STARFLEET ACADEMY

COLLEGE OF STARSHIP OPERATIONS

COSO 107
STARSHIP OPERATIONS
Bridge Operations

This Manual and Exam are publications of the STARFLEET Academy – A Department of STARFLEET, The International Star Trek Fan Association,
Inc. It is intended for the private use of our members. STARFLEET holds no claims to any trademarks, copyrights, or properties held by Paramount
or their parent company, Viacom. The contents of this publication are Copyright (c)2006;2021 STARFLEET, The International Star Trek Fan
Association, Inc. and/or the original authors. All rights reserved. No portion of this document may be copied or republished in any way or form without
the written consent of the Commander, STARFLEET.

Reference Materials:

This manual has been summarized from the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual by Rick Sternback & Michael Okuda, November 1991
and various episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Any other reference used for an answer must be listed. That reference must be accurate
as compared to the NG Technical Manual
Pictures have been copied from Ex-Astris Scientia and www.ditl.org under fair usage protocols.

This manual was reviewed January 2021 by BO’Brien & C Kent

1.0 MAIN BRIDGE

GALAXY CLASS BRIDGE CUTAWAY

Fans of the Original Series of Star Trek will notice that there is no dedicated communications station, as the ship has
integral speakers throughout the ship. (See CSO-105 - Communication Operations). Also absent is a Master Situation
display at the rear of the bridge. The Master Situation Display has been relocated to Main Engineering, but may be
brought up on the bridge engineering console aft of the bridge when an engineering officer is present.

A dedicated weapons station is also absent, both weapons and external communications to the ship being routed through
Tactical.

COSO 107 Bridge Operations manual 2

 The stations behind Tactical from the left of the picture are :
Science I, Science II, Mission Ops, Environmental, Engineering.

1.1 FUNCTION OF THE MAIN BRIDGE

Primary operational control of the Galaxy-Class starship is provided by the main bridge located at the top of the saucer
module on Deck 1. The Main Bridge directly supervises all primary mission operations and coordinates all departmental
activities.

Operational control of the bridge rests with the Commanding Officer who is the Captain, XO, or duty officer. It is standard
procedure for line officers of the rank of lieutenant commander and above to take a beta or gamma shift in the center seat
as cross training. This procedure insures that in an emergency there will be someone who is familiar with Bridge
operations.

Through the Operations Manager the bridge also monitors all secondary mission functions to insure that the ship’s power
and resource allocation is being used efficiently for the current situation.

The Main Bridge also serves as the Command Center during alert and crisis situations. During Separated Flight Mode
(See CSO-101 – Flight Operations) combat operations are monitored from the battle bridge in the secondary hull while
control of the Saucer Section remains with the Main Bridge. In Separated Flight Mode, the ship’s captain and senior
officers will command the Battle Section while another officer familiar with bridge operations will command the Saucer.

The Main Bridge Module is also designed to be a lifeboat for the Bridge Officers. In a dire emergency, the bridge can be
completely isolated (sealed off) from the rest of the ship and even be ejected, providing life support for the officers aboard.
The Main Bridge, however, lacks a propulsion system, so an automatic distress beacon would be activated in the event of
Bridge separation from the Saucer section.

1.2 BRIDGE OPERATIONS DURING ALERT CONDITIONS

Cruise Mode - This is the normal operating status of the ship. Cruise mode operating rules require a minimum bridge
staff of the Commanding Officer (which can be any duty officer on bridge rotation), Flight Control Officer (Conn),
Operations Manager, and at least one other officer to serve at Tactical and other stations as required. Other stations may
be manned as specific primary or secondary missions require.

Yellow Alert - During a Yellow Alert, all active bridge stations are automatically brought to Full Enable Mode by the main
computer. Automatic level 4 diagnostics are initiated for all primary and tactical systems. Ops is responsible for
evaluating all current shipboard operations and activities and suspending any that might interfere with the ship’s readiness
to respond to a potential crisis situation.

COSO 107 Bridge Operations manual 3

Red Alert – During Red Alert, all stations are automatically brought to full Enable Mode. Tactical systems are placed on
Full Alert and, if Tactical is unoccupied, the Security Chief will man the Tactical station.

1.3 BRIDGE CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS

Although the ship can be controlled by verbal commands, the preferred method of command input at any station is by
keystrokes, which eliminates confusion when the Commanding Officer is issuing verbal commands.

During Cruise Mode, the displays may be configured for the individual duty officer’s preference and learning level. Newly-
assigned personnel can configure the readouts to a previous, more familiar layout until he becomes familiar with the
updated version. When software has been upgraded, a duty officer may instruct the display to emulate the pervious
version until he becomes properly certified for the new software. The standard configuration may be enabled at any time.

During Alert Modes, the display will revert to standard configuration.

It is impossible for a visitor to the bridge to activate any command at any Bridge console, as the computer verifies the
fingerprints and biosignature of each officer authorized and certified to use bridge controls.

1.4 BRIDGE PROTOCOL

It is customary at the end of a duty shift for the duty command officer to give a short verbal report to the officer coming on
duty. It is also customary to announce the beginning and ending of each shift to the computer. Though unnecessary for
the functional operation of the ship, such announcements verify to the bridge crew that a particular shift is now beginning
and that certain visual clues, such as reduced lighting throughout the ship for gamma shift, will be initiated. The entering
command duty officer and the exiting command duty officer will exchange formal greetings:

“I relieve you, Commander Johnson.

“I stand relieved, Lieutenant Commander Harrison.”

Each bridge officer will remain on duty till the next shift’s duty officer relieves him, even if the relieving officer is late. Any
officer not able to assume his shift must report to sickbay, where his name will be logged onto the sick list. The next
qualified officer in his department will be called to bridge duty in his place.

Officers require relief breaks (including a lunch break), so there are always one or two relief duty officers on the bridge to
man the station in the primary officer’s absence. Relief duty officers are rotated from among the qualified junior officers
on that shift. During alerts, the next shift’s officers will be on standby to man either the primary bridge stations or
secondary stations about the ship. And yes, there are heads (toilet facilities) on the bridge. One is adjacent to the bridge
on the starboard side, and one is off the ready room, for the Captain’s exclusive use.

When an officer must leave the bridge for any reason, he must ask permission of the commanding officer.

“Captain, permission to leave the bridge”

“Granted Lieutenant Thompson.”

This verbal exchange not only confirms the request but also provides a verbal record for the bridge recorder that an officer
left the bridge.

Starfleet regulations state that all personnel on the bridge must be commissioned officers by rank. The exception is the
authorized admittance of enlisted repair technicians. During alert situations, there will be a security officer posted at the
main turbolift to prevent unauthorized access to the bridge.

Conversation is kept to a minimum unless the Captain or the XO initiate a conversation with one of the officers. During
long trips to a distant destination, light casual conversation might occur, but continual chatter is discouraged, especially
when the Captain is on duty. Personal use of intra-ship comms is not allowed, while on duty except in an emergency
requiring the officer’s presence. An example might be that the officer’s child injured himself and is in sickbay. The Captain
will then excuse the officer and the relief duty officer will take that position.

COSO 107 Bridge Operations manual 4

No one may challenge the Captain’s orders on his bridge, but it is the duty of the XO to point out an alternative point of
view, but only as a suggestion, and must not in any way appear to be countermanding the Captain’s orders.

Any officer who exhibits lack of discipline will be immediately ordered off the bridge, under a security escort, if necessary.
No lack of discipline or hint of mutiny shall be tolerated at any time because the ship’s safety depends on the competency
and self-control of its officers.

Only in the most critical of circumstances will the XO take command of the ship from a captain who is putting ship and
crew in careless or unnecessary danger. The First Duty of the CO and the XO is to the ship. Everything else is
secondary.

If a situation is developing but not immediately threatening, the Commanding Officer may call for a Senior Officer’s
meeting in the ready Room. There he will present the problem and take possible solutions along with the pros and cons
of each solution. He will then base his decision on the input of his crew. Once that decision is made, right or wrong, the
decision stands.

It is also standard procedure that all activities on the Bridge be recorded, both visually and audibly. If there ever is an
inquiry into the actions of the officer in charge, of a mutiny, or of actions taken during a hostile takeover or the loss of the
ship, the “little black box” will provide testimony. In the case of auto-destruct, information in the recorder is transmitted
along with the distress signal with the hope that it is intercepted by another Starfleet vessel or installation.

If all of the normal contingent of the ship are dead, the main computer will order an auto-destruct.

1.5 BRIDGE STATIONS

Command, Conn, Ops and Tactical provide the primary information necessary to run and protect the ship.

The Conn is Flight Operations Control. All information gathered by navigational sensors is available to the Flight
Operations manager, also called the Conn. The Conn, called helm in earlier incarnations of starships, takes orders
directly from the Captain along with the mission destination of the orders programmed into the computer. It is up to the
Captain to interpret how and when he wants to arrive at the next destination. It is up to Conn to get them safely there.

Ops is Operational Control. From this station the Ops Manager monitors the power and resource needs of the ship in light
of the current mission. The Ops manager keeps the Captain informed of the resources available and alerts him if there
are any changes in operational status that might hinder the current mission.

The Tactical station is a combination of several older stations: Communications, Security and Weapons control. Tactical
draws on information from short and long-range scanners and from any other bridge station to keep the Captain informed
of any threats to the ship itself or any incoming communications from outside the ship.

The five aft stations when manned, provide coordinated information and control of equipment during relevant missions or
during alert situations. The key purpose of these stations is to provide access to and control over some aspects of ship’s
systems that would not be possible within the department itself. Under normal cruise mode, these stations remain mostly
unmanned.

Science Stations I and II give a Primary Scientific mission such as a planetary survey, control over some sensor pallets
and allows the gathering of peripheral information from other sensors and astrophysics.

When there is an active Primary mission, the Mission Operations Control station will be manned by the designated
Mission Specialist. If the mission is a scientific one, the Chief Division Officer or officer with the most technical knowledge
of the mission parameters might man the station. An example would be if the mission were to survey a planet as a
Dilithium source. The Chief Geologist might be the Mission Specialist on duty, using information from the two science
stations to his left as well. During a covert Intelligence operation, that station might be manned by the Chief Intelligence
Officer or his assistant, using information from short-range scanners, stored intelligence data from the ship’s memory
banks and updated information from Tactical.

The Environmental station permits monitoring of the life support system aboard the ship. Although usually automated
during normal operations, the station is crucial during alert situations. During alert status, this station serves as a deputy
operations manager station, and the officer on duty is authorized to engage yellow and red alert should anything go wrong
with the atmosphere, temperature, gravity, inertial dampening and shielding subsystems that protect the well-being of the

COSO 107 Bridge Operations manual 5

crew. The Environments Officer is responsible in critical emergencies to execute survival scenarios such as evacuation of
crew to undamaged parts of the ship.

Whereas Environmental specializes in the systems responsible for crew survival, Engineering specializes in the survival of
the ship itself, its hardware and associated systems.

The Engineering Station allows the on-duty engineering officer to supervise and control operations down in Engineering
during critical missions. Through this station he can give the Commanding Officer specific and up-to-date information as
to the status of the propulsion and SIF/IDF key systems. During most routine operations, however, this station remains
unmanned.

All the stations working in concert give the Commanding Officer immediate input to quickly decide the next course of
action in a crisis.

2.0 BATTLE BRIDGE

BATTLE BRIDGE CUTAWAY

The Battle Bridge is smaller due to its specialized functions. You don’t see Science or Environmental stations and the
Mission Specialist will be either the Commanding Officer or the senior ranking Officer should it become necessary to
activate the battle Bridge.

2.1 Battle Bridge Configuration

The Battle Bridge is located on deck 8, the topmost battle Hull deck when the ship is in Separated Flight Mode. Stations
include, Command, Conn, Ops, engineering control, communications, an enhanced Tactical, and weapons control.

COSO 107 Bridge Operations manual 6

The Battle Bridge is directly connected to the Main Bridge by a dedicated turbolift. Access is also provided by means of
the regular turbolift system through a corridor on Deck 8.

2.2 Battle Bridge Functions

In non-alert situations, the Battle Bridge serves as an auxiliary control station as a backup to the Main Bridge. Its
subprocessors are capable of controlling all major ship’s systems even in the event of total Main Bridge incapacity and
partial main computer core failure.

In alert situation, the Battle Bridge is automatically brought up to full standby by the computer, so that it is immediately
operational should the need arise.

In separated Flight Mode, the Battle Bridge is the command center for the Battle Hull (Engineering Hull.) The enhanced
tactical software allows for tactical analysis in addition to normal tactical operations. Sitting directly on top of the
Engineering Hull, the Battle bridge is less likely to lose control over the battle hull and its weapons and propulsion.

The Battle Bridge will be supported by the entire Engineering team, and all weapons and propulsion will be brought to full
operation status.

2.2 Battle Bridge Protocols

If the Battle Bridge is in operation, then either the Main Bridge is non-operational or the ship is in separated Flight Mode,
the saucer taking its non-essential personnel to safety. Only senior officers man the Battle Bridge in a crisis situation.

Whether the Battle Bridge is engaged in emergency maneuvers or engaged in battle, discipline and protocols will be very
strict. There will be no casual conversation at all. The only conversation will be that of the Commanding Officer giving
orders and the crew responding to those orders.

The Battle Bridge will be under Red Alert operating protocols, all systems at full operational status and all stations
manned with a second crew on standby. Only after the crisis has been resolved will the Commanding Officer order the
Battle Hull to retrieve the saucer and reconnect the ship.

COSO 107 Bridge Operations manual 7