Ship Department Organisational Chart
Command and Control
Captain, Executive officer
Bridge Officers
Operations Department
Department Head: Chief of Operations
1. Operations Division
The Operations Department is responsible for maintaining all administrative data and paperwork necessary for the ship to function properly. These functions include data processing, as well as recreational, food and supply services, security, and communications. This department typically handles personnel records, including visiting dignitaries, exchange officers and onboard civilian assistance.
2. Communications Division
The Communications Department sends and receives messages to and from other ships, spacecraft, and planet based facilities via various sophisticated electronic equipment. Such equipment includes computers, satellites, cryptographic devices, and high power subspace transmitters and receivers. They monitor incoming and outgoing communications, and support shipboard internal communications.
3. Helm/Navigation Division
The ship’s navigator briefs the Commanding Officer and the Officer-of-the Deck (OOD) on the position of the ship, the direction of travel and the safest sea lanes to traverse. Computations are made using celestial navigation, electronic machinery and visual reports. The Navigation Department is also responsible for executing all military traditions, customs and honors onboard ship. Helm provides flight control of the ship following navigation. Astrometrics falls under this division.
4. Security Division
Security for the ship falls into this division. All shipboard security, investigation, and incarceration (Brig) responsibilities fall to Security. Security is responsible for intruder search and detain operations. Armory control is under security. Chief of Security (COS) heads this division.
Subdivision: Tactical
Weapons control officers man and assist in maintaining onboard ship-based weapons. Besides manning individual stations, the top tactical officers maintain a presence on the bridge.
5. Flight Control Division
The flight control gives direct support to any embarked squadron(s). Flight Control is in charge of launching and landing shuttles, fighters and any personal craft present. It is also responsible for the routine handling of spacecraft on the flight deck and in the hangar bays. Note: Smaller vessels with embarked warp capable shuttle detachments should have some flavor of an Air Department, although it may be very small. This division provides local space traffic control.
6. Computer Data Control Division
Monitors onboard computers, assists with programming and data storage for all services including science and navigation. They also run the ship's library for all data control.
7. General Operations Division
The General Operations Division is responsible for collecting, cataloging, analyzing and distributing scientific and combat information vital to the accomplishment of the ship’s offensive and defensive, and scientific missions. Heading this very important department is the ship’s Chief of Operations Officer, or "Ops." This individual is one of the busiest persons on the ship. Science and Intelligence are types of services provided by this department. The ship’s intelligence officer fall under this department on board. On other ships, enlisted Intelligence Specialists and/or collateral duty intelligence officers fall under the Operations Division Department.
8. Supply Division
The Supply Department is responsible for feeding and paying the ship’s crew, including the running of ship’s wardroom(s) and messing spaces. This department holds responsibility for the laundry and dry cleaning services, stores, barbershops, and recreation services. This department also stocks spare parts for underway ship and/or aircraft repairs. Heading this department is the ship’s Supply Officer. The Supply Officer may have assistants for disbursing, food service, ship’s store, or wardroom mess.
9. Training Division
The Training Department is responsible for the continued coordination of enlisted advancement exams, reenlistments and coordination of special schools. Training also handles general damage control. This division extends to all aspects of onboard education, fleet and civilian.
Safety Subdivision
The Safety subdivision is responsible for ongoing training and education programs, equipment dangers, procedural hazards, and accident prevention. It is found only on large Battleships, Warships and ships carrying smaller fighting vessels (Fighters) and Fleet flagships. While onboard, constantly be aware of maintaining posted safety regulations and procedures.
10. Intelligence
Intelligence gathering, operations, cryptography and intelligence dissemination occurs through this division through the General Operations division.
11. Diplomatic and Legal Division
Any diplomatic officers, JAGs are under this division. Attached Exchange officers, Foreign diplomats and Liaison officers would report under this division.
Engineering Department
12. Engineering Department
The Engineering Department maintains the ship’s power plants providing propulsion and power. Sensor maintenance is under engineering. It also provides all life support systems, fresh water, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, hot water, electrical power, onboard hard-wired communications service, and maintains the ship’s reclamation systems. Replicators and recycling are included. The ship’s Chief Engineer, or "Cheng" in Starfleet parlance, heads this department. This department is headed by the ship’s Chief of Engineering (CoE)
13. General Engineering division
The General Engineering Division is charged with the most traditional of engineering responsibilities. Enlisted Boatswain’s Mates (BM) maintain the exterior of the ship’s surfaces, moor the ship, man the rescue and assistance lifeboats, and monitor underway replenishment. The BMs’ most prevalent (and audible) duty is the "piping away" of different events over the ship’s intercom.
14. Maintenance Management Division
The Maintenance Management Department is responsible for the scheduling and coordination for all off-ship maintenance (i.e., repairs at shipyards or dry docks) and planned organic maintenance ship-wide.
15. Auxiliary Vessel Division
The Engineering department's auxiliary vessel division provides industrial level maintenance for embarked squadrons and the ship’s ground support equipment. Shuttles, lifeboats and civilian craft are included in maintenance and certification for flight by the Auxillary Vessel Division.
16. Weapons Division (Alternately Armorments Division)
The Weapons Department/division, a division of engineering, maintains and operates the ship’s various weapons systems. Personnel of the Weapons Department also assemble, test and maintain shipboard Phasers, Photon torpedoes as well as small hand-held weapons. On smaller ships, this department might fall under the administrative auspices of the Operations Department (see above).
Medical Department
Department head: Chief Medical Officer
17. Medical Department
Headed by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) the Medical Department is responsible for maintaining the health of the crew, the treatment of sick and injured ship’s personnel, disease prevention and the promotion of good health ship-wide. The head of this department must be an officer of the Medical Department. Additionally, the Medical Officer also advises the ship’s CO on ship’s hygiene and sanitation conditions. Smaller ships may not have an embarked Medical Officer in which case non-physician medical personnel head the department under the administrative auspices of the Operations Department (see above).
Subdivisions: Health maintenance, Trauma surgery and recover
18. Counselor Division
Onboard larger vessels Counselors are assigned to monitor the mental health of the ship's crew. They can be called upon to fulfill any diplomatic missions if there is an absence of qualified diplomatic officers onboard.
Subdivision: The Chaplain services are a sub division under counselors. The Chaplain Department is dedicated to promoting the spiritual, religious and personal morale of embarked personnel. The Chaplain Corps extends this mission to all personnel and their dependents. The Chaplain Department also coordinates all personal emergency communications from the civilian sector, provides pastoral care and counseling. Smaller vessels may not have their own chaplain. In these cases, a chaplain will fly from the carrier via shuttle to conduct services.
19. Dental Department
The Dental Department provides comprehensive dental care, encompassing simple preventative care through emergency services for all embarked personnel. Note: Only large ships have embarked Dental Departments. This normally falls under the Medical Department.
Science Department
Head of department: Chief of Sciences
Tasked with all scientific roles including acquisition, analysis, and dissemination (through operations). Subdivisions available are dependent on Mission Specialist availability. Division and subdivision listings are examples, and not exclusive of additional specialties.
20. Hard Sciences
Subdivisions: Sub Divisions available are dependent on Mission Specialist availability.
Life Sciences: Biology, Botany, Biochemistry, Zoology, Ecology, Medicine, Public Health, Virology, Bio-Engineering, Genetics, Psychic studies (telepathy, etc)
Base Foundational hard sciences: Chemistry, Physics, Quantum Physics, Temporal Physics, Warp Physics
Foundational hard science (above the molecular scale): Astrophysics, Cosmology, Acoustics, Subspace mechanics
Computer Sciences: Artificial Intelligence, Computing, Cybernetics, Mathematics, Robotics, Biogel/Nueurogel computing
Planetary Sciences: Geology, Seismology, Geophysics, Climatology, Hydrology, Vulcanology, Meteorology (Planet and space based)
Engineering: Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Polymer Sciences, Metalurgy
21. Soft Sciences
Subdivisions available are dependent on Mission Specialist availability.
Social Sciences: the interactions within a society: Sociology, Economics, History, Geography, Politics, Cultural Study, Actuarial Sciences, Xeno Culture
Pre-Warp History: Anthropology, Archaeology, Paleontology, Linguistics, Philosophy, Theology
22. Research and Development
Tasked with development and implementation of experimental processes, analysis of unknown alien hardware and abilities and new technology developments. Often works with other departments to accomplish these missions.
Attached Marine Deployments
Marine CO reports to Ship CO as an independent arm of the Military. Head of all Marine units including Auxillary combat vessels (Fighter) squadrons.
Marine XO Acts as Ops officer for deployed and attached Marine units.
Responsible for supervising the training, operations, and readiness of all Marine Units. The MXO (Operations Officer) standardizes operational procedures between units deployed, coordinates and develops operational contingency plans, and supervises the execution of those plans.
General Troops
Included varied deployment methods (Transporter, Landing Craft, Drop Ship. May include Air deployment or Orbital insertion). Trained to fight under all conditions.
Special Ops
More specialized units could include sniper teams, Commando units, black ops units. These include additionally trained personnel above standard combat but are included in numbers under Marine General troops as well.
Attached Specialists
Marine fighting craft pilots (Excluding Squadron fighter pilots), Dropship Pilots, Armored vehicle and ground transport personnel. There is typically a quartermaster deployed who may be the lead Armorer and in charge of Marine Corp Weapons and would include all Explosives and Heavy weapons onboard ship. These additional specialists would generally be few in number even with battalion level deployments.
Squadron Organization
If assigned to a vessel with embarked auxiliary combat vessels (Fighters) it is important to familiarize yourself with their organization. It mirrors to a large extent, the ship’s organizational structure as well as reflecting the Marine Corp organization. The embarked auxiliary combat squadrons retain their corp identity (Marine or Fleet) and basic organization, but each squadron also supplies specific personnel, such as Crew chiefs, to each fighter or auxiliary Marine ship (and assisted by shipboard Engineering). See notable possible individuals deployed with the squadron. Squadrons may be Marine, Fleet or mixed.
1. Wing Commander (WCO)
The WCO is directly responsible for the operational readiness and tactical performance of the air wing. They are responsible for the coordination and supervision of all activities of the embarked squadrons and detachments, and for the material readiness, communications, and intelligence functions of the air wing. The WCO does not fall directly under the ships commanding officer. Rather, they report to the Marine CO.
2. Wing XO (WXO)
The primary duty of the WXO is to assist the WCO, acting in effect as his executive officer. The Chief of Staff will ensure the activities and functions of the WCO staff adhere to the desires of the WXO.
3. Flight Operations Officer
Responsible for supervising the training, operations, and readiness of all air wing squadrons. The Flight Operations Officer standardizes operational procedures between squadrons, coordinates and develops operational contingency plans, and supervises the execution of those plans. With a signal squadron, these duties often fall to the WCO.
Subdivisions: Possible attached specialists to deployed/attached Squadrons
4. Recon Operations Officer
5. Air Intelligence Officer
The Air wing Intelligence Officer is responsible for the collection, preparation, and dissemination of intelligence material needed by the WCO to plan and execute operations with air assets. He also directs and supervises the Mission Planning (MP) work center of the squadron.
6. Maintenance Officer
This individual is responsible for monitoring and coordinating the maintenance of air wing assets, and ensuring all necessary equipment and spare parts required by the squadrons is available. The Maintenance Officer also reports to the WXO regarding the impact on operational readiness by maintenance and material conditions in the squadrons. The Crew chief of each vessel report to the head Crew Chief.
7. Weapons Officer
Advises the WCO on loading, handling, and expenditure of the weapons employed by the air wing. This individual will assist the squadrons in all matters relating to weapons handling and employment.
8. Landing Signal Officer
One LSO is normally assigned to the air wing. They coordinate with pilots and flight control to improve recovery (i.e., landing) operations and safety awareness.
9. Flight Surgeon
The Flight Surgeon provides medical care for the officers and men of the air wing. He is tasked with keeping the WCO informed of particular medical problems affecting the air wing. These responsibilities fall under and are provided by, the shipboard Medical Department.
10. Squadron Intelligence Team
This group consists of the squadron intelligence officer and intelligence specialists assigned to the squadrons in the air wing. The squadron Intelligence Officer is the leader of this team and as such is the Mission Planning Coordinator. All squadron intelligence personnel work in (Shipboard) intelligence when embarked. That is, they integrate into a combined Marine/Fleet intelligence team. The Marine Intelligence Team provides direct support to the air wing with cyclic event briefs/debriefs, and in-flight aids in support of exercises and/or operations.