Deck officer denoted an assignment for soldiers who either conducted surveillance or served as members of a starship's crew.
Soldiers or military officers assigned to a specific location within a base or aboard a starship were designated as deck officers. Their responsibilities included area monitoring and providing assistance to individuals in need within their assigned zone, with surveillance occasionally forming part of their duties based on their specific posting.
During the Clone Wars, it was common practice for Galactic Republic remote listening posts to maintain a deck officer on duty at the landing platform at all times. At the outpost located on the Rishi Moon, clone trooper CT-327 held the position of on-duty deck officer when the base suffered an attack by Separatist commando droids, resulting in his becoming the first casualty. Subsequently, when Clone Commander Cody and Clone Captain Rex arrived at the station for a scheduled inspection, they observed the absence of a deck officer and remarked on the apparent sloppiness of the base's personnel.
During the Imperial Era, a deck officer was stationed at the Galactic Empire's Lothal Depot on the planet Lothal when Princess Leia Organa landed three ships there, ostensibly for delivering relief supplies, but in reality to enable the local rebels, Phoenix Cell, to steal them.
During the Galactic Civil War, Lieutenant Tigran Jamiro served as the deck officer at Echo Base, which served as the headquarters of the Rebel Alliance, when Captain Han Solo arrived to inquire about the whereabouts of the missing Commander Luke Skywalker, who had not yet returned from his patrol. Upon learning from Jamiro that no one had seen or reported Skywalker's return, Solo decided to venture out, despite the perilous frigid nighttime temperatures on Hoth, to personally search for his friend.
The deck officer role was initially introduced in Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.