Starfleet Diplomatic Corps Detachment
A Starfleet Diplomatic Corps Detachment is found on some starships and bases with significant diplomatic duties. Such a detachment might also rotate from ship to ship, depending on the needs of the fleet. Unlike members of the Federation Diplomatic Corps, which is the Federation's body of civilian ambassadors and consular officials reporting to the Department of State, members of the Starfleet Diplomatic Corps are diplomatic support personnel who are trained to assist and facilitate negotiations, as well as to serve directly in consular (but not ambassadorial) roles when needed, such as in humanitarian crises. This is distinct from a Diplomatic Affairs section on a starbase, as that section handles logistics and the day-to-day needs of visiting ambassadors, while a Diplomatic Corps Detachment is a support team for a captain, flag officer, or ambassador to help them prevail in the Federation's benefit during negotiations.
Duties
- Advise Starfleet and Federation officials during diplomatic negotiations.
- Perform consular functions for foreign nationals, Federation civilians, and Starfleet personnel when necessary.
- Prepare the text of complex diplomatic documents in coordination with the Department of State during negotiations conducted in the field.
- Coordinate large-scale diplomatic summits and retreats.
Standard Detachment Structure
Detachment Commanding Officer / Chief Diplomatic Officer
For floating detachments (ones not assigned to a particular ship or base), the title is Detachment Commanding Officer, but for fixed detachments, the title is Chief Diplomatic Officer, as with other department heads. This senior officer-in-charge of their detachment reports both to the Starfleet Diplomatic Corps and to the ship or station's commanding officer. They are the principal aid to whichever senior official is in charge of conducting negotiations, or the senior consular officer handling such affairs during a humanitarian crisis, or other situation in which it's not feasible to send in a team from the Federation Diplomatic Corps.
Detachment Executive Officer / Assistant Chief Diplomatic Officer
The second-in-command of a Diplomatic Corps Detachment handles most of the administrative work of their detachment for the commanding officer, including duty schedules, discipline, training, and other aspects. They are also a senior and capable diplomatic specialist able to aid the principal in negotiations.
Diplomatic Officer
Diplomatic Officers are generalists from the Diplomatic Corps, able to perform both consular and advising functions. They must have studied Interstellar Relations, Political Science, or another related field and range from ensigns fresh from the Academy to thirty or forty-year veterans of the service. Many diplomatic officers have bridge officers or other field experience, which enhances their skills in this specialization in multiple ways.
Consular Officer
Consular Officers are specialized Diplomatic Officers who handle the paperwork for passports, visas, and other immigration and travel-related documents to help Federation citizens and foreign nationals pass through Federation space as efficiently as possible. Typically, these officers are deployed to humanitarian hot spots where large numbers of people need assistance, which might be too dangerous for a civilian team of Federation officials to handle.
Legislative Officer
Legislative officers handle writing and formalizing the language of negotiations into treaties, trade agreements, bills of sale, etc., meeting the exacting standards that Interstellar Law requires. They often are either serving JAG officers or have other legal training to assist them in this role.
Diplomatic Specialist
Enlisted diplomatic specialists assist diplomatic officers.
Consular Specialist
Enlisted consular specialists assist consular officers.
Legislative Specialist
Enlisted legislative specialists assist legislative officers.
Diplomatic Detachments In-Play
- Diplomatic Departments have a long history in this hobby, but in most cases, they're portrayed in ways that run counter to screen canon. While there was one mention on a graphic of the Starfleet Diplomatic Corps, the Federation Diplomatic Corps would be the ambassadors and other consular and diplomatic personnel employed by the Federation, since we've seen many, many times that it's starship captains and flag officers that perform negotiations themselves when needed.
- What would a detachment like this be for, then? As a support team for a captain or flag officer or ambassador during negotiations. They'd be the team of aids, advisors, and gophers that would get the nitty-gritty aspects of the deal done while the principal hashes out the broad strokes details. They'd also be the people who wrote the treaty itself.
- A team like this might also be sent to a hot spot like a refugee crisis or other large-scale population displacement to help with consular tasks (things like getting passports and other travel documents, as well as immigration procedures).
- A starship that does a lot of diplomatic tasks might have a standing detachment that advises the CO, but these detachments would also be taken on various ships to diplomatic negotiations and not be tied to a particular command.