The Klingon ranking system is somewhat more fluid than that of Starfleet. There is no true distinction between naval and ground forces - a warrior is a warrior. A rough correlation can be drawn between Klingon ranks and those of Starfleet, but some relate more to ground-based military ranks. A low-level warrior may be called beq (crewman) or mang (private), depending on his basic duties, or simply vaj (warrior); and a senior officer may be accorded a naval or military title depending on the type of actions in which he has distinguished himself. It is a compliment to refer to any Klingon as SuvwI', which means warrior (as a vocabulary word, as opposed to rank).

Insignia Starfleet Naval General Ground Military
Crewman
beq
vaj
mang
 Private
Crewman 1C  
Da'
    
Petty Officer  
bu'
    
Ensign  
lagh
    
Lieutenant  
Sogh
    
Commander  
la'
    
Captain  
HoD
    
Commodore
totlh
  
'ech
 Brigadier
Admiral
'aj
  
Sa'
 General


Da (v) - behave as, act in the manner of + Har (v) - believe

DaHar is the belief systems around which the Klingon warrior's way of life revolves. It is analogous to the chivalric ideals of European knighthood or Japanese Bushido from ancient Earth.

A Klingon who has achieved a reputation for exemplifying the true Warrior ethos may be accorded the title of DaHar qup (DaHar Elder) or DaHar pIn'a' (DaHar Master). These warriors (especially DaHar Masters) are shown the greatest respect and deference by orther Klingons.


This page ©2004 Owen E. Oulton
Klingon ranking system based on data from The Klingon Dictionary by Marc Okrand.
Rank insignia based on material from The Klingons, a supplement for Star Trek, The Role-Playing Game, by FASA Corp.