Tactical
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This article is considered a canon article for Star Trek: Equilism. |
Duties
The duties of the tactical Officer within ST:EQ are summed up easily as any and all duties that protect from or counter threats. On Stations those duties include internal threats only when there is no Chief Security Officer (that Department, is normally a sub-Department of Tactical).
Defined for CTO
The Chief Tactical Officer is the senior Officer within the Tactical Department. All tactical personnel report to him. His main duties include:
1. Advising the Commanding Officer on matters of ship safety (internal or external).
2. Providing protection (internal or external) for the vessel per Starfleet Regulations & the Commanding Officer's Orders.
3. Delegating duties within the tactical Department.
4. Manning the Tactical Station during regular duty shifts as primary duty Station.
Defined for TO
The subordinate to the Tactical Officer may be known as the Assistant Tactical Officer or simply Subordinate until such time that the higher position is earned. Duties of the TO are similar to those of the CTO:
1. Inform the Chief Tactical Officer and the Commanding Officer of tactical situations so that decisions can be made.
2. Carry out Starfleet Regulations, Commanding Officer's orders, and the orders of the CTO.
3. Man the Secondary or Auxiliary Tactical Station during regular duty shifts that coincide with the CTO's, as primary duty Station, or take over the Primary Tactical Station.
4. Coordinate the Security Department on Ships and Stations without a Chief Security Officer. On Stations with a Chief Security Officer the TO is to act as a liaison between Tactical and Security, especially within areas of joint responsibility (i.e. the Docking Bay).
Security (internal threats)
Security is considered the catchall phrase for matters that occur within the hulls of a Starfleet Station or vessel. On Starships these matters are handled by the Tactical Department because of the relatively small size of security forces on vessels, as compared to their Station counterparts. The Security Department on Starfleet vessels is considered a sub-section of the Tactical Department. Stations, on the other hand, maintain two separate Departments due to sheer size of the Security Department. On Stations the position of Chief of Security can be a civil servant of the United Federation of Planets and does not necessarily have to be a Starfleet Officer. If no Chief of Security is assigned, the Chief Tactical Officer of the Station assumes the duties of Chief of Security, much like his Starship counterpart.
The Brig
The Brig area is one of the most heavily guarded locations on a Starship or Station. It is where those being confined are held. On Stations the Brig cells can hold civilians or Starfleet officers who have violated local laws or Starfleet Regulation. In the case of Starships the Brigs are not used as often, and generally are only full due to disciplinary actions, or the holding of a prisoner until they can be transferred to a Starbase or another facility better suited for carrying prisoners. In any case security for Brigs is designed with a two-fold objective.
The first objective is to keep the prisoners inside their cells, or in the event of an escape, within the Brig area. This objective is accomplished through several methods. The first is containment force fields over the cells and Brig area. The second is the requirement of two personnel in two different locations with access to the Brig. Normally this is the Officer in the Brig and someone watching the events from a second location, such as Security Command, Control and Communications. The final layer of protection is armed guards. At least one guard is present, even when no prisoners are currently being held. If there are prisoners the guard compliment is increased to the appropriate level to handle any potential threat.
The second objective of the Brig is to keep unauthorized persons from gaining access to the Brig area. This objective is met with the same measures that keep prisoners inside the Brig area and is one of the reasons that a guard is present at all times. The Tactical/Security Department Head and the Commanding Officer of the Ship/Station determine access to the Brig area. Generally only on-duty Security Officers assigned to the Brig, the Department Head, and Commanding Officer have access to the Brig area. On-duty Security personnel with prisoners are granted access to drop off their prisoners, via either the Department Head, Command Officer or Security Command, Control and Communications. All other visitors must first be granted permission and then be escorted to and from the Brig area.
Personnel on guard duty and entering the Brig area must have their Phaser set no higher than maximum stun. If someone forgets to change the setting on their weapon the computer automatically adjusts the setting for them. If the computer is unable to do so it will not grant access to the Brig area. Depending on the size of the ship and Station, the number of prisoners, and the threat of said prisoners, the Brig guard complement will vary. One guard is always assigned facing opposite the Brig cells at a control panel, which allows him/her to monitor the Brig area and the access door to the Brig area. Additional guards can be posted at the entrances of the cells, across from each cell and at the doors to Brig. Placement and number of guards is left up to the Department Officer or his/her assistant, or the Brig Duty Officer.
The Department Head and his assistants are responsible for ensuring that the Brig is properly staffed at all times and to conduct both announced and unannounced inspections of the Brig area.
Internal Defense Procedures
Security forces on board Starships and Stations are charged with protecting the Starship or Station, however certain areas require additional protection. Occasionally additional protection is required for certain individuals on board. This section covers what is required to ensure the protection of these areas and VIPs.
For the purpose of internal defense, Starfleet vessels are broken down into four categories. The first is for smaller vessels, such as Defiant, Saber, and Nova class vessels (vessels having crews of 100 or less). The second is for medium-sized vessels like Norway, New Orleans, Intrepid, and Steamrunner class vessels (vessels having crews of 100 to 300). The third is for large vessels including the Nebula, Galaxy, Excelsior, Ambassador, Akira and Sovereign class vessels (vessels having crews of 300 or more). The fourth group is for all Stations, regardless of size.
Small Vessel Restricted Area and Intruder Procedures
These vessels have crews of less then 100 and may not have all the same systems as large vessels. For example, Defiant class vessels do not have a Brig or armory. Due to the small size and crew complement of these vessels it is unrealistic to expect that they could repel boards. Therefore these vessels do not have restricted areas, because all personal on board would be Starfleet Officer and cross-trained in various jobs, and because there are not enough crew members to protect restricted areas. It is also highly unlikely these vessels would carry a VIP, as there are no special accommodations for them.
Small Size Vessel Listing:
1.) Defiant Class
2.) Saber Class
3.) Nova Class
Given the fact that the ship would have to be so badly damaged for the shields to fail, allowing intruders onboard, standard boarding procedures for these vessels are for Security Forces to hold of attacks long enough to allow the crew to evacuate the vessel and the command staff to initiated the self-destruct sequence.
Medium Size Vessel Restricted Area and Intruder Procedures
These vessels have crews of 100 to 300, giving them sufficient crew to guard restricted areas. This also allows them to repel most intruders, instead of fighting a delaying action. The first way to protect a restricted access area is to ensure that only authorized personnel are able to enter such areas. Typically on a Starship the restricted areas are the Bridge, Main Engineering, Armory, Brig, and Computer Core. There are some exceptions to these rules however, and ultimately it is up to the unit’s Commanding Officer and Chief Tactical/Security Officer to determine restricted areas.
Medium Size Vessel Listing:
1.) Norway Class
3.) Intrepid Class
Some ships, such as Norway class vessels, may choose to make portions of or the entire deck five a restricted area, since this deck is used mainly for diplomats or VIPs. The USS Dublin currently has deck 5 off limits, for example.
Personnel in restricted areas are generally armed. These areas may also have a pair of Security personnel to guard the area during alerts, at the discretion of the Chief Tactical Officer. All personnel assigned to these areas undergo auxiliary Security Officer Training. This training teaches them how to defend these vital areas from intruders as well as a wide array of counter-insurgence techniques.
Large Size Vessel Restricted Area and Intruder Procedures
These vessels have crews of 300 or more. Large vessels use a combination of restricted areas and Security Stations. The first way to protect a restricted access area is to ensure that only authorized personnel are able to enter such areas. Typically on a Starship the restricted areas are the Bridge, Main Engineering, Armory, Brig, and Computer Core. There are some exceptions to these rules however, and ultimately it is up to the unit’s Commanding Officer and Chief Tactical/Security Officer to determine restricted areas. This allows them to repel all but the largest invasions. Guards are posted in these restricted areas during all alerts. Additionally Security personnel are stationed at the Security Complexes, which are located every nine decks. These small areas serve as staging areas for Security teams and are equipped with a weapons locker. It should be noted that the main Security area serves a similar role; therefore a vessel with 18 decks would have one Security Station and the main Security area.
Large Size Vessel Listing:
1.) Nebula Class
2.) Galaxy Class
3.) Excelsior Class
4.) Ambassador Class
5.) Akira Class
6.) Sovereign Class
Station/Base Restricted Area and Intruder Alert Procedures
Regardless of size, Stations and ground installations have unique security concerns that make them vastly different then Starships. The inability of the base to maneuver to avoid intruders, the possibility of civilians on board and coordination with other security or military forces each pose a unique problem for Security forces. Enemy forces can disguise themselves among the civilian population and ambush security forces. Correlation with foreign security forces can results in gaps in security or other vulnerability to the situation, not to mention these forces can be potentially hostile to Starfleet personal at any moment. Stations use restricted areas to keep unauthorized personnel out. Unlike their Starship counterparts, Stations generally have more then enough personnel to post guards at all times in restricted areas and to patrol public areas. Because corridors are wider, Security forces are trained to contain fights in corridors and to sweep attacks from these corridors. This also allows the use of the Phaser Rifle in defense, something that is impractical on all but the largest vessels, and far too risky to use on the light hulls of smaller Starships.
As stated before, Station Security may have to work with a range of different forces that assist and or augment them. These forces can be a Federation civilian security force, Starfleet Marine detachment, Klingon Defense Force detachment, Local planetary or system militia detachment, or a possible hostile detachment. The last one is rare and only appears in unique situations. In such cases the Starfleet detachment and other forces are equal in strength and are always watching their counterpoint. If fighting breaks out the base may become ground zero for the conflict.
Personnel Training
The Tactical Department is required to help train personnel in a number of different areas. This includes ongoing training in the areas of security and personal protection. Officers within Starfleet are required to have up-to-date knowledge of security for their own protection and the protection of others. This includes being able to fight in infantry battles on or off ship, code security, and threat assessment.
Phaser Range
Phaser Ranges are used by both Station and Vessel Security personnel to train in the use of handheld weapons. Any of the following weapons can be tested in the Range: Type-1 personal Phasers, Type-2 Handheld Phasers, Type-3 Phaser Rifles, and Isomagnetic Disintegrators. It should be noted that both the Type-3 Phaser Rifle and Isomagnetic Disintegrator are not used onboard Ships. Large vessels may, at the discretion of the Commanding Officer and Chief Tactical/Security Officer, use the Type III Phaser Rifle for ship internal defense, however Starfleet Head Quarters does not recommend this. The use of the Isomagnetic Disintegrators outside the Phaser range could result in severe internal damage to the vessel or Station.
Away team qualified personnel, Auxiliary Security Forces and those assigned to restricted areas [see section 2.2.0] also use the Phaser Range for training, however they normally train with Type-1 and Type-2 Phasers only. Commanding Officers and Chief Tactical/Security Officers can authorize the training of Type-3 Phaser rifles on a case-by-case basis.
Combat (hand to hand, miscellaneous weapons)
Hand-to-hand combat is a necessary personal defense mechanism. All Tactical/Security Officers, Auxiliary Security Officers, restricted area personnel, and away team personnel are required to have continual training in personal defense. This training is mainly hand-to-hand combat. The Tactical/Security Department is required to provide some training in the use of weaponry besides Starfleet standard issue, including alien weaponry.
Counterinsurgency protocols (How-to manual on the prevention and repelling of unwanted boarders)
All Tactical/Security Officers are required to know all counterinsurgency protocols that have been set up by the Command Staff. Shields are the main defense in this area, preventing enemy transport beams and craft from entering the vessel. Once this has been breached the vessel automatically goes into Intruder Alert status. All sections of the vessel are quartered off to prevent easy movement of enemy troops, computer access is limited, personnel are armed, and a repulsion force is rallied to counter the insurgency. Tactical/Security is in command of these operations, but other Departments are required to assist, generally through the activation of Auxiliary Security personnel assigned to these Departments. It is up to the Commanding Officer and Chief Tactical/Security Officer to come up with a plan to neutralize intruders and run any necessary intruder alert drills to ensure all personnel on board ship know what to do. For more information please refer to the above section regarding Combat.
Security Codes
The designated Tactical/Security Officer of each unit will assist those individuals requiring security access codes with establishing proper and secure codes. This can include issuing computer-generated codes to personalized codes that meet proper security rating and conform to unit and Starfleet Security protocols. Furthermore, the Tactical/Security Officer must ensure that the person receiving the code is instructed and understands the rules and regulations covering said access codes and understands the importance of safeguarding said codes. Once accomplished, the Tactical Officer may then activate the codes.
Criminal Investigation (Criminal Law, Forensics, etc)
Knowledge of criminal investigation techniques is a necessity for the Tactical/Security Department. In cases where a security breach has occurred the Tactical/Security Department is required to investigate the matter until it is closed. This requires training in Forensics. A firm grasp of Criminal Law is also required for those crewmembers within the Tactical Department that are specifically concerned with preventing crimes or bringing criminals to justice, with additional focus on protecting the rights of the accused. Once the suspect has been identified and enough evidence has been obtained the Chief Tactical/Security Officer may order the person arrested. However if the suspect is of a higher ranking, proper protocol is to inform the Commanding Officer of the situation.
Internal Sensor Usage
The internal sensor net is used by the Tactical/Security Department in a variety of ways. The first is to keep tabs on certain areas of the vessel that do not require direct supervision. During yellow and red alert the internal sensors are used to track personnel. Inconsistent activities are reported to the Tactical Station, which dispatches a Security team to further investigate the matter if necessary.
Tactical (external threats)
Vessel Identification
Once sensors have detected a target, they automatically attempt to identify the vessel using the ship database. Vessels are identified by race of origin (i.e. Romulan, Klingon, Breen, etc), type of vessel (i.e. freighter, Civilian vessel, personal vessel, warship etc), what class (i.e. Vor’cha, Bird of Prey, Warbird, Akira, etc) and lastly the name of the vessel, if it is on file. If the vessel is not on file, attempts will be made to add this new vessel to the database. Once this is done the Computer or Duty Tactical Officer can indicate the threat level of that vessel. For more information, please see section 3.3, Threat Identification.
Combat Communications
During combat communication security is critical. All communications to allied vessels or bases is encrypted to ensure that the enemy cannot read them. The Operations Officer normally handles this duty, but the Tactical Officer can be called on to handle this if the Commanding Officer or Executive Officer orders him or her to do so.
Threat Identification
The threat level is automatically set to the default level recommended in the database once a vessel has been identified (see 3.1, Vessel Identification, for further details). If the vessel is not identified it is automatically given a threat level based on its armaments and shields capabilities. The threat level can be increased manually by the Tactical Officer, or by communication messages from Starfleet Command or Sector Command. For example, if a vessel is on patrol near the Romulan border, and Starfleet Intel believes a greater threat exists, they can upgrade the threat level of all Romulan vessels.
Weapon Inventory (Offensive & Defensive)
Inventory of Hand Weapons
Tactical Officers are required to maintain a current list of all weapons within the vessel’s compliment. This includes personnel phasers, photon grenades, and torpedo stock.
Personnel Phasers
Tactical Officers are required to take physical counts of each type of phaser on board a vessel at least once a week. These checks must also involve a diagnostic to make sure that the weapon is working right and if it has been discharged since its last check. If the discharge cannot be logically explained, further investigation may be warranted. The Tactical Department must issue and provide support to every Officer concerning the Type-1 Phaser. The Type-2 Phasers are normally only issued to those on the away team roster. Type-3 Phasers must be locked in storage along with all extra phasers until use is authorized; personnel are not permitted to carry any Type-3 phaser outside of special circumstances.
Other Personnel Weaponry
There exists within Starfleet’s standard equipment devices not normally used by personnel. The first and most well known of these is the Photon Grenade. Photon Grenades are a simple personal version of the Photon Torpedo, with small amounts of matter and antimatter combined in a suitable delivery device. The Tactical Department must monitor each delivery device (mortar, rocket, and hand-thrown) and insure that they are safely stored in a weapons locker. The reactants must also be loaded by and under the supervision of the Tactical Department.
Portable force field generators are also within Starfleet’s standard compliment. These can run on internal battery power, portable fusion generators, or be attached to an external power source. While the general storage and maintenance of these generators are the Tactical Department’s responsibility, Engineering personnel usually perform the operation of these devices.
Emplacement Phasers
Emplacement Phasers are those used on the outside of the vessel. There are two general types of phasers: turrets and arrays. General maintenance, calibration, and monitoring are performed by the Tactical Department, but major repairs and upgrades are the joint responsibility of the Engineering and Tactical Departments.
Torpedoes
Starfleet has three torpedo types: Photon, Quantum, and Tricobalt. Photon torpedoes are the standard compliment torpedoes. The Tactical Department must maintain a constant check on all assembled torpedoes, torpedo casings, and spare torpedo parts. An incident aboard the USS Enterprise-A proves the necessity of these checks, which must occur daily. The Tactical Department must monitor automatic reactant loading systems in vessels where they are installed. The Tactical Department monitors pre-loaded torpedoes in vessels without automatic reactant loading systems, such as the Defiant.
Quantum Torpedoes are the next type of torpedo on board Starfleet vessels. They cannot be manufactured on board, so any ship that receives a compliment of these will be limited to that compliment alone. Tactical Officers must insure the safekeeping of these torpedoes. Accidental arming of the warhead is less likely than the accidental reaction of the matter and antimatter within Photon Torpedoes.
Tricobalt Torpedoes are not within Starfleet’s standard compliment because of their weak offensive nature, providing little effect against shielded threats. These torpedoes are good for insuring the complete destruction of an unshielded target by using a subspace shearing effect well within the consigned limits of the Khitomer Subspace Weapons Ban Treaty. The Tactical Department must monitor their inventory of Tricobalt Torpedoes and insure that they are not reworked into Isolytic Subspace Weapons.
All torpedo launchers must be monitored and maintained. Simple repairs are the Tactical Department’s responsibility with the Engineering Department assisting when necessary or during alert status.
Shields
Shields are normally maintained by the Engineering Department, however during alert situations the Tactical Department assists with monitoring and control.
Electronic Countermeasures (Preventing lock-ons, increasing lock-ons)
The basis of Electronic Countermeasures has not changed much since it was first invented shortly after World War II. The primary objective is to prevent an opponent from getting a weapons lock on your ship. One way to do this is to flood their targeting sensors with extra data, thus preventing them from getting a lock. The other method is to minimize your electronic emissions, in the hopes that an opponent’s targeting computer does not classify your vessel as a threat. This works best for smaller vessels if they power down most of their systems.
Attack Patterns
There are different attack patterns depending on the class of your vessel and the vessel class of your opponent. Under normal situations the computer will display a list of recommended attack patterns, which are chosen at the discretion of either the Tactical Officer or the bridge Duty Officer. In order for the pattern to work, proper communication between the Helm Officer and Tactical Officer is necessary. For further detail please see 3.7, Firing Arcs, and 3.8, FCO/CTO Communication.
External Sensor usage
Sensors are normally handled by the Science Department, but the data from these sensors is available for the Tactical Officer. This data link is one way, with sensor data feeding into the Tactical Console. If the Tactical Officer needs a detailed scan of something, he or she makes a request to the Science Officer on the bridge. The Tactical Officer has tactical sensor, but the system is largely automated, and just displays results.
Firing-arcs
While every Tactical Officer would love the ability to use any weapon in any direction, this is not the case. Depending on the weapon type and location, various arcs of fire are created. In the case of torpedoes, there is a minimal distance from the ship in which the torpedo should explode because one would not want to do more damage to ones own ship then their opponents ship. All weapons have a maximum distance. One of the tactical displays shows firing arcs using a three-color system. This display can be 3-dimensional or 2-dimensional. At the center of the display is a representation of your vessel, and in a relative location to your ship is the position of the target vessel. Weapons within a good arc for the target appear green. Weapons in too short of a range, where damage to the ship may occur, are in red. Weapons at the edge of their effectiveness appear in yellow.
Based on this information the computer will recommend attack patterns to maximize weapons damage based on the position of the vessel. Of course this data is useless without proper communications with the Helm Officer. For more details please see 3.8 below.
FCO/CTO Communication
Good communication and drills will maximize the offensive and defensive capability of any Starship. It does not matter how much firepower or how agile a ship is, without the proper coordination and communication between the Helm Officer and Tactical Officer these systems are ineffective. The computer can recommend several quality attack patterns, which will allow for maximum firepower on a given target, but this is useless unless the Tactical Officer and Helm Officer can work together and communicate efficiently. For more details on Weapons arcs see section 3.7, Firing Arcs. For more details on attack patterns see section 3.5, Attack Patterns.
Use and making of intelligence & counterintelligence probes
There are times when a Starship, even a small one like a Defiant class, is just too large to efficiently gather data. In these events probes can be used to gather data, or even be configured to make it appear as if the probe is a ship. A wise Tactical Officer will remember that no matter how many weapons his or her ship has, there are three keys to winning a battle: Communicating with follow Bridge Officers, teamwork, and information. If any one of these factors is missing, victory is uncertain.