfleet Medical Doctor (eg. Dr Bashir) and Counsellor (eg. Erzi Dax). Ironically, this is also the rank for the long-serving officers who failed to excel themselves in their appointments, e.g. the cowardly Lt (J.G.) Jean-Luc Picard in ST:TNG "Tapestry". |
 | Ensign | This entry-level rank is given to all newly commissioned cadet officer, eg. Ensign Nog and Ensign Crusher, either graduated from Starfleet Academy or earned field commission. An ensign usually takes 1-3 years to be promoted to next grade, eg. Ensign Data took 3 years to be promoted to Lt (J.G.). Any officer who remains as Ensign over 3 years is considered "poor performer". The only exception is U.S.S. Voyager, as the crew are stranded in the Delta Quadrant with limited promotion opportunity. Hence, Ensign Harry Kim remains as ensign after 7 years despite of responsibility and performance (Chief Ops Officer, and bridge officer who commands the night shift twice a week). |
 | Warrant Officer | This rank is supposedly given to a non-commissioned warrant officer, e.g. Chief Miles O'Brian. It is also a common rank for personnel handling Transporter. However, we suspect there are more intermediate ranks for non-commissioned and enlisted personnel, and hence a single black pip is insufficient to differentiate the hierarchy of juionr staff. Fans should follow the Enlisted Rank in ST:DS9 instead. |
| Cadet Officer Ranks | ||
 | Senior | Also known as 4th-Year Cadet. Cadet First Class Nicholas Locarno, the Nova Squadron Leader in ST:TNG "The First Duty" once wore this rank. Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher worn this rank before he resigned from Starfleet Academy in ST:TNG "Journey's End". |
 | Junior | Also known as 3rd-Year Cadet. |
 | Sophomore | Also known as 2nd-Year Cadet. Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher worn this rank during his trial in ST:TNG "The First Duty". |
 | Freshman | Also known as 1st-Year Cadet. |
| Other Ranks | ||
 | Specialist | This square rank is assigned to Warp Propulsion Specialist during ST:TNG "Where No One Has Gone Before".
It has never appeared again since then. (Do no confused with Star Trek: Enterprise crews' Silver square ranks in the 22nd century.) |
The Admiral ranks are worn on both sides of the collar, as well as on both sleeves.
A cadet generally takes 4 years of study at Starfleet Academy before graduating as commissioned officer.
Officers can also earn field commissioned based on their merits and experience.
Eg. Ensign Crusher and Ensign Nog both earned field commission prior to completion of Starfleet Academy.
Lt B'Elana Torres was a Starfleet Academy drop-out, but she earned field commission as Lt (J.G.) being the Chief Engineer of U.S.S. Voyager.
Resigned and retired officers can also have their previous ranks reinstated depending on the situation.
Eg.
Chakotay was reinstated his Lt Cmdr rank by Captain Janeway when their ships stranded in the Delta Quadrant.
Spock (resigned) and Dr McCoy (retired) were reinstated their Commander rank by Admiral Kirk in ST:TMP.
Ensign Tom Paris resigned from Starfleet, but was reinstated and field commissioned as Lt (J.G.) being the Helm Officer of U.S.S. Voyager.
The Officer and Cadet ranks are worn on the right-side of the collar.
The Combadges are worn on the left-side of the uniforms.
Each cadet's pip is therefore representing an academy year.
However, Dr McCoy and Dr Crusher both mentioned that they spent 8 years in Starfleet Medical Institute.
It's therefore conjectured that Medical Cadets may have a different set of ranks.
SOURCE: Star Trek Encyclopedia (Updated & Expanded Ed.)
Coincidence or otherwise, we noted that most of the high-ranking officers from Starfleet Command are FEMALE, including :
Now, where are the MALE senior officers? Are they all died in battles before reaching the 5-Star or 4-Star Admiralty? ...
© Fleet Admiral Alynna Nechayev (ST:TNG "Preemptive Strike"), the gorgeous blonde admiral who negotiated the Peace Treaty between the Federation and the Cardassian.
© Fleet Admiral Shanthi (ST:TNG "Pegasus"), a black admiral who court-marshal Admiral Eric Pressman and others from Starfleet Intelligence who conspired in violating the Treaty between the Federation and the Romulan.
© Admiral Norah Satie (ST:TNG "Encounter At Farpoint, Part I"), a mean-looking brunette admiral who ordered Captain Jean-Luc Picard to take command of U.S.S. Enterprise-D.
© Admiral Brand (ST:TNG "The First Duty"), the Superintendant from StarFleet Academy who ordered Cadet Wesley Crusher to repeat his 2nd yearof for causing the death of a fellow cadet in the Nova Squadron.
© Admiral T'Lara (ST:DS9 "Rules of Engagement"), a 4-Star female Vulcan admiral from Judge Advocate General (JAG) who placed Lt Cmdr Worf (DS9) on trial for firing on a civilian Klingon ship with 141 killed.
