A training vessel, cadet ship or training ship is a type of planetary vehicle (naval aquatic vessel or aircraft) or spacecraft dedicated to the purposes of instruction for crewmember operation, designated to be operated by cadets and trainees for educational purposes. Unlike a simulator, a training vessel involves many of the real dangers of pilot error and other potential hazards involved with operating the craft. This practice, originally having been applied to oceanic vehicles by humanoid races and cultures, was expanded to apply to starships and spaceships to facilitate the training of junior officers as civiizations moved into space. The practice of sending a cadet crew to navigate their own ship was referred to as a cadet cruise.
History and specifics[]
In the 23rd century, Starfleet Captain Christopher Pike, annoyed with the amount of idle conversation occurring on the bridge of the Federation starship USS Enterprise, asked his first officer, Number One, if they were "running a cadet ship". The rebuke caused the crew to report their readiness and get underway. (TOS episode: "The Cage")
When Rear Admiral James T. Kirk was rotated off command of the Enterprise for a position at Starfleet Academy, he had his former command assigned as a training vessel for cadets under the command of Captain Spock. Although his senior staff took part in the training exercises, there were some begrudging suggestions from Chief Surgeon Leonard McCoy regarding putting an experienced crew back on the ship for active duty. (TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Wrath of Khan)