File - Ballard, D
From Alpha Fleet
| Starfleet Personnel File - Duncan Ballard | ||||
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| Biographical Information | |||
| Species | Human | |||
| Gender | Male | |||
| Date of Birth | August 16, 2336 | |||
| Physical Description | ||||
| Height | 5'9" | |||
| Weight | 190 lbs | |||
| Hair Colour | Brown/Grey | |||
| Eye Colour | Brown | |||
| Distinguishing Marks | None Reported | |||
| Family | ||||
| Marital Status | Single | |||
| Spouse | n/a | |||
| Mother | Evelyn Ballard | |||
| Father | Sanders Ballard | |||
| Siblings | none | |||
| Poltical Information | ||||
| Affliation | Alpha Fleet, Starfleet | |||
| Rank |  Senior Captain
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| Posting | USS Benaiah | |||
| Position | Commanding Officer | |||
| Fleet Role | JAG XO | |||
| Played by | Duncan Ballard | |||
| Background | ||||
| Duncan Ballard grew up in a small town in South Carolina on Earth. During his childhood he was raised almost solely by his Mother, as his Father was an alcoholic that often abused one or both of them when he wasn't causing trouble somewhere in town. Duncan aspired to join Starfleet from an early age, when he was often told stories of his Grandfather - who served on the Enterprise A under James Kirk as an engineering officer. When he was 16, Duncan got into a fight with his Father during one of the binges and ended up pushing him over a balcony where he fell to his death. Cleared of murder by the local police under suspicious circumstances two years later, Duncan packed what little he had and made way for Starfleet Academy. While in school, he learned that his Mother contracted a terminal illness and later died before he had time to visit her on leave. Once she was gone, he knew for certain he would remain with Starfleet for an extended period of time.
In the academy Duncan's work was often hit or miss. He was known as a troublemaker of sorts, due in part to his temper, which in turn led to an unfavorable view from his instructors. He excelled in Tactical and Strategy, but did poorly in Marksmanship and the Sciences. He had several commendations for his work in leadership exercises, and some say that it helped him over the other areas where he performed poorly. Nevertheless, despite a few setbacks he graduated the Academy in the middle of his class - gaining the rank of ensign. It was during his career with Starfleet that Ballard's leadership skills began to shine through. His first posting was to USS Pathfinder as a second-shift helmsman. After repeated arguments with the Conn officer over trajectories, he was at first regarded as insubordinate until it was later discovered that most of his suggestions were actually better than those of the Officers on duty. After forming an estranged friendship with Captain Mitchum he was promoted to Lieutenant JG and made the lead helmsman for the ship. Captain Mitchum came to rely heavily on Ballard's trajectory decisions, sometimes even more so than his own. A feud with an officer from engineering during mess was the only imperfection on Ballard's record, and after the Pathfinder completed its six-year exploratory mission he was transferred to the USS Columbia. Ballard served as the helmsman for Columbia for a number of years, gaining a promotion to Lieutenant early on when he helped to successfully navigate the ship away from a previously undiscovered black hole. Captain Diodorus commended Ballard's tactical and navigational prowess on several occasions, recommending him for command candidacy training near the end of their mission. On one occasion, while conducting scientific operations in the Beta Quadrant, the Columbia stumbled upon an elaborate plot by the Klingons to gain control of an underdeveloped planet. Ballard led an away team by the Captain's request to investigate the matter, and they were able to diplomatically resolve the situation. Shortly afterward Ballard was promoted to Lt. Commander and made the Tactical Officer. After a short personal leave where he contemplated leaving Starfleet for undisclosed reasons, Ballard was assigned to the USS Agincourt as the Tactical Officer. He served with this crew for several years on several different missions until the ship was lost in a conflict with the Borg. Ballard spent two months on an unknown planet after his escape pod crashed, but was later ironically discovered by the USS Columbia during a survey of gaseous anomolies. After a short bout of depression and indecisiveness, Ballard rejoined the crew as Tactical Officer during a confrontation with the Romulans a few months later. He was promoted to Commander shortly following this incident by Captain Diodorus. Following a leave from Starfleet of several months, Ballard was contacted and asked to return to duty immediately to assume command of the newly built Akira class USS Benaiah. The ship's mission and purpose for construction are classified, and it is thought by many that Ballard was an odd choice for commanding officer. | ||||
| Physiology | ||||
| Service Record | ||||
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SEE ABOVE
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| Awards recognised by Alpha Fleet | ||||
Not only exceeded expectations, went to extremes when it came to redefining the standard of defense officers in the JAG corps.
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| Source | ||||
