Ops (Duty Post)
| Divisions and Personnel Assignments |
|---|
| COMMAND DIVISION | OPERATIONS DIVISION | SCIENCES DIVISION | MARINE CORPS | CIVILIAN CONTINGENT |
 The Operations Duty Post is one of the most flexible and demanding of the bridge postings. The role can vary significantly depending on the individual's rank, specialty, and the needs of the ship or station. An operations officer's primary responsibility is to ensure a ship and crew are able to perform the mission at hand. While that leaves a great deal of flexibility, operations officers are focused on coordinating manpower, hardware, and supplies at the direction of the captain and first officer. Many shipboard operations involve scheduling shared people, resources, or hardware (such as the use of sensors) that affect multiple of departments, commonly presenting conflicting requirements. An operations officer must schedule and prioritize resource allocations (including physical resources like phasers or conference rooms, technical resources like energy or computer time, and personnel resources like away teams) so that the most critical activities can have every chance of success. Having a crew member in this decision-making loop is or crucial importance because of the wide range of unpredictable situations with which a starship must deal. Personnel in this role are called the "Operations Manager," "Ops Officer," or "Chief of Operations." Typically, Ops is manned by a member of the command staff of a starship, regardless of seniority. On the USS Enterprise-D, Ops Manager Data (who doubled as second officer) was the most senior member of the ship's staff save the captain and XO, but on USS Voyager, Ops Manager Harry Kim was the most junior bridge officer. In many ways, an operations officer is the ultimate "power user" of any ship and its systems, well-versed in the sensors, computer, and hardware of the ship. Where an engineer is expected to have detailed physical and design knowledge required to maintain a ship, a Ops officer is expected to focus more on a big-picture view of how systems work together and how existing hardware might be applied to new situations as they arise. They must also ensure that the crew is capable of operating and maintaining that equipment. Operations officers frequently choose to specialize and add engineering, science, tactical, diplomatic, legal, communications, or command expertise to their broad-ranging base training. This specialty, as well as the needs of a ship, can frequently modulate the role an operations officer plays on or off the bridge. As analytical operations relies upon knowledge of science and engineering disciplines, operations managers sometimes performed the additional duties of a science officer, as exemplified by both Lieutenant Commander Data and Ensign Harry Kim. On space stations, the chief of operations frequently commands the maintenance and engineering staff, since stations do not require the large number of propulsion engineers typically found working under the command of a chief engineer on a starship. Chief of Operations Miles O'Brien was a senior chief petty officer who filled this billet on Deep Space 9. Eyes and EarsOn the bridge, an operation officer's duty is to be aware of everything happening aboard and around a ship. An operations officer maintains a ship's situational awareness, notifying of internal problems with sensors, weapons, shields, and more as well as identifying potential external issues or opportunities, recommending anomalies for study and much more. This duty has a great deal of potential overlap with tactical and science posts. When working with the science division, operations officers are expected to recognize and classify known phenomena (with the aid of the shipboard database), and draw analogies to previously seen phenomena. However new and foundational science is led by the science division, with operations supporting them by allocating any resources they might need. When working with tactical and security personnel, operation's chief role is to provide the tactical and situational information they need to keep the ship safe, and manage damage and casualty reports in a way that gives them as many resources as possible. Off the bridge, operations officers track equipment performance, supply levels of consumables, maintenance schedules, crew rotations and performance, and any other indicator of the ship's overall health. They're responsible for catching new trends of injury or absenteeism or equipment failure, and discovering the root cause of anything that keeps the ship and crew from operating as efficiently as possible. They look at crew performance statistics, monitor sensors, watch computer logs, spot-checking diagnostics, and anticipate any problem before it happens. They maintain and manage allocation of all non-engineering spaces like mess halls, individual quarters, shuttle bays, and more. They will ensure engineering staff is aware of problems and has an attainable maintenance and repair schedule, as well as the materials necessary to complete that work. Operations officers are responsible for scheduling shipboard spaces for events including recitals, birthdays, weddings, diplomatic meetings, and more; and being aware of when there's conflicting requests for the same spaces. In this role, ops works particularly closely with the engineering division. Depending on the ship or station, operations may be responsible for repairing plumbing, food replicators, and many other non-propulsion systems, but are first and foremost required to enable engineers in their job. Logistics and Project ManagementUnfortunately not everything can be replicated easily, if at all, using shipboard equipment. Examples include important resources like dilithium and many life-saving medicines, but can also include trade commodities like gold-pressed latinum. While some sophisticated electronics and large structures may be easily replicated using industrial replicators and other newer, larger replicators, virtually all Federation ships still rely on large stores of supplies in their cargo holds that are resupplied when docked at a starbase or visiting a friendly planet. An operation officer's job is to track levels of materials available, make sure cargo is safely stored (particularly hazardous materials and explosives like torpedoes), and coordinate resupply - particularly when operating far away from Federation borders. Officers may be required to rely upon local trade networks and materials when resupply is otherwise not possible. There are many categories objects which can be replicated or manufactured on long-duration missions, like torpedoes and shuttles, but only with the dedication of large amounts of shipboard energy an/or manpower. An operation officer's job is to manage large-scale engineering (such as manufacture), scientific, and other projects that consume power and people. For example, operations ensures no large repairs are performed during diplomatic talks or solar system surveys. They make sure that enough crew is available to assist with emergency aid to another ship or station (or even colony or planet). When problems arise, they coordinate with the senior command staff (particularly the XO and CO) to either reschedule projects or bring in backup either in the form of another ship or more manpower. A Starfleet-configured Operations station presents the Operations Manager with a continually updated list of current major shipboard activities. This list permits Ops to set priorities and allocate resources among current operations. This is especially critical in cases where two or more requests require the use of the same equipment, entail mutually exclusive mission profiles, or involve some unusual safety or tactical considerations. An example might be a situation where the Stellar Physics department is conducting an experiment using the lateral sensor array to study a nearby binary star. Simultaneously, part of the same array is being time-shared with a long-range cometary population survey. A request from the bridge for a priority scan of a planetary system might jeopardize both studies unless Ops authorizes a minor change in attitude, permitting the Stellar Physics observations to use the upper sensor array. Alternately, Ops may weigh the option of placing one of the ongoing studies on a lower priority to provide the bridge with immediate use of the lateral array. Priority and Resource AllocationMost low-level and routine scheduling and resource allocation is done automatically by the main computer. This frees the Operations Manager from routine activity, leaving him/her able to concentrate on decisions beyond the scope of the artificial intelligence software. The level of these decision filter programs can be set by the Operations Manager, and also varies with the current Alert status of the ship. In cases where priorities are ambiguous or where specific Ops approval is required, the panels will display a menu of the most probable options for action. In virtually all cases, the Operations Manager also has the ability to input choices beyond those presented by the action menus. This is important because it is impossible for mission planners to anticipate every possible situation. Action menus may be displayed for any current activity (even those which would normally be handled automatically) upon keyboard request from Ops. During crisis situations and Reduced Power Mode operations, Ops is responsible for supervision of power allocation in coordination with the Engineering department. Load shedding of nonessential power usage in such situations is based on spacecraft survival factors and mission priorities. The Operations Manager is also responsible for providing general status information to the main computer, which is then made available to all departments and personnel. Ops routes specific information to specific departments to inform them of anticipated changes and requirements that may affect their operations. An example is a scenario where an Away Team is to be sent on a mission to a planetary surface. Typical Ops responsibilities might include:
Such notifications are generally accomplished automatically without the need for active intervention by Ops. However, because preprogrammed functions cannot be expected to anticipate all possible situations, Ops is responsible for monitoring all such coordination activity and for taking additional action as necessary. Such flexibility is particularly important during alert and crisis scenarios, during which unpredictable and unplanned conditions must frequently be dealt with. Role of CommunicationsBefore the advent of the universal translator, a communications officer who was well versed in the universal rules of language was a staple aboard any starship. With the implementation of the universal translator, the communication officer's role became more narrowly focused on calibrating the complex software which handled translation. As the translator became more integrated and automated, this position was phased out, and the role of handling communications began to be handled by either the Tactical office, or the Operations officer. As a ship may require either of these officers to handle this specific role, it is important that the Operations officer be well versed in communications protocols. Other Specific DutiesAn operations officer (and the operations staff) may cover other duties, including but not limited to:
See Also
|
| Mission Specialist | Helm/Com/Ops | Engineer | Science Officer | Medical Officer | Nurse |
| Intelligence Officer | Security Officer | Tactical Officer | Marine | Counselor | Civilian |
| Duty Posts |
|---|