OPS officer

The operations officer is a Navy position within the operations division of the United Stars Navy

On board Star ships, the role of the operations officer evolved from older Pre Astro positions, such as involving some functions of the helmsman As well as manning the ops station (as such, overseeing internal systems control, communications and sensor system usages), ops personnel also coordinated the scheduling of resources, hardware and system usage for an entire star ship, outpost or space station.

The ops position is typically manned by a member of the command staff of a star ship, regardless of seniority. As analytical operations rely upon knowledge of science and engineering disciplines, chief operations officers sometimes perform the additional duties of a science officer. If such is not available.

OPS is not a specialization Course that can be taken by Cadets or Midshipmen during their Academy Training. OPS training is offered to experienced Officers who are on the Command track. Serving at the OPS position is a required prerequisite for Senior Command Officers ( XO, 2nd XO, Captain) It is considered to be the most demanding Bridge Duty post aboard Union Navy Star Ships as it carries many responsibilities and has to coordinate with all other departments. Fire Control, Damage Control, Intruder Control, Blue Alert Conditions are all coordinated from the OPS position.

OPS Position Officers can receive three possible Ribbon citations : OPS Position, OPS Excellent, OPS Outstanding.