For crewmembers who love diving deeper into the lore of the final frontier, STARFLEET International offers incredible opportunities to expand your horizons beyond just watching episodes. Whether you are fascinated by the cutting-edge science and bio-ethics of Starfleet Medical or prefer the tactical strategy and grit of the Starfleet Marine Corps, the official reading challenges are a fantastic way to earn recognitions, sharpen your knowledge, and have fun along the way.
What Are the Reading Challenges?
Managed through STARFLEET Academy and specialized corps programs, these reading challenges invite members to explore curated lists of science fiction literature, technical manuals, and franchise-adjacent reading materials. As you complete books and submit your reading logs, you earn official certifications, ribbons, and academic credit within the SFI system.
1. The STARFLEET Medical Reading Challenge
Channel your inner Dr. McCoy, Dr. Crusher, or Dr. Bashir! The Medical Reading Challenge focuses on literature exploring biology, bioethics, science fiction medicine, and the medical-humanitarian side of the Star Trek universe and broader sci-fi canon.
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How It Works: You can read anything you want, and audiobooks count. You will keep a record of the books you read, their names, ISBN numbers, and page counts (with audiobook page numbers found on Amazon or elsewhere).
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Double Points & Themes: STARFLEET manuals and Star Trek books count double. Special monthly themes—such as Naval/Sea Voyages—also offer double pages.
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Submissions & Privacy: Every month, participants send in their counts for certificates, with special awards going to the person and ship with the most pages read. Starting in October, information is entered via a private Google Sheet managed securely by admins to ensure privacy, prevent overwriting, and allow members not on Facebook to participate (though the community Facebook group remains open for sharing and updates).
2. The STARFLEET Marine Reading Challenge
If your style leans more toward tactical strategy, leadership history, and ground-team operations, the Marine Reading Challenge steps up to the plate. Run by FORCECOM of the STARFLEET Marine Corps, this is a friendly contest to encourage reading across all ages.
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Eligible Material: Books in fiction, non-fiction, mystery, sci-fi, thriller, romance, etc., in printed or electronic form (Kindle, Nook, PDF, etc.) are eligible. Newspapers, magazines, comic books, and cookbooks are excluded. Audiobooks are permitted only for participants with a physical impairment or condition (such as blindness or dyslexia) that prevents reading printed books, using page counts from the latest printed edition.
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The Chain of Command: Marines read and report books to their Marine Strike Group (MSG) Officer in Charge for inclusion in bi-monthly reports. Submissions must include the marine’s full name, SCC number, age (for cadets), book title, author, page count, and ISBN or publisher information. Direct submissions to FORCECOM are automatically discarded.
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Categories & Prizes: Competitions run in categories for individuals, Marine Strike Groups (MSGs), and Brigades (BDEs). Individual winners receive an SFMC Challenge coin, while winning units and brigades receive a Reading Challenge streamer.
Why Participate?
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Earn SFI Awards & Credits: Accumulate official STARFLEET Academy credits, service ribbons, challenge coins, and streamers for your uniform display.
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Discover Great Books: Expand your reading list with fantastic sci-fi and speculative titles you might not have picked up otherwise.
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Connect with Crewmates: Share book recommendations, trade insights, and form study groups right here with your local USS Corsair crew in Baton Rouge.
How to Get Started
Ready to hit the books? You can check out the official requirements and reading lists by logging into the STARFLEET International Headquarters website. Once you pick your track, start reading, track your progress, and let us know what book you are tackling first in our Ship’s Library on Discord!
Happy reading, crew! Let’s boldly read where no one has read before. 📚🖖