What’s really mean is that (as far as I can remember) O’Brien is the only noncom ever shown in Star Trek; he might be the only one in Starfleet! Talk about being singled out!
Yeah even on ST: Lower Decks all the Starfleet characters were officers. If any show was going to showcase noncoms in Starfleet you’d think it’d be ST: LD. Perhaps you could count most of the mawquee crewmembers in ST: Voyage as noncoms. Except that Voy is an exceptional case
NCOs don’t get to sit with officers.
What’s really mean is that (as far as I can remember) O’Brien is the only noncom ever shown in Star Trek; he might be the only one in Starfleet! Talk about being singled out!
I’ve had this discussion with friends and I think that’s right. Ranks are super weird in Starfleet.
Yeah even on ST: Lower Decks all the Starfleet characters were officers. If any show was going to showcase noncoms in Starfleet you’d think it’d be ST: LD. Perhaps you could count most of the mawquee crewmembers in ST: Voyage as noncoms. Except that Voy is an exceptional case
And a bunch of the Maquis were given commissions — Belann’a and Chakotay notably.
On occasion.
TBF, that’s a work meeting. Noncoms aren’t getting into the officer’s mess.
He’s got his own private replicator stash. And probably some poor sod in the buffer he brings out only to make freshly prepared meals.