Yeoman

When I get my hands on the Headquarters genius that assigned me a female yeoman..."
"What's the matter Jim, don't you trust yourself?"
"I've already got a female to worry about. Her name's the Enterprise."James T. Kirk and Leonard McCoy discussing Yeoman Janice Rand

Yeoman was a Starfleet title used during the 23rd century. They functioned as personal assistants, performing various tasks, such as carrying a Starfleet tricorder and retrieving information for a starship's captain, announcing one's arrival with a boatswain's whistle, or bringing them meals. Throughout the 2260s and 2270s, yeomen were typically – but not exclusively – young women; there were also male yeomen during the 2250s and the 2290s. (TOS: "The Cage"; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

Some yeomen, such as Janice Rand, were enlisted personnel during their time in this position. There were different rates of yeoman, all the way down to "third class." Seventeen-year-old Tina Lawton carried this rate in 2266. (TOS: "Charlie X")

The final draft script of "Charlie X" abbreviated this, calling Lawton a "Yeoman 3rd" in the scripted stage directions.

Yeomen could also have held the rank of a junior officer, as seen with a yeoman assigned to the USS Enterprise-A, who wore an officer's uniform with the rank of lieutenant junior grade. (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)

In 2267 of the mirror universe, Marlena Moreau told James T. Kirk that she would have a yeoman help her move her things to Commander Kenner's quarters if he was rejecting her. (TOS: "Mirror, Mirror")

List of yeomen

Appendices

Background information

Gene Roddenberry always imagined an attractive young woman as his Star Trek captain's personal assistant, writing the first yeoman on Trek as Chris Pike's young Yeoman Colt in "The Cage". However, Pike states in the episode that he cannot get used to seeing women on the bridge with the exception of Number One, indicating that his previous yeoman was male.

The following information regarding the yeoman was taken from the Star Trek Writers/Directors Guide (third revision):

Played by a succession of young actresses, always lovely. One such character has been well established in the first year, "Yeoman Janice Rand", played by Grace Lee Whitney. Whether Yeoman Rand or a new character provided by the writer, this female Yeoman serves Kirk as his combination Executive Secretary-Valet-Military aide. As such, she is always capable, a highly professional career girl. As with all female Crewman aboard, during duty hours she is treated co-equal with males of the same rank, and the same level of efficient performance is expected. The Yeoman often carries a small over-the-shoulder case, a Tricorder, about the size of a small handbag, which is also an electronic recorder-camera-sensor combinations, immediately available to the Captain should he be away from his Command Console.

In the words of actress Grace Lee Whitney, she viewed her role as a yeoman to be, "Her duties were that of a right-hand woman, a girl Friday. In other words, she took care of Kirk's personal needs, like a valet would do. I had a pet name I used to call myself: a 'space geisha.'" (Starlog #105, April 1986, p. 48)

During the run of the original series, only female yeomen were featured. Male yeomen later appeared on screen in both Star Trek: The Animated Series and the Star Trek films.

In foreign translations of Star Trek, the yeomen of TOS were usually not referred as yeoman, as their title was changed to "corporal", "sergeant", or another naval rank.

Apocrypha

The Pocket TOS novel The Captain's Oath noted that Kirk's yeoman had an office close to the captain's quarters.

External links

Yeoman at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Yeoman at Wikipedia