Commander is a military rank, the equivalent of which is used by the service organizations of many civilizations. As a traditional naval grade, commander is the second most senior line officer rank, falling between captain and lieutenant in hierarchy, usually given to executive officers and department heads, aides de camp, or the skippers of smaller vessels or leaders of other contingents of officers, such as on a Starbase. Proper naval parlance says that, even if a naval vessel is commanded by an officer whose rank is commander, that officer is still able to be referred to as a captain while on the deck of their own vessel. Commander is equivalent to the infantry rank of lieutenant colonel, or the Romulan Star Empire's subcommander grade.
This grade exists in different forms in the systems of many cultures, such as the Klingon Defense Force.
In the Romulan Empire, the term commander refers to a higher rank than in Starfleet, a commander is usually a shipmaster, equivalent to Starfleet captain.
In Starfleet, a prerequisite to becoming a commander is by taking the Bridge Officer's Test.
Noted Commanders
All given positions are refering to the person's station as it was when he or she ranked commander. These informations may differ from the person's latest assignment.
Starfleet
- Commander Chakotay (USS Voyager (NCC-74656)).
- Commander Beverly Crusher (Starfleet Medical)
- Commander Rightwell (Starbase 310).
- Commander William T. Riker (USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)).
- Commander Benjamin Sisko (Deep Space 9 and USS Defiant (NX-74205)).
- Commander Spock (USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and (NCC1701-A)).
- Commander "Trip" Tucker (Enterprise (NX-01)).
- Commander Deanna Troi (USS Titan).
Klingon Defense Force
Romulan Star Empire
- Commander Donatra(IRW Valdore).
- Commander Suran.