[CaptainCrunch]

The Star fleet rank structure never ever made any sense.

I think Miles was realistically the only enlisted man in the Federation. I mean we saw other ones but there weren't any huge numbers on them on any ship.

I mean frankly on lower decks it feels like the lowest rank in the Federation is Ensign, which would make sense in the everyone is special Federation.

What was the complement of the Galaxy class about 4000 people. And when I saw the list of personal in memory alpha, there were like 20 chiefs.

So you think Ensign Kim's life would be miserable try being one of 8 enlisted men on the Enterprise surrounded by thousands of snooty entitled officers. "Polish my boots chief", "Clean out the energy coils in my toilet Chief", that hair plugged Jacuzzi in Riker's quarters won't clear itself Chief", "My Ratcichino doesn't taste right chief". O'brien muttered to himself while polishing his phaser "I'll show them someday".

There's a reason why Starfleet kept losing battles at the start of every war. They're all officers hiding behind the "But I'm a gentleman and a diplomat and an officer" As they fly around in hotel quality ships where every officers gets what is equivalent to a 5 star hotel suite while they play the cello in the bar and lord over the 7 enlisted ranks and all of the ensigns on board.

I can imagine the first crew of the defiant before Sisco and the DS9 took it over after the Federation was getting their asses kicked. Lt blah blah probably sniffed "where's my chief to bring my luggage in and turn down my bunk and put that little chocolate on the pillow. Wait this is unacceptable my cabin is the size of a closet and there's no panoramic window and a private bathroom, and where's my queen sized bed what are these Bunk beds?"

You know what it took for the Federation to win wars like the Dominion war? Desperately forming alliances with brutal warrior races like the Klingons and Romulans, and what really was kind of disturbing is that the Federation was fine with the slaughter and blood lust of the Klingons during the dominion war, and then at the end when the enemy was defeated and Martok was sitting there going "We slaughtered them the day is won and I want to share some of this blood wine with you. Sisko and Ross sniffed "How dare you enjoy this and celebrate this bloody victory. Did you know that we're diplomats and explorers and officers, and what's that an enlisted rank, shouldn't he be scrubbing your toilets".

And the officers who were like, we're in a war, and we're not willing to do what it takes to protect those ideals and the federation, if it betrays these ideals, were shamed and forced out of Starfleet. I mean what basically happened to Shelby, she was ruthless, then after the Federation won, she got soft and lasted 2 seconds against a new enemy.

Lower Decks worked in the first couple of seasons, and still works to an extent when you look at that class of senior officers as these entitled, absolute butt holes and glory hogs, that wanted nothing to do with junior ranks until the morning after taco tuesday, or when their replicators didn't work right, or the sex party in the holosuite got out of control and broke it.


In the mirror universe the Federation was an empire and brutal, and its downfall happened when all of the others races joined together and basically destroyed earth. In the prime universe, I can eventually see all of the other races combining their strength to destroy earth after getting sick of the pious lectures about how enlightened humans were and how all the other races are doing it wrong. The enemy races will call it operation eye roll. And Ensign Kim will be their king.