Ensign
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This article is considered a canon article for Star Trek: Equilism. |
Ensign is a rank, the equivalent of which is used by the service organizations of many civilizations. As a traditional naval grade, ensign is the most junior line officer rank below the Lieutenant grades, usually immediately under lieutenant or Lieutenant Junior Grade.
Duties and responsibilities
The rank of ensign is usually the first commissioned rank assigned to new officers (such as recent graduates of Starfleet Academy).
An ensign's primary duty is professional growth, both as a leader and as an occupational specialist. Ensigns are mentored by more senior officers as well as their (nominally) subordinate chief petty officers as part of their development as Starfleet leaders. As ensigns prove themselves more capable, they are considered for promotion into the lieutenant tier.
On some of the larger starship classes, such as the Galaxy starships, it is not uncommon for veteran and seasoned enlisted personnel to have ensigns working for them as technicians, thus having the ensign "learning the ropes" of the more technical aspects of starship design, such as transporter components.