Star Trek: EVERY Chief Of Security Ranked From WORST To BEST
7. Natasha Yar - USS Enterprise-D
The wasted potential of Tasha Yar still stings.
It was both refreshing and inspiring to see a woman take the role of a security chief in the 1980s. Even First Contact, a decade later, would have Picard order Daniels to tell his 'men' to fight, framing security as a masculine pursuit.
Yar was tough, focused, ambitious and damn good at her job. Her strength of will was no doubt forged in the crucible of her traumatic upbringing. Surviving and escaping the horrific gangs of Turkana IV ignited her fierce loyalty to Starfleet and the values it embodied. Her history was explored a little more in the episode Legacy, after Yar's departure. A backstory that gave her a unique perspective as a security officer and wasn't explored nearly enough while she was still around.
It also made her a fascinating chief of security. For all her strength, Yar had a deep well of compassion that surfaced when others were at risk, showing that resilience and compassion never have to be conflicting traits. She wasn't drawn to security for power or excitement; it was because she understood the harm that could happen to people who weren't protected.
But it was her bravery that stuck in the mind of both Picard and her fans. When Picard met Tasha, she was trying to reach a wounded colonist through a minefield. It was seeing that courage that made Picard request her as his security chief. And despite her death being infamously banal, his words to her sister speak to how dedicated an officer she was:
She never once failed to put the safety of the crew before her own, and she died doing the same.