Starfleet Academy Command College

Command College - place of dreams realized and of dreams destroyed. It has been said on many an occasion that "No one joins Starfleet to just be a commander - only to be a Captain". Command College is the destination in the minds of most cadets - some would say of all. The Third Year of Starfleet Academy sees all Third Year Cadets placed in the main lecture theatre and addressed by the commandant and one or more senior Captains of Starfleet. Past lecturing Captains have included Robert April, Christopher Pike, James T. Kirk, Spock, "Achilles" Stirling, Jean-Luc Picard, William Riker, Tyler Scott, R.E.L Price, Casey Diernan, and Hikaru Sulu. All have shared their insights of command with the cadets. All have warned that the success rate in the Command College is low, the courses are deliberately hard and the attrition rate is much, much higher than anywhere else in Starfleet Academy.

Command College cadets must prove that they have a higher-than-average ability to lead a group. It is one thing to say that Starfleet officer cadets must have a leadership ability, but Command Division cadets are the prospective captains of the future. These individuals will be placed in positions of high responsibility from their first days out of the Academy. Command College cadets are given a great deal of respect - and rightly so - as these cadets must prove themselves worthy of the uniform that they wear to a greater degree than others (as could be argued). Command College cadets take the centre seat in the Bridge simulator in class runs and are cast into the fires of command responsibility as they learn that the buck stops with them. They also work extensively with the Tactical simulators, studying just not single ship actions, but fleet actions as well.

Every Cadet must take the 'Elements of Command' courses which includes the "Killarney" and 'Koyabashi Maru' Simulations. The ones with superior leadership potential are recruited to the Tactical-Command portion of the curriculum in their Fourth Years.

Cadets who want to become Department Heads or Top Command personnel are usually required to attend Command School for two years following their Cadet Cruise. At Command School, they will obtain the following skills important for holding positions of responsibility and authority over other officers.

Department Heads are defined as the persons holding the following positions:

* Chief Engineer

* Chief Medical Officer

* Chief Tactical Officer

* Chief Science Officer

* Chief of Navigation

* Chief Security Officer

* Chief Counsellor

Top Command personnel are:

* Captain

* First Officer

* Chief of Operations

Training includes:

* Administration

* Astrogation: Warp Drive

* Computer Operations

* Computer Programming

* Diplomacy

* Electronics Operations: Sensors

* General Services: (specialty)

* History: Federation

* Law: Federation

* Leadership

* Psychology: (non-native -and- non-Terran)

* Strategy: Space

* Tactics: Small Units

* Tactics: Space

* Teaching

* Xenology: (Romulan or Borg)>