Third officer

"You will serve aboard the Ch'Tang as third officer."
"Third? Oh, well, no matter. I've overcome greater obstacles."

– Worf and Kor, 2375 ("Once More Unto the Breach")

"On this voyage I am but the third officer. I expect no special treatment."

– Kor to the Ch'Tang's crew, 2375 ("Once More Unto the Breach")

A third officer was an bridge officer position aboard a starship that was fourth in line for command of the vessel after the captain, first officer, and second officer.

In 2375, during the waning days of the Dominion War, Dahar Master Kor was given an assignment as third officer aboard the IKS Ch'Tang. (DS9: "Once More Unto the Breach")

Despite being called the "third officer", it seemed more apparent that he was the "third-in-command", as following the event on the bridge, where Martok and Worf were incapacitated, he stepped up and took command. Similarly, Spock referred to himself as "second officer" in TOS: "The Enemy Within", rather than "second-in-command".

In 2377, Tom Paris stated to Chakotay that it had just occurred to him that "with you in command and Tuvok off the ship, that makes me acting first officer. Technically speaking," and therefore third officer. (VOY: "Unimatrix Zero, Part II") That had also been the previous case for Paris, when he was left in command of Voyager, when Janeway, Chakotay, and Tuvok were off ship or away from the bridge. (VOY: "Initiations", "Hunters", "Renaissance Man")

This chart shows only general equivalencies based on the ranks used by many governments on Earth, as well as the rest of the galaxy.

External link

• Third officer at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works