Commander is a military rank used in Earth Starfleet and Federation Starfleet, superior to lieutenant and lieutenant commander and subordinate to captain. A commander may be a department head, aide-de-camp or executive officer on a large vessel or starbase, or may be commanding officer or first officer of a smaller vessel.
Following naval tradition, the commanding officer of a vessel is addressed as "captain" while on their own vessel, regardless of rank. (DS9: "Behind the Lines")
This term is also used in the Imperial Klingon Fleet, the Klingon Defense Force and the Kellarian System Defense Forces (Star Trek: Remington).
The rank is equivalent to the Marines rank of lieutenant colonel, and the Romulan and pre-Federation Vulcan rank of subcommander (they used "commander" to mean their equivalent of the Starfleet rank captain; Rihannsu: Riov).
La' was the Klingon term for a commander. A company of 100 warriors was commanded by a la'. (The Dominion War Sourcebook: The Fires of Armageddon)
La' Mijanou was a Barkonian and the first officer of the IJN Eidolon. (RIS Bouteina: "Eidolon")
The equivalent rank in the Kai Imperium military was known as Tribune. (Star Trek: Pioneer)
In the Lyran Starfleet, commanders could command battalions of ground forces. (Star Trek: The Stoneship Files: "Attack on the Laboratory")
In the 23rd century, the Gorn Space Command used two grades of commander: junior commander, which was roughly equivalent to lieutenant commanders of other races, and senior commander, which was more akin to other races' commanders. (TOS video game: Starfleet Command)
History[]
The term comes from the navies of Earth. The USN abbreviation was CDR.
On Earth, the rank of Commander originated in the 18th century Royal Navy of the United Kingdom as "master and commander". In the 19th century the rank was shortened to "commander" and continued unchanged in that form through at least the 24th.
Starfleet insignia[]
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| 2350s-2360s | 2360s-2370s service uniform |
2360s-2370s duty uniform |
2370s-2380s |
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Alternate realities[]
| 2250s | 2380s-2400s | 2390s | 29th century |
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Other insignia[]
| Klingon navy 23rd century |
Klingon navy 24th century |
Romulan Star Navy 23rd century |
Romulan Star Navy 24th century |
Vulcan High Command |
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Lyran Starfleet | ||
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Starfleet commanders[]
External links[]
- Commander article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
- Commander article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.
- Commander article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.