So the nanites working on the website have been doing some updates to the different sections. One of the areas that they have been able to improve is adding the information on the new Seventh Fleet Rank Advancement Guidelines. This is version 4.0.1 of the rank guidelines. Several years ago a series of different proposals came in regarding the rank guidelines that we had been using for over 10 years. We felt like it was time to review the guidelines with feedback from the Commanding Officers. These guidelines are a combination of some of the various proposals that we have received.

Starting now we will be reviewing the guidelines on a regular basis to see how they are helping our members learn and grow. As you progress through the different steps, please provide feedback to your Commanding Officer and Executive Officer. This will help us evaluate what works and what might need to be changed.

So what are some of the changes that have gone into effect?

• There is a higher emphasis on our community service charter.
• We now have four official tracks for rank advancement depending upon the level of participation you wish to pursue. Civilian, Provisional Officer, Non-Commissioned Officer and Commissioned Officer.
• A time-in-grade requirement has been added.
• The Crewman 3rd Class (members under the age of 16) has been eliminated and will soon be replaced with a new Junior Starfleet Officer Training Course (JSOTC).
• The Academy Exam has been replaced with the Academy Basics Course in the requirements. Course 1 will cover the basics of Star Trek and course 2 will cover the basics of the Seventh Fleet. The older Academy Exam is now the Advanced Academy Exam and is optional (but still worth automatic rank promotions and merit awards with high scores if taken by a Crewman).
• The out-of-state convention requirement has been replaced with the out-of-area Star Trek/Science road trip.
• The Command Test required for the Commissioned Officer Track- Lt. Commander has two options. The pre-generated test by series (the current tests that we have now) or a customized test where the candidate selects two episodes per series. Ninety days later a customized test will be available for the candidate to take.
• The full Commander in the Commissioned Officer Track will be creating merit sheets instead of passing them off. The Command rank also has Admiralty Projects instead of additional Command Tests.

The details have been broken down on the Seventh Fleet Ranks section of our website. A copy of the version 4.0.1 PDF can also be found here available for reading or downloading.

Several members have already inquired about following the new guidelines. But we are also grandfathering in those who were close to completing their next rank on the previous guidelines. If you have any questions, feel free to inquire with your Commanding Officer.

The nanites are still working on other sections of the Seventh Fleet website. If you discover a broken link or missing information, please let us know at Webmaster@SeventhFleet.org.

Let’s see what’s out there.