On 12/15/2020 10:47 PM, Timothy Collinson - timothy.collinson at
port.ac.uk (via tml list) wrote:
> A couple of things came up which haven't quite rung true for me and
> both involve rank and/or protocol.  But it might just be my ignorance.
>
> - are there circumstances in which  more junior officer can be made XO
> (Executive Officer) over someone of a higher rank?  I.e. someone who
> is a regular part of the same crew?
> (What particularly irked me about this was that they seemed to imply
> that the XO was some admin function outside of the chain of command
> and actually had two lines about precedence in which they agreed it
> wouldn't affect the senior's overall seniority.  If they'd just left
> those two lines out I might have bought it)
>
>
> - are there circumstances when, with a captain leaving the vessel for
> a short time, he would put a Lt in command for the duration when
> there's a perfectly capable (I.e. not incapacitated) commander *right
> there on the bridge*? (And who is the XO to boot, not some visiting
> dignitary)

Not sure of the shows...

However...

In the US Navy there are three types of officers; Unrestricted Line
Officers, Restricted Line Officers, and Limited Duty Officers and
Warrant Officers.  Of the three, the only type that is eligible to hold
a command position on a warship is an unrestricted line officer.  So,
yes, there are officers that might be higher grade (say in engineering,
logistics, or medical) than the XO or acting XO, but they don't have
command authority and are thus not allowed to hold such a position.

Essentially, URLO are warfighters and trained to command/fight a ship,
sub, or aircraft.  RLO and LDO/WO are not, however, due to past
assignments and career tracks, they may once have, once they are in
those classifications they lose the command authority.

That said, in all cases the rank is respected, they just don't have the
authority to issue orders that effect the running or fighting of the ship.

This is a quick and dirty explanation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unrestricted_line_officer

--
Kurt Feltenberger
xxxxxx@thepaw.org/xxxxxx@yahoo.com
“Before today, I was scared to live, after today, I'm scared I'm not living enough." - Me