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Commodore is a rank of flag officer in many naval services and space forces, most notably Earth Starfleet and its Federation counterpart.

Standing

A commodore is the most basic flag officer rank, a grade higher than a captain and a grade below rear admiral in most rank structures, although some organizations will refer to a captain as a commodore in title only, to show the said captain's seniority over other captains. The Federation also once had a rank of vice commodore, falling below commodore but above captain. The commodore rank is roughly equivalent with the authority of a brigadier of military forces, and the rear admiral lower half of some service organizations. The Romulan Star Empire has two ranks, senior centurion (enarrain in the Romulan language) and commander general (khre'riov), that are analogous to a commodore's standing. In the Cardassian language, jagul is a Cardassian flag officer rank title which, in translation to Federation Standard, is approximately equivalent to a commodore. In Klingonese, a commodore is referred to as totlh. (TOS novel: The Romulan Way; TLE - Terok Nor novel: Day of the Vipers; ST reference: Klingon for the Galactic Traveler)

Starfleet commodores

22nd century

Commodore 22nd century rank pin.

In the Earth Starfleet uniforms of the 22nd century, commodores wore pin insignia of a single rectangular pip surrounded by a silver rectangle. Their service uniforms also had sleeve insignia of a wide white band with a maroon stripe across it. (ENT episode: "First Flight")

23rd century

Commodore Robert April in dress uniform.

Commodore's 23rd century rank.

By the era of the early 23rd century Federation Starfleet, commodores' uniforms had a sleeve insignia of three solid gold sleeve stripes, similar to that of an admiral. (EV comic: "Futures, Part One")

Commodore's 2260s rank braid.

By the uniform redesign of the 2260s, commodores were a single gold band a couple of inches wide, with a braided stripe on each edge. A commodore's dress uniform remained similar to a captain's, with thick gold braid at the neck and closure, and thin gold piping along the shoulder seam. Some, but not all commodores had dress jackets with the added thin gold piping down to the cuff of the sleeve. (TOS episode: "Court Martial")

The TOS reference: Star Fleet Technical Manual incorrectly showed a TOS-era commodore uniform sleeve with three separate rank stripes, an insignia that has been speculated to be that of a fleet captain, and would seem appropriate for a vice commodore also.

Commodore's 2270s epaulets.

In the early 2270s, commodore's uniforms had sleeve insignia of three braided rank stripes placed edge-to-edge as a solid group. The commodore's epaulet also bore three stripes. (TOS comic: "Domain of the Dragon God!")

Commodore's 2270s-2350s rank pin

In the uniforms of the 2280s, commodores wore pin insignia with a single pip-shaped center attached to two command officer flag devices, above and below. Commodores also had gold piping on their uniform closures and a thin checkered flag officer stripe on their left sleeves. (ST reference: Star Trek Encyclopedia)

Before the Star Trek Encyclopedia depicted a fairly accurate version of Robert Fletcher's rank pin designs, other sources presented differing commodore insignia, such as FASA which used a pin that looked like a rounded captain's pin with a sold bar in the middle. Confusingly, that insignia was also used by DC Comics' TOS comic: "Who's Who in Star Trek" for fleet captain. Shane Johnson's ST reference: Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise showed a commodore pin that was a captain's pin with two additional gold flags attached, and again the insignia was shown in another source, this time the Encyclopedia, representing the rank of fleet captain.

24th century

Commodore's later-24th century rank pins.

In the uniform insignia introduced in the mid-24th century, a commodore wears five circular silver pips as their rank insignia. (TNG roleplay module: Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual)

By the 2370s, there were very few officers in Starfleet that held the rank of commodore. Andrea M'Benga once described the rank as being as "old and musty as a laser pistol". The rank was so obscure that many, such as William Riker, only regarded it as the informal title given to captains who command other captains. In 2373, Data retrieved information that showed a handful of officers were still on record as holding the rank, although the information was obscure enough that Data could not retrieve a list of their assignments.

In 2375, prior to the final battle of the Dominion War, there were several commodores in the Starfleet fleet that was heading to Cardassia. Commodores from different divisions discussed the structure of the fleet. (DS9 novelization: What You Leave Behind)

In 2380, Mackenzie Calhoun proclaimed Jean-Luc Picard a commodore, when deferring command of his task force. Though initially taken to be a tongue-in-cheek comment, Picard was referred to as the fleet's commodore throughout the mission, by other captains in the force. (TNG novel: Before Dishonor)

Commodore Data.

On alternate reality uniforms from the future, commodores such as Data of the early 25th century wore command officer green and black uniforms with silver trim on the front, cuffs and belt. (TNG novel: Imzadi)

Positions and lists

Earth Starfleet

• Maxwell Forrest

Federation Starfleet

Robert April • Milton Ashe • James Atheling • B6 Blue • Benedict • Blunt • Vincent Bright • Lyle Craig • Data (in an alternate reality future) • Matthew Decker • Jono Danilov • Edrich • Enwright • David Fein • Garrett • Jarv Gouthar • Carl Jefferson • Tailen Kahn • Kathasat • Krinsky • Terise Haleakala-LoBrutto • Georgi Ilanenko • Martin Lawrence • Stephen Leedson • William Masefield • José Mendez • Julius Merrill • Lucian Murat (USS Verdun) • Antonia Niccomachi • Anton Novochaeoive • Anson Peters • Jean-Luc Picard • Michael Pollard • Diego Reyes • Santin • Sarin (Commodore) • Wilbert Smith • Sonam • Shirley Spencer • Dan Stack • George Stocker • Stone (Commodore) • Strickland • Travers • Nathan Twining • José Tyler • Sven van Anling • Vosrok • Robert Wesley • Adam Willis • Wolfe • Hal Wyeth

Klingon Defense Force

• Khezri

Kshatriyan

• Uligbar Dar Zotzchen

Appendices

Connections

External links

• Commodore article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
• Commodore article at Star Trek Expanded Universe, the fanon Star Trek wiki.

The Star Trek Expanded Universe Database is for fanon and related content. See Memory-Alpha.org for the canon Star Trek wiki.

Commodore is a naval rank, the equivalent of which is used by the service organizations of many civilizations. As a traditional grade, commodore is the most junior flag officer rank of a naval organization, below admiral (usually under rear admiral) but senior to captain. Commodores command groups of ships, as opposed to captains commanding single ships or units. In comparison to other ranking systems, this rank is equivalent to the infantry brigadier general.

Many rank systems only use this rank during wartime. During times of peace an officer of this rank is referred to as a rear admiral, lower half.

The rank of commodore was used by Starfleet until at least the 2270s.

Use of the rank of commodore appears to have dwindled by the 24th century, as no such ranked persons were seen or referenced in TNG, DS9 or VOY.

Totlh was the Klingon term for the rank of commodore. (The Dominion War Sourcebook: The Fires of Armageddon)

Starfleet insignia

22nd century	2230s	AR 2250s	2250s	2265-2270s	Early 2270s	Late 2270s-2350s

Other insignia

Lyran Starfleet

Star Trek: Intrepid

As of the late 24th century, the rank of commodore was still in use by some officers, albeit in a much more limited area than its counterpart, rear admiral. Aaron Prentice and Nathan Twining were examples of latter-day commodores. It was noted by Data that the number of commodores in Starfleet in the 2370s numbered in the low double digits. (Star Trek: Intrepid; Shatnerverse)

Other species

Romulans referred to a commodore as a khre'riov (commander-general) and, like its Starfleet counterpart, were the lowest flag rank. (RIS Bouteina)

Lyrans had two grades of commodore, occupying the lowest two flag ranks, senior commodore being the highest. (RIS Bouteina: "The Measure of a Romulan")

Notable commodores

22nd century

• Francis Decker
  • Commander, SS Yorktown (NCC-108)

23rd century

• Robert Earl Day
  • Astrophysics Department Head, Starfleet Research and Development - (Starfleet Dynamics)

24th century

• Aaron Prentice
  • Commander of Starfleet Forces, Charybdis Sector - (Star Trek: Intrepid)
• Ian Quincy Knapp
  • Commander of Starbase Deep Space 12 - (Star Trek: Hidden Frontier)
• Brianna Reiss
  • Commander of Lyran Starbase 148 - (RIS Bouteina: "Cost of Captivity")
• Elizabeth Shelby
  • Commander, USS Excelsior - (Star Trek: Operation Beta Shield)
• Yhayes M'Rumn - (Trekker's Alternity Galactopedia)

External links

• Commodore article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
• Commodore article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.
• Commodore article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

From Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki.

The term commodore typically denoted senior Navy officers commanding groups of ships rather than individual vessels, but it was used in a number of different ways by various military hierarchies.

Most typically, the title "commodore" was associated with a distinct rank between captain and Rear Admiral; officers of this rank might serve as senior captains of important ships, or else could command flotillas, squadrons, or task forces, usually under superior flag officers.

This usage of the term was established in the New Republic and Galactic Alliance rank hierarchies, perhaps based on earlier practice under the Old Republic: for example, during the Swarm War (35-36 ABY), Gavin Darklighter commanded a task force in the Fifth Fleet with the rank of commodore. However, the New Republic also accorded a separate title of "commodore" to some very high-ranking officers, such as General Han Solo, who was so styled when he was appointed as commander of the entire Fifth Fleet in 17 ABY.

Under the Galactic Empire, in contrast, the rank between Line Captain and Rear Admiral had been commander, and the term "commodore" was used instead as an alternate title for a Systems Admiral, a mid-ranking command officer within the Navy hierarchy of a Sector Group.

Other military forces used the term "commodore" in different ways; for instance, the Utapau Skyforce had a rank of Air Commodore, the Home Guard Commodore commanded the Sullustan Home Guard, and the head of the BloodScar pirates took the title.

Behind the scenes

The title of commodore has a complex real-world history, beginning during the Anglo-Dutch wars of the seventeenth century, when the title of "commander" was accorded by both sides to a senior captain commanding a detached squadron where no Admiral was present. Gradually, the position of "commodore" gained in formality within the British Royal Navy, and by the nineteenth century, there were two classes of commodore, each with their own uniforms, pennants and perquisites; but commodores reverted to Post Captain when they hauled down their broad pennant, and the title did not become a permanent rank until 1996. The comparable Dutch grade of commandeur had similarly remained temporary until 1955, although the parallel Kapitan-Commandor was a permanent rank in Imperial Russia from the early 1700s until 1827.

A separate development from the seventeenth-century usage was that the title of "commodore" came to denote the senior ship's captain of a British merchant marine convoy; more recently, this usage has become general to the senior captains of yacht clubs and shipping lines throughout the English-speaking world. In a separate development, when the Royal Flying Corps became the Royal Air Force in 1918, a permanent rank of Air Commodore was introduced, inspired by the naval rank, and equivalent to an Army Brigadier or a Navy Commodore; unlike a naval Commodore, the RAF Air Commodore was always a permanent rank, and it was subsequently adopted in some other Commonwealth countries.

Over the centuries, ranks derived from the "commander" and "commodore" of the 1600s have been adopted in numerous other countries, and while many navies have directly imitated English practice, others have diverged markedly from it: in the Polish Navy, grades of Kommandor now cover the ranks between captain and Lieutenant Commander, while a Kapitan marynarki is equivalent to lieutenant. In the Imperial German Navy during the First World War, a title of Kommodore was borne by any officer leading a flotilla of vessels, particularly in the U-boat command.

A special, and complex, case is the United States Navy, which borrowed the temporary position of commodore from British usage in the eighteenth century: in the early decades of the Republic, this was the most prestigious position in the service, as there were no admirals, and accordingly, ex-commodores who had reverted to captain retained the title as a courtesy rank. In 1859, the grade was renamed as "Flag Officer," but in 1862, substantive ranks of commodore and Rear Admiral were created. In 1899, however, commodore became Rear Admiral (lower half), and since then, the rank of commodore has only been briefly revived, between 1942 and 1950, and 1982 and 1985. Since the 1980s, "commodore" has also been used semi-formally as a title for senior captains commanding squadron-strength forces of ships, or wings of aircraft, and it is this usage that is now current.

See also

• Air Commodore
• Home Guard Commodore

Appearances

• Allegiance
• Star Wars Galaxies
• The Lost City of the Jedi (First appearance)
• Shield of Lies
• Ylesia
• Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen

Sources

• Imperial Sourcebook (First mentioned)
• Dark Empire Sourcebook
• Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross Sections
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Praji