Why did Star Trek abandon the Yeoman rank? Here's what we know

With the premiere of TOS, Star Trek introduced numerous ranks and officials of Starfleet. However, over the years, the titles and ranks were reduced, with the Yeoman rank completely disappearing. Grace Lee Whitney's Janice Rand was among the most popular Yeomen who accompanied Captain Kirk in the USS Enterprise.

However, the position that could be translated as a personal secretary ceased to exist in the recent Star Trek universe, mainly due to the advancement of technology. Another reason would be the focus on main characters and higher-ranking officials made the other characters' appearances less and less, and over time vanished.

More on this in our story.

Why did Star Trek abandon the Yeoman rank? Details explored

The term Yeoman actually comes from the US Navy, where the title is assigned to take over the administrative duties. In the Star Trek universe, the Yeoman had a similar role, as a personal assistant to their assigned captains. It is a position that could be occupied by a low-ranking officer and takes care of the administrative and clerical duties, and can also be seen to inform the Captains about any danger to the starship.

However, over the years, in the new additions of shows and Star Trek films, Yeomans are not seen anymore. The main reason for this would be the Federation's advanced technology. Earlier, they might have needed people to attend to their demands, but with advanced technology, now a human to attend to their needs might not be required.

Furthermore, whatever tasks a Yoeman used to be assigned are now given to Ensigns or can be looked after by the advanced versions of AI on the starships. As we have seen in the newest technology the Federation uses now, the availability of numerous new technologies, such as the Food Replicators, has resulted in a smaller number of people needing to cater to the higher officials.

While the Yeomans could still have existed to do various other minute jobs, the availability of data PADDs and other tech advances has made the lives of the higher officials easier and resulted in the disappearance of the Yeomans.

Yeomen who appeared in the Star Trek saga

Actress Grace Lee Whitney, who played Janice Rand, became a fan favorite with limited screen time in TOS but was let go. While recalling the show in The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The First 25 Years, creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, confessed to regretting letting Whitney go due to the studio wanting more female characters around Captain Kirk.

Whitney also talked about the same reason for being fired from the show and said:

"I was let go because of several reasons. The main reason was that they told me they wanted Captain Kirk to have more female friends."

While Janice Rand was the most popular Yeoman to appear in the Star Trek universe, numerous others have appeared in the saga. For instance, Zac Nguyen, Captain Pike's Yeoman, appeared in Strange New Worlds, but the character hasn't appeared in later episodes.

Another popular Yeoman from TOS is Yeoman Zohra, who served Captain Kirk in Episode 3 of Season 1. She was killed by Gary Mitchell. Kirk later had several other Yeomans, such as Yeoman Barrows and Yeoman Smith, among others.

While these characters played memorable roles, the new saga does not include the Yeoman rank anymore.

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