[The following is adapted from the excellent, 'The Complete Idiot's Guide To Aircraft Carriers', written by CA Mobley and Michael Benson:]

It might surprise you to learn that a battlestar is not commanded by an Admiral, but a senior Commander; one who has already been the Commanding Officer of a squadron.

It is sometimes a point of controversy, having avoiators command a ship, but they are, in fact, quite experienced and have a lot of training. They are schooled in propulsion reactors and have also previously held command of a large ship, such as an underway replenishment ship of some sort, before getting command of a battlestar.

These folks are front-runners - most of the time, they are selected for flag rank (short-hand for any of the Admiral ranks) after their carrier command tour.

A Strike Group or other collection of ships under the command of one Officer, is known as a 'task unit' (each individual ship being known as a 'task element', with more than one being an element of that unit).

Here's a quick run-through of the chain of command for a Strike Group (this being any combination of ships deemed necessary to help a battlestar/carrier carry out a particular mission)...

• The Admiral commands the Strike Group.
• The Commanding Officer (CO) of the battlestar reports to the Admiral, as do the COs of all the other ships.
• The Commanding Officers of squadrons report to their designated CAGs, who, in turn, report to the fleet's Wing Division Commander. The WDC reports to the Admiral.

Important Information - Boatswain's Mate:

The normal job of a Boatswain's Mate is to operate, maintain and fix all the deck gear. One of the first things you learn if you are stationed on a carrier, is that most Boatswain's Mates, including the aviation Boatswain's Mates, are capable of kicking serious butt, any time, anywhere. Not that they have to - the fear factor works in their favour. That aside, Boatswain's Mates are some of the very best leaders in the Colonial Navy. If you want somehting done, find a BM. If you can't find one of those, a Gunner's Mate will do.