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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"Hailing frequencies open, Sir."''
|'''Lt. Uhura''', ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]''}}
When [[The Captain]] needs to contact [[Mission Control]] to talk to the [[Voice with an Internet Connection]], he has a number of options. He could call him up on his [[Comm Links|Comm Link]], or maybe even [[What Are Records?|find a pay phone]]. But maybe this is a job for someone more specialized, or maybe [[The Captain]] needs someone to delegate this to while he deals with other things. He needs the '''Communications Officer'''.
The Communications Officer need not be an officer, and in fact, will often be a lower ranking member tasked with maintaining and operating the complex radio equipment. On a sci-fi show, they will often have a workstation on the bridge of the ship, while in a war movie, you can expect to see this guy running around two steps behind [[The Captain]] with a cumbersome backpack radio with a huge whip antenna. Whenever we see [[Mission Control]], expect to see an entire squad of these guys at work. More mundane examples include a secretary in an office, who has the job of screening calls to their boss and sending out messages for them.
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Overlaps with [[Mission Control]]. Will often be working as one of the [[Bridge Bunnies]]. A key member of the [[Command Roster]].
{{examples}}
▲== Anime And Manga ==
* In ''[[Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh]]'', the giant robot in question is so complex to operate that it needs ''two'' communications officers.
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'': Fuery
* In ''[[Girls und Panzer]]'', Saori ends up the radio operator for the team leader's tank because she's [[Chekhov's Hobby|good at texting]].
== [[Film
* Mrs. Packard
▲* Mrs. Packard on ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]'', although she spends most of the time chatting up her friend over the phone (which, unless she's also in the submarine, [[Fridge Logic|would be quite a feat using 1914 technology]]).
* ''[[Down Periscope]]'' has Nitro, a skilled but very [[Cloudcuckoolander|eccentric]] electrician who manages to coerce the [[What a Piece of Junk!|aging ship's]] radio equipment to work via various short-circuits (including several passing through [[Amusing Injuries|his own body]]).
* ''[[Fantastic Voyage (film)|Fantastic Voyage]]'' has Charles Grant, a rare example of where the Communications Officer is also [[The Hero]].
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* ''[[Super Troopers]]'' has [[Jerkass|Farva]] given this job at the highway department as punishment after [[Noodle Incident|the school bus incident]]. Meanwhile, [[Fair Cop|Ursula]] is tasked with the same job at the Spurbury Police Department [[Stay in the Kitchen|because she's a woman.]]
* ''[[Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea|Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea]]'' (1961). The comm officer aboard the Seaview (a U.S. government vessel) was called Sparks.
* ''[[We Were Soldiers]]'': A number of radio operators are mixed in amongst the soldiers, with [[Red Shirt|several unnamed ones]] getting shot and killed during firefights. Another one, after proving himself particularly skilled by managing to tune in on radio transmissions from a battle happening on the other side of the Earth,<ref>
** The movie also had a radioman whose primary responsibility was calling in fire support. [[All There in the Manual|According to the book the film was based on]], he was actually a [[Ace Pilot|fighter pilot]] by trade.
== [[Literature]] ==
* [[Robert Heinlein]]'s ''[[The Number of the Beast]]''. When
▲* [[Robert Heinlein]]'s ''[[The Number of the Beast]]''. When Hildy Burroughs is captain of the ''Gay Deceiver'', Zebadiah ("Zeb") Burroughs acts as her comm officer, especially when talking with the British colonists on Mars.
▲* Adele Mundy in the Republic of Cinnabar series.
== Live Action TV ==▼
* ''[[Babylon 5]]'': On the station itself, this job would typically fall to Lieutenant Corwin (in the first season, it alternated between him and an un-named [[Bridge Bunny]].) If Sheridan or Sinclair was in Command and Control, this job would instead go to [[The Lancer|Commander Ivanova.]] When traveling out and about aboard one ship or another, this job would fall to whichever character was serving as [[The Lancer]] for that mission (Lennier or Marcus, usually).
*
* In ''[[M*A*S*H (television)|
* ''[[Star Trek]]''
** ''[[Star Trek: The
** ''[[Star Trek: The
** ''[[Star Trek:
** ''[[Star Trek:
* Robert RO Dixon in ''[[Sea Patrol]]'' is a very snarky Communications officer. He does go on boarding parties and is the best person with software.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In ''[[Warhammer
* One of the crew specialties in [[GURPS]] [[Traveller]] ''Starships''.
* One of the standard Mandatory Bonus Duties in ''[[Paranoia]]''. In practice, it mostly plays into the [[Witch Hunt|Commie Hunt]] dynamic.
== [[Toys]] ==▼
▲== Toys ==
* GI Joe communications officer "Breaker" was one of the first 3 3/4" GI Joe figures produced, and came with a helmet-mounted radio.
* In every incarnation of [[Transformers]], some version of Soundwave is the Decepticons' Communications Officer. And in many continuities, Blaster serves the same role for the Autobots. There are also some occasional secondary characters who also fill the role, such as Hubcap in ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]'' and Kup in ''[[Transformers: Wings of Honor]]''.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In the ''[[Mass Effect]]'' series, this role is typically filled by [[Ace Pilot|Joker]], [[Bridge Bunnies|Yeoman Chambers, or Specialist Traynor.]]
* In ''[[Wing Commander (video game)|Wing Commander]] III'', "[[
** His rumors, that the [[The Alliance|Terran Confederation]] is on the ropes in its war with the [[Mega Neko|Kilrathi]], are largely true, but it is disastrous for morale to just come out and state that openly when there is still a fighting chance for them to recover.
== [[ Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[Exo Squad]]'' features team member Alec DeLeon, with his specialized Communications E-Frame.
* In ''[[Sealab 2020]]'' and its [[Gag Dub]] ''[[Sealab 2021]]'', the com officer for the title installation was Lieutenant Sparks (apparently his real last name).
* In ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]'', this is the official job description of Blaster (for the good guys) and Soundwave (the bad guys). Soundwave seems to follow the description far more, [[The Spymaster| given]] [[Sinister Surveillance| his activities.]]
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]
[[Category:The Squad]]
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