Harry Kim promotion theory

[CharlesPhipps]

Janeway actually didn't have the authority to promote people on VOY and was only providing "Acting" Commander, Lieutenant Commander, and Lieutenant ranks for Chakotay, B'elanna, and Tom Paris while they were on VOY. The reason that Harry Kim was never promoted was because as a "real" Starfleet officer, his promotion would have to be submitted to Starfleet Headquarters and approved by Janeway's superiors. If she ever actually "promoted" him, it would be purely ceremony and possibly could screw up his actual career track.

[hammerofglass]

You'd think she could have dug out the old frocking tradition in that case.

[stryke]

There's so many possible reasons that it's hard to choose just one: https://geocities.restorativland.org/So ... l#Drabbles

Personally the most convincing/best ones are the Year 2 promotion board, Year 5 promotion board, and the Before and After timeline.

[Madner Kami]

Battlefield Promotions are a thing. I'd be very surprised if stuff like that wouldn't make it's way into the 24th century, given it's been with us since... ranks are a thing. And even if it would get rehearsed once Voyager were back and denied, so what? You gotta give people an incentive to go above and beyond their duty. If you don't, they got no reason to do their best, much less giving 110% and you want your people to be motivated and have a sense of progression.

Ya all sound like your typical modern day employer, who just doesn't get why "Quiet Quitting" is a thing...

[Nobody700]

Janeway is the fleet admiral, federation president, and absolute command. She is. In that situation, she can do whatever she wants. She PROMOTED a bunch of former cons, rebels, and terrorists to positions of absolute power. Did she have reason? Yes. But she did so.

So why didn't she promote Harry Kim, when she can promote TOM PARIS, A MAN NOT EVEN PART OF STARFLEET? Easy. Because the shoulder spider told her not too.

[Winter]

Janeway is the fleet admiral, federation president, and absolute command. She is. In that situation, she can do whatever she wants. She PROMOTED a bunch of former cons, rebels, and terrorists to positions of absolute power. Did she have reason? Yes. But she did so.

So why didn't she promote Harry Kim, when she can promote TOM PARIS, A MAN NOT EVEN PART OF STARFLEET? Easy. Because the shoulder spider told her not too.

On top of that she gave the Doctor the authority act as acting captain in an Emergency via Emergency Command Hologram making him effectively de facto leader should anything happen to Janeway. If she can give a promotion to the EMH then why doesn't she give it to Harry? Because the show runners do not care about Harry. They planned to kill him off in Scorpion in a rather unceremonious and undignified way and he only survived because his actor was considered one of the most beautiful people in the world.

[McAvoy]

Janeway actually didn't have the authority to promote people on VOY and was only providing "Acting" Commander, Lieutenant Commander, and Lieutenant ranks for Chakotay, B'elanna, and Tom Paris while they were on VOY. The reason that Harry Kim was never promoted was because as a "real" Starfleet officer, his promotion would have to be submitted to Starfleet Headquarters and approved by Janeway's superiors. If she ever actually "promoted" him, it would be purely ceremony and possibly could screw up his actual career track.

If it's anything like real world US Navy, going from Ensign to Lieutenant Junior Grade is two years and it is automatic. Yes paperwork does have to be filed. Traditions and ceremony has to be done. But automatic, it can also be delayed or held back based on superiors reviews.

Sames from Lieutenant Junior Grade to fill Lieutenant. And that is the rank he should have ended the series as. His time to get promoted to Lieutenant Commander would be a year after Voyager got back. As in Year 8 of his Starfleet career.

In other words, the moment Jeneway could have sent the necessary paperwork to Starfleet, it would have been official and no one would have batted an eye.

Or if you would like, Kim only progressing to Lieutenant Junior Grade until they contacted Starfleet and then he could get promoted. His promotion being hung up.

But for Janeway it makes no sense because then no one can be promoted. Tuvok and Paris were both promoted (though you could argue Paris was temporarily demoted under some Starfleet Uniform Code of Justice regulation).

Basically in other words, Harry Kim should have had his two gold pips by end of the season but writers and producers said 'Fuck Harry Kim', because there is nothing about Voyager that required an Ensign at all times on the show.

[Madner Kami]

This gets especially silly once you consider, that Harry, who is the chief operations officer on board, regularly is in command of people who outrank him, by nature of his posting. It's even shown in the series, where he actively gave out commands to senior Lieutenants...

[TGLS]

If it's anything like real world US Navy, going from Ensign to Lieutenant Junior Grade is two years and it is automatic.

Well OK, but it isn't. The US Navy has Up or Out. Starfleet has 64 year old Lt. JGs (see Tapestry).

[McAvoy]

This gets especially silly once you consider, that Harry, who is the chief operations officer on board, regularly is in command of people who outrank him, by nature of his posting. It's even shown in the series, where he actively gave out commands to senior Lieutenants...

That too. He was an Ensign right out of Stargleet as a senior member of the crew, with plenty who were above him in rank. In any situation, even if Kim was the best in his position, the most qualified, etc, he would still be reporting to a superior officer. Probably someone with a science background to begin with who even if not as fully trained as Kim, would be in charge and would learn on the job how to do his job.

Actually this is where a battlefield promotion would have happened to Kim. If Kim was the most qualified and needed to be on the senior crew he would have been promoted. For exactly the reasons you mentioned. So that he at least would have matched the rank of people below him in his department.

In fact, majority of the senior crew including Enterprise should have been at least Lt. Commanders, if not Commanders themselves. Riker should have been a Captain himself and I could understand Chakotay being only a Commander due to perhaps regulations based on size of Starfleet ships. Not every US Navy ship has an officer with the actual rank of Captain being a captain of a ship afterall.