Star Trek: 10 Starfleet Decisions With The Most Devastating Consequences
6. Giving Command Of A Heavily Armed Warship To Inexperienced Children
The outbreak of the Dominion War had several unforeseen consequences, not least of which was the fate of the Defiant-class USS Valiant. Initially, it was thought that this ship was destroyed in the earliest days of the conflict, as the sector that they had been patrolling was swarmed with a Jem'hadar/Cardassian fleet, cutting them off from getting home. Added to this was the fact that the ship, due to technical issues, was unable to get above warp four, meaning it was effectively trapped behind enemy lines, limping along.
The captain of the vessel, Captain Ramirez, had been tasked with training the crew of cadets aboard. This crew consisted of Red Squad, the cabal of Starfleet Academy attendees who had been deemed 'best of the best'. Though they performed admirably on many occasions, Ramirez made a fatal decision in placing control of the ship in the hands of Tim Waters.
Ramirez was critically injured in a conflict with a Cardassian ship, giving Waters a field commission to captain with his dying breath. In the words of Ensign Nog, who later met and served under Waters. In turn, the young Ferengi was almost killed by the man's inexperience. Though Nog, Jake Sisko, and Chief Dorian Collins escaped, the entire crew of the Valiant lost their lives in a fool-hardy mission, attacking the vastly superior Jem'hadar Warship. As the ship exploded, most of the escape pods were shot down, leaving only these three to be picked up by the Defiant.