Starfleet Staff College
By Pookie

Law (Starfleet Regulations) 1 (2)
Administration (Starfleet) 1 (2)
Diplomacy (Intergalactic Affairs)
    (Chose Specialisation) 1 (2) (2)
Strategic Operations (Fleet Operations)
    (Chose Specialisation) 1 (2) (2)
Elective: Social Sciences (Chose one of Economics, Political Science or Sociology) or History (Chose Specialisation) 1 (2)
Advantage: Patron or Contact +3

It is not unknown for a starship captain to be promoted to the position of Admiral (Acting) for the purposes of a particular situation. While such promotions may be acts of expediency, they are at the same time a method of determining whether or not the captain is suitable for further advancement within Starfleet itself.

Where such promotions are confirmed, they also require attendance at Starfleet's prestigious Staff College. Currently it is very rare for anyone holding the rank of admiral not to be a graduate of the college. Each intake studies for a year in the skills required to take command beyond more than just a single starship. As well as taking a number of required classes, attendees must take a number of electives in Diplomacy, Strategic Operations and a Social Science or History. Tied into these electives is a final paper, which reflects both a candidate's previous experience and their training at the college.

Though the Staff College is actually intended to turn out the next crop of Starfleet's admiralty, officers below the rank of captain occasionally attend. More often than not such a posting is gained though political patronage, and even then such a candidate has to work hard to prove his mettle against that of the starship commanders usually attending.

Sometimes such a young officer is assigned to the Staff College as a reward, though this is rare, the last being the then-Lieutenant Commander Theodore Kingsley II. A Cardassian pre-emptive strike against the Drava System colonies in 2349 almost crippled his ship, the U.S.S. Elan, and killed her captain and first officer. Kingsley's subsequent defense of the colonies during their evacuation against the Cardassian strike force earned him the UFP Medal of Honour. He was also granted attendance at Starfleet Staff College, graduating in 2351. Fleet Admiral Kingsley II's (his father was also an Admiral) paper on Cardassian tactics still remains a seminal text and the Admiral continues to be among the most hawkish when it comes to the Cardassians.

Star Trek® and all related marks ™, ®, & © Paramount Pictures. Star Trek The RPG™ and all related products are © Last Unicorn Games, Inc. Individual works are the property of respective authors and may not be reproduced without permission. HTML code, layout, and custom images are property of TrekRPGNet and may not be reproduced without permission. See the legal page for more information.