On July 25, 2014, I published a post on Captain Janeway’s use of discipline on Voyager. At the time, I said I thought she had dealt out more discipline than any other starship captain. I’ve since had the opportunity to rewatch Star Trek: The Next Generation, and I have more details to add on that topic.
Janeway’s harshest use of discipline was with Tom Paris when he disobeyed orders. She demoted him and sentenced him to a month in the brig. As I rewatched TNG, I wanted to see if any crew member of the Enterprise D had disobeyed orders and Picard’s response. I found several.
Although not actually disobeying a direct order, Worf got a reprimand for a ritual Klingon killing when he killed the man who had killed his mate. I guess Picard was caught between Star Fleet regulations and Klingon law. So, Worf got merely a reprimand. I’m not sure how it was entered into his record. Conduct unbecoming an officer?
But there were several acts of disobedience during the seven-year run of TNG. As a matter of fact, I think the only senior officer who never disobeyed Picard was Riker. So, let’s explore this. Data disobeyed orders twice — once when he was in command of a vessel in a fleet commanded by Picard. Picard ordered him to leave the area, but Data stayed to institute a plan of his. The plan worked, and Star Fleet was saved. So, the ends justifies the means?
The second time Data disobeyed orders was when a newly-discovered life form was causing a danger to the Enterprise. Since he could not prove his belief that they were sentient, Data was ordered to destroy them. He did not. Later, he proved they were sentient and vindicated himself. In neither instance was he punished. Picard might have been facing a difficult dilemma of how to best discipline an android, similar to Janeway not knowing how to discipline Seven of Nine. Still, if an officer twice disobeys his captain, no matter the reason, some action seems appropriate.
Next, we have Beverly Crusher. During an investigation onboard Enterprise, she performed an unauthorized autopsy. Not only had she not received permission, but she was told by Picard expressly not to do it. She did it anyway, and a board of inquiry was formed on the planet of the deceased. Picard, however, did nothing. He supported her. Later, Beverly was vindicated and the inquiry was dropped. Now, we all know that Picard and Crusher are friends, bordering on more than friends, but is that a reason to overlook insubordination?
Finally, Geordie LaForge disobeyed orders to try and rescue his mother, who he believed was being held captive on a nearby planet. No one believed him, and Picard ordered him not to leave the ship. LaForge did it anyway. He rescued his mother and some others, so he was vindicated. Picard wrote him up.
So, let’s summarize. Worf gets a reprimand for killing a man, and LaForge gets written up for disobeying orders for a good cause. In the meantime, Data disobeys orders twice and Crusher once, both for good reasons, and neither of them is disciplined. Favoritism?
For comparison, on Voyager, Chakotay, Paris, Seven of Nine, and Kim all disobeyed orders at one time or another. They were put on report, confined to quarters, received official reprimands, or occasionally, forgiven. Except of course, for Tim Paris. And let’s not forget Neelix. He consorted with criminals and just got a few hours cleaning manifolds.
So, what is this with Paris? Is he just the unluckiest officer to ever serve on a starship, or did Janeway have it in for him? And why was Picard so lenient compared to Janeway? Was it his age and experience? Did he think he had enough respect from his crew that he could overlook major issues of insubordination? Or was Janeway too quick on the trigger?
I’ve never served in the military, but from what I know of it, I doubt commanding officers are so quick to forgive officers who disobey orders. So Janeway may be the better disciplinarian. In most cases, she took action. But I still have to wonder.
What did she have against Tom Paris?