How could this jump in ranks be possible?

In Star Trek Beyond, shortly after the Enterprise arrives at the space station Yorktown, Captain Kirk has a conversation with Commodore Paris, in which she informs him that Starfleet has sent her his application for the "Vice Admiral" position at Yorktown.

But as the following graphic shows this would mean a promotion by three ranks.

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It was said that the Enterprise was 966 days into it's five-year mission at the beginning of the movie, so Kirk has been Captain for about 3 years.

As Vice Admiral he would outrank Commodore Paris, who looked much more experienced (I'm basing this merely on her age, but I think it's fair to assume she has served more years than Kirk).

My Question:

What did Kirk do in those 3 years that would merit such a promotion?

star-trek star-trek-beyond

Best Answer

He lived and the job needs filling.

Between Nero's devastation of Starfleet's armada in Star Trek (2009) and the destruction of one of the founding Federation planets and species, and when Khan turned Starfleet headquarters into a fish in a barrel shooting gallery, and then crashed a ship into San Fransisco Bay in Into Darkness. Along with multiple years of being the flagship ambassador to multiple worlds as seen at the beginning of Beyond, son of the Kelvin's captain, a hero in the UFP, and his own hero status after Nero and Khan.

The ranks of Starfleet is severely understaffed, and Kirk's exceptional service puts him at the top of the list for filling any high ranking seat. Promotion to higher ranks are done by organizational needs and openings, not just merit. If there is no need for an admiral, a captain will be stuck as a captain forever, thats just the nature of service.

Side note, Kirk has been a Captain for about 5 years, from 2258 (the end of the 2009 reboot), not just 3 years. 3 years is his deep space mission to sleep with new life. Beyond takes place in 2263.

Side note 2, Kirk already skipped multiple ranks due to his actions in the first movie, from Cadet to Captain.