Ronnie Kozar

Ronald "Ronnie" Kozar was a Starfleet officer during the late 24th century. His most notable assignments were aboard the USS Horatio Nelson and the USS Lambda Paz.

Starfleet career

Early years

From his time in Starfleet Academy, Kozar was an ambitious young officer, hoping to make captain by the age of thirty. During his time at the Academy, he stumbled across genealogical evidence suggesting he was descended from Human Augments from the Eugenics Wars, explaining his sometimes overly-ambitious behavior. One example of his ambitions was when he confronted Edward Jellico, then the dean of students, about his field study assignment. Jellico said he admired Kozar’s attitude, but also warned it would get him in trouble sooner or later.

Jellico’s warnings did ring true when Kozar became a troop commander in 2360. During a skirmish with the Cardassians, one of his soldiers was killed by Kozar’s own friendly fire. His superiors told him that while one should never devalue sentient life, Kozar needed to let go of the intense guilt. He relayed similar advice to Doctor Aurellan Markalis after she was forced to take a life.

Kozar would also learn a painful lesson in the difficulty of raising a family and serving in Starfleet. He had been romantically involved with Mariana Katel for some time when their daughter Savannah was born in 2359. Katel did not wish Kozar to be involved in the girl’s upbringing. The two still kept in touch for about a decade, so that Kozar was at least a small part of Savannah’s life. But they would have a worse falling out when Kozar learned of Katel’s connections to a rogue organization code-named Section 31. As of 2375, he had no contact with his daughter in the last six years. (Star Trek: Lambda Paz character biographies, "The Tides of War, Parts 1 and 2")

Aboard the Horatio Nelson

As a lieutenant commander, Kozar served as commanding officer of the Starfleet frigate, Horatio Nelson during the Federation-Cardassian border conflict. The Nelson was part of a fleet commanded by Captain Edward Jellico, now commanding the USS Cairo during the decisive Battle of Sector 21505 in 2366. His officers concluded that automated Cardassian dreadnaughts were being controlled by the fleet’s lead ship and used a scattering field to disrupt that link. The dreadnaughts, which were running kamikaze maneuvers at the Federation fleet, were then easily destroyed, leading to a more decisive victory in what had been a war of attrition to that point. (Star Trek: Lambda Paz: "Revenge a Dish Best Served Cold")

Aboard the Lambda Paz

When Dominion War began in 2373, Admirals Jellico and Ross recommended Kozar for command of the Lambda Paz. They were overruled by Fleet Admiral Alynna Nechayev, who assigned command to pardoned ex-Maquis Limis Vircona on the advice of Captain Benjamin Sisko. Admiral Jellico later spoke to Kozar in private and gave him expanded autonomy to relieve Limis of her command if the situation called for it.

That situation did occur when Limis placed a Cardassian prisoner in an airlock and decompressed it to obtain information from him. The Cardassian died soon after, and Kozar had Limis relieved of her command. Kozar's captaincy did not last long as the JAG office decided not to take any disciplinary actions on the recommendation of Vice admiral William Ross. ("Revenge a Dish Best Served Cold," "Moral Dilemma)

Kozar once again hoped to usurp Limis's position when Limis departed the Lambda Paz on a mission to Bajor, citing orders from Starfleet Intelligence. Kozar ordered Mandel Morrison to break into the captain's personal database to determine whether she had received such orders.

After having dressed down two department heads for their antagonistic relationships with subordinates in their respective departments (Chaz Logan and Shinar sh'Aqba with Erhlich Tarlazzi and Aurellan Markalis with the EMH Mark II), Kozar then decided he should practice what he preached. He took Limis's threat to throw him in the brig if any crewmembers were suspected of even conspiracy to commit mutiny seriously. ("Divided Loyalties")

Kozar attempted to establish a more cordial relationship with Limis, even offering his support when Limis believed her son to be in danger. Furthermore, when Admiral Edward Jellico denied Kozar permission to break off from the Seventh Fleet to search for the captain, Kozar asked sh'Aqba to create a warp-coil malfunction as an excuse to break off from the fleet anyway. ("The Tides of War, Part 1")

Nevertheless, Kozar would continue to butt heads with Limis over the years, stating that she was often reckless, and made decisions unilaterally without consulting the first officer or other senior staff. Following the Lambda Paz's destruction, Limis announced her intention to have Kozar transferred away from her next command and even recommended that he be demoted to midshipman to learn respect for the chain of command. Kozar said he would welcome such a transfer. (Star Trek: War Aftermath: " The True Way")

Service jacket

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  Commanding Officer, USS Horatio Nelson- 2366-2373
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  First officer, USS Lambda Paz- 2374-2376