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Vice admiral

"Vice admirals don't fly, do they?"

Vice admiral, abbreviated as VADM, was a flag officer rank above rear admiral but below admiral, the equivalent of which was used by various service organizations, including Starfleet. As a Starfleet rank, vice admirals were often referred to as simply "admiral."

History[]

In the early 22nd century, Starfleet vice admirals, such as Maxwell Forrest, were denoted by three rank insignia enclosed in a rectangular frame, worn on both sides of a uniform jacket. These officers also had a series of rank stripes on their sleeve, a group of five stripes (four in a group, and one separate towards the cuff). (ENT: "Broken Bow")

Starfleet sleeve insignia in 2161

Starfleet sleeve insignia in 2161

By 2161, the sleeve stripes had changed to be more in line with the style used in the 2260s. An unnamed vice admiral at the signing of the Federation Charter wore a solid white/grey stripe with silver braiding (about three standard stripes wide), flanked by two single stripes of a similar material (one above and one below). (ENT: "These Are The Voyages...")

In 2263 of the alternate reality, Captain James T. Kirk had considered leaving the USS Enterprise and applied for a Vice Admiral position at Starbase Yorktown. Following the Attack on Yorktown and the death of Krall, Kirk was offered the promotion in honor of his heroics. He ultimately turned it down in favor of continuing to command a starship. (Star Trek Beyond)

In the subsequent Federation fleets, vice admirals (like Fitzpatrick) were again denoted by sleeve stripes, this time signified by a similar insignia, one solid gold band (about three stripes wide, worn by the rank of Commodore) of braid, and two additional stripes separate, above and below. (TOS: "The Trouble with Tribbles")

By the Starfleet uniform design of the 2280s, all officers wore their insignia as a pin device attached to the shoulder on the jacket clasp. The vice admiral pin was a small round field with four gold arrowheads arranged pointing towards a gold pip in the center, and was accompanied by an embroidered sleeve stripe. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

Another redesign in the 2360s denoted vice admirals (like Vice Admiral Nakamura) by three gold rank pips surrounded by a rectangular frame. (TNG: "The Measure Of A Man")

Starfleet vice admirals[]

Name Image Date of rank[note 1] Position Commission Notes
Blackwell, Margaret Margaret Blackwell 2370 or earlier
Buenamigo, Les Les Buenamigo 2381 or earlier Texas-class fleet
Chekote Chekote 2370 or earlier Starbase 227
Cornwell, Katrina, MD Katrina Cornwell 2256 or earlier [note 2]
Dougherty Dougherty 2375 or earlier Sector 441
Fitzpatrick Fitzpatrick (Admiral) 2268 or earlier
Forrest, Maxwell Maxwell Forrest, 2154 Between 2143 and 2151 Starfleet Command
Fujisaki 2374 or earlier Deputy Chief of Starfleet Intelligence
Gluck, D. 2285 or earlier Receivingship, Starfleet Academy
Gromek Gromek 2365 or earlier
Haden Haden 2366 or earlier Lya III
Haftel Haftel 2366 or earlier Starfleet Research, Galor IV
Hanson, J.P. JP Hanson 2366 or earlier Starfleet Tactical
Hayes Hayes, female admiral 2369 or earlier
Hayes Hayes, male admiral 2373 or earlier
Headroom, Maxwell 2364 or earlier
Hendricks Hendricks 2378 or earlier
Henry, Thomas Thomas Henry 2367 or earlier Chief of Starfleet Security
Holt, Marcus Marcus Holt 2370 or earlier CO, Deep Space 3
Janeway Janeway (Male Admiral) 2358 or earlier
Janeway, Kathryn Kathryn Janeway, 2385 2378 or 2379 2357 [note 2]
Kennelly Kennelly 2368 or earlier
Lauritson, Peter 2363 or earlier
Legato, Robert 2353 or earlier [note 2]
Leyton Leyton 2372 or earlier Chief of Starfleet Operations
Livingston, David 2363 or earlier
Lucas, Connor D. 3195 or earlier
Moore, Ronald D. 2367 or earlier Tactical Command; Starfleet Command
Nakamura Nakamura, 2370 2365 or earlier Starbase 173
Navarrete, Monica 3195 or earlier
Nechayev, Alynna Alynna Nechayev, 2369 2369 or earlier [note 2]
Paris, Owen Owen Paris (hallucination) 2371 or earlier [note 2]
Pasalk Pasalk 2259 or earlier Judge Advocate General
Patterson Patterson 2371 or earlier Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards
Pearce, Stuart M. 3195 or earlier
Permenter, Ruby 3195 or earlier
Rescher, G. 2285 or earlier Starfleet Academy
Ross, William William Ross, 2375 2374 or earlier Starbase 375
Rossa, Connaught Connaught Rossa 2367 or earlier
Simmons, Adele 2367 or earlier [note 2]
Simons Simons HD 2369 or earlier
Taylor, Jeri 2363 or earlier Tactical Command; Starfleet Command
Toddman Toddman 2371 or earlier Starfleet Security
Yacobian, Brad 2367 or earlier

Footnotes[]

  1. ↑ The date listed is that of the officer's first promotion to this rank.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 This flag officer was later promoted or demoted to a different rank.

Appendices[]

Background information[]

Fitzpatrick was the only flag officer above commodore whose rank insignia was visible (if barely) during Star Trek: The Original Series.

Robert Blackman's production notes during Star Trek: The Next Generation described this rank as "3 Starfleet Admiral, gold framed bar w/3 dots." [1](X)

The Star Trek Encyclopedia, 3rd ed., p. 210-211 labeled this rank as "vice admiral" referring to the late 2270's-2350's uniforms, and "admiral, three star" referring to its use on 2350s-2370s, late 2360s-early 2370s, and 2370s uniforms.

Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 10, p. 99, mistakenly used a late 2270's-2350's rear admiral insignia, with only the top three gold arrows, as the vice admiral insignia.

External links[]