STARFLEET RECRUITING
Starfleet Recruiting was created as an independent branch of the Starfleet after being separated from Starfleet Administration in January 2141. Previously, recruiting matters had been managed as an internal office of Starfleet Administration since the fall of 2137. Upon the creation of Starfleet Recruiting, all recruiting offices on Earth were reorganized into recruiting divisions while a headquarters office handled recruiting policy affairs.
In the summer of 2144, Starfleet Recruiting was completely reorganized following an announcement that Starfleet would be tripling its size over the next five years. Recruiting offices were reorganized into new recruiting stations and districts while admissions into Starfleet were now overseen by a single Starfleet Admissions Office. At the same time, Starfleet opened its first recruiting station on Mars.
The office of Starfleet Recruiting is located at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco. Starfleet also offers a Recruiting Service Ribbon for sustained recruiting duty.
STARFLEET RECRUITING STATIONS
The beginning of every Starfleet member’s career is an initial meeting with a Starfleet Recruiter at a Starfleet Recruiting Station. These stations are located in leased facilities, typically small offices or business buildings situated near major traffic centers in urban areas. The average staffing level of a recruiting station is six to eight crewmen.
The Starfleet Recruiting Process
The Starfleet Recruiting Station is the only unit within Starfleet that operates under the authority of a non-commissioned Senior Crewman. All recruiting stations fall under the authority of Section and District Recruiting Offices, which are slightly larger, typically comprising twelve to eighteen personnel, and are commanded by Starfleet officers.
The Recruiting Stations on Luna and Mars are grouped into two recruiting sections (one located each on Mars and the Moon), while both sections are part of a single Recruiting District with an office at Starfleet Headquarters. These stations are the smallest units of Starfleet, with typically between four to six assigned personnel.
A Recruiting Station’s primary purpose is to conduct the initial screening of potential Starfleet applicants and to answer applicant questions pertaining to membership in Starfleet. Prior to the 2140s, Recruiting Stations were also responsible for administering initial entrance examinations as well as conducting pre-enlistment Starfleet physicals. Beginning in 2142, most Recruiting Stations instead transfer applicants to the Starfleet Induction Center for "pre-induction processing" which administers all advanced recruiting steps prior to entrance into the Starfleet. In rare cases, typically to avoid delays in enlistment, an applicant may be referred to a local Starfleet Examination Center for entrance testing as well as a civilian physician certified to administer Starfleet pre-induction medical examinations.
A Starfleet Recruiting Station in 2148
Starfleet Recruiting Stations, Sections, and Districts
In the 2130s, applicants seeking to join Starfleet either directly contacted Starfleet Administration or were referred from prior service in either UESPA, the Earth Cargo Service, or MACO. In the spring of 2139, the first six Starfleet Recruiting Offices were established in high population centers near Earth's major cities. Five additional recruiting offices were opened by that fall. By the end of 2140, there were thirty Starfleet Recruiting Offices throughout the nations of Earth reporting directly to the headquarters of Starfleet Recruiting at Starfleet Headquarters. In 2141, all recruiting offices were placed under three recruiting divisions under the authority of the Commander Recruiting Force; this was in turn expanded to five divisions by the fall of 2143. In July 2144, Starfleet converted all Recruiting Offices to the smaller Recruiting Stations grouped into recruiting sections as part of larger recruiting districts.