From: utzoo!utcsrgv!donald Newsgroups: net.movies Title: ST-TWOK, Of Ensigns and Midshipmen Article-I.D.: utcsrgv.383 Posted: Fri Jun 11 13:24:20 1982 Received: Sat Jun 12 02:13:58 1982 In old British naval usage, a midshipman is the most junior of officers, falling below the coveted rank of lieutenant. An Ensign is merely the American naval term for a midshipman. Saavik is not an ensign, but at least a full lieutenant, if not a commander (I don't believe Starfleet's system of ranks has ever been made clear). This leads to an interesting goof in TWOK, in which a crewman identifies himself as a "midshipman" to Admiral Kirk when Kirk is conducting the initial inspection of the Enterprise. Starfleet obviously calls its midshipmen "ensigns" in accordance with American terminology. Don Chan (utcsrgv!donald)