Executive Officer

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An Executive Officer (abbrev. XO) is the second-in-command of a naval ship, reporting directly to the Commanding Officer (CO). It is common naval practice that the CO directs the ship in its mission, while the XO is responsible for ensuring that the ship and its crew are able to fulfill the mission as directed by the CO..

Many army and marine corps military units also have an officer who is second-in-command referred to as the executive officer.

In everyday parlance, the Executive Officer is sometimes referred to as "the exec."

Executive Officers in TRMN

In The Royal Manticoran Navy: The Official Honor Harrington Fan Association, Inc. (TRMN), naval chapters are ships, and each is required to have a "command triad" consisting of:

  • Commanding Officer (CO): Analogous to the chapter president. Sometimes called the "skipper" in club jargon.
  • Executive Officer (XO): The chapter's second-in command.
  • Bosun: The senior enlisted member of the chapter, who must have a minimum grade of E-7

Ranks for chapter Execs

The prescribed minimum rank for the XO is one grade lower than the rank of the CO:

Code Hull Type Minimum crew Minimum CO rank Minimum XO rank
LAC Light Attack Craft 3 Lieutenant Senior Grade (no XO)
DD Destroyer 6 Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant (senior grade)
CL Light Cruiser 8 Commander Lieutenant Commander
CA Heavy Cruiser 10 Captain Junior Grade Commander
BC Battlecruiser 12 Captain Junior Grade Commander
DN Dreadnought 16 Captain Junior Grade Commander
SD Superdreadnought 20 Captain Junior Grade Commander
CLAC Carrier, LAC 15 Captain Junior Grade Commander

Deputy Commanding Officer

The "triad" structure is also used for leadership of larger echelons formed of multiple ships as well as the bureaus and service branches which make up the organization.

In larger organizational levels within TRMN, the second-in-command is called the Deputy Commanding Officer, a position which is analogous to the chapter-level position of Executive Officer. Fleets have Deputy Commanders, and the bureaus, which are headed by Space Lords, have Deputy Space Lords as their second-in-commands.

References