Mess Officer

A Mess officer is the person in charge of managing all mess facilities onboard a Federation starship or on a Federation station. On combat-oriented starships and front line space stations, this position is assumed by Starfleet personnel, usually a Chief Petty Officer.

Onboard standard starships of exploration, this can be assumed by civilians. Guinan was the mess officer of the USS Enterprise-D, while Neelix was the mess officer of the USS Voyager.

Smaller starships, or starships and stations that are fully automated, do not have mess officers.