star trek - Why did O'Brien start out as a transporter chief in TNG?

In the season 4 episode "The Wounded", it is revealed that Chief O'Brien was once the tactical officer under Captain Maxwell, one of the finest captains in Starfleet. Maxwell spoke of O'Briens skill as a brilliant tactical officer. By analogy to other tactical officers like Malcolm Reed (admittedly 200 years before) he should surely have been around lieutenant grade as a tactical officer.

So how come he starts off his career in TNG as a chief petty officer, operating a transporter all day long? (not including his very early cameo on conn in season one). It seems a rather backward step, both in terms of responsibilities and in rank.

Answer

I think it’s important to note that O’Brien enlisted in Star Fleet, rather than attending the four-year Starfleet Academy course. This is explored more in Deep Space Nine, where O’Brien was a regular character.

As such, when he was Tactical Officer under Captain Maxwell (and indeed for the rest of his career), he was a non-commissioned officer, and (if I understand it correctly) would technically be expected to refer to even Ensigns (like Nog) as “Sir”.

I think that means that his rank is specifically tied to his current role, rather than something which would likely only increase as his career goes on. So when he stopped being a soldier and started being a transporter monkey/engineer, he was back to square one, rank-wise.

See also this page on a wildly inferior Q&A site, and the other answers to this very question, for more background on the enigmatic Mr O’Brien.

Comments

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