2357-63 -- As ensign, aboard U.S.S. Victory under Captain Zimbata

 2364 -- As lieutenant junior grade, named chief con officer, U.S.S. Enterprise under Capt. Jean-Luc Picard

 2365 -- Promoted to lieutenant, transferred from command to operations division and named chief engineer, U.S.S.
 Enterprise

 2366 -- Promoted to lieutenant commander

 2372 -- Transferred with remainder of Picard's senior staff to Sovereign-class U.S.S. Enterprise

 2373 -- During attempt to repair Borg temporal sabotage with Earth first contact, acted as replacement flight crew for Zefram
 Cochran's Phoenix warp test

 Psychological Profile: Report of Ship's Counselor Deanna Troi Excerpts, Starfleet Biographical File

 The outstanding characteristic LaForge shows is his longtime adaptability to and satisfaction with life, symbolized by the
 fact that his birth-blindness until recently was overcome not by direct surgery but by the unique VISOR instrument - which,
 though painful allowed him to "see" throughout the electromagnetic spectrum, from heat and infrared through visible light to
 radio waves. It attached at the temples via implants which connected directly to the brain and provided such a complex and
 broad-based input that the user had to concentrate to focus on one area. It was perhaps this intense focusing ability that has
 enabled him to master the complexities of warp engineering and other starship systems.

 Since mid-2371, however, ongoing miniaturization and cybernetic technology have allowed LaForge to begin using ocular
 implants, which employ complex sensors and filters all with the confines of an artificial eye.

 LaForge did not yet have a VISOR at the time of his major childhood trauma: a fire which trapped him for two minutes until
 he was pulled to safety. The incident left him with the longtime need to be reassured of his parents' proximity - a feeling only
 exacerbated with the Starfleet couple often being posted in separate places, requiring LaForge and his sister Ariana to move
 constantly during childhood. He was living at home, however, when he left for Starfleet Academy after graduating from Zefram
 Cochrane High School, coincidentally named for one of his heroes. He did have a pet Circassian cat at age 8.

 His mother died in 2370 as captain of the lost U.S.S. Hera, but in grief he disobeyed Picard and nearly died to save what he
 thought was her - an image created from his own memory by aliens seeking rescue. The incident occurred as he tested a
 unique remote-control system for a self-propelled robot drone interfaced with his own VISOR and neural system.

 As an ensign he served under Captain Zimbata on the U.S.S. Victory, where a parasite picked up on an away mission to
 Tarchannen IV in 2362 nearly led to his transformation five years later into a non-sentient species. Only his close friendship
 and trust with former crewmate Susanna Leitjen saved him.

 LaForge first met Captain Jean-Luc Picard sometime before their Enterprise tour, when he impressed his superior officer so
 much with his all-night refit of a shuttle engine after an off-hand comment by Picard during an inspection tour. Although he
 has been best friends with Data since they met aboard ship, he has actually known Commander William Riker longer - at
 least since Farpoint Station, awaiting their new ship's arrival.

 LaForge's irreverence has been tempered somewhat with his added responsibilities, but his sense of humor remains strong.
 His faith in technology and his ability to master it, normally an inspiration to those around him, was shaken slightly with the
 2370 discovery that warp drive can harm the fabric of some spatial areas.

 In his personal life, LaForge is plagued by a slight insecurity regarding dating and female relationships, although this has
 lessened with time; significant relationship in this regard included Christy Henshaw, Lt. Aquiel Uhnari, and a passing
 attraction to Dr. Leah Brahms, begun as a reconstructed holo-program. He served as best man for Miles O'Brien at his
 wedding to Keiko, and allowed Dr. Crusher to coax him into singing a role in her shipboard troupe's upcoming performance of
 "The Pirates of Penzance".

 He too enjoyed the senior officers' weekly poker game, and even though his artificial "eyes" have allowed him to detect
 bluffing and see opponents' cards in the ultraviolet spectrum he never "peeked" until a hand was over. Other hobbies are
 scale model building of old sailing ships, chess, swimming, skin-diving, and the history of his profession: during the Cochran
 project he recalled the Phoenix test vehicle's intermix chamber from memory. He holds his own in fencing, but writing and
 mandolin playing are not strong suits, despite a preference for guitar music. Food favorites include iced coffee and pasta
 dishes such as fungilli. He is adept at many languages including Hahlian, owing to his nomadic childhood.

 Professional Assessment: Report of Starfleet Engineering, Dr. Leah Brahms

 LaForge's rapid rise during his Enterprise assignment confirms his no-nonsense talent, skill, insight and administrative ability
 - as well as a keen judgment for needed modifications in the field. Even as a junior officer his specialties included antimatter
 power and dilithium regulators, and he was extremely capable in many advanced systems and repairs, including Holodeck
 programs and climate-control computers.

 In 2365, he butted heads with this consulting designer when Starfleet wanted his unorthodox jury-rigging of ship's systems
 for special missions checked out. After settling some personal differences which interfered with our work, my initial doubts
 about his judgment were more than relieved.

 I almost envy LaForge for coming face-to-face with Starfleet legend Montgomery Scott when the near-mythic engineer was
 found in a transporter loop of a downed courier ship in 2369, and the two joined forces to free the Enterprise from a Dyson
 Sphere's interior.

 LaForge served as a temporary first officer to Cmdr. Will Riker on the U.S.S. Excalibur during the Starfleet blockade of
 Romulan aid to the Duras faction of the Klingon civil war, using his tachyon system to detect cloaked ships.

 Professional review: ibid., SD 50900 update:

 I must be blunt. First Scott and now Zefram Cochrane? This reviewer can only imagine the emotions involved with assisting a
 pioneer with making history, thanks to temporal anomalies, but according to classified files LaForge must be lauded for his
 personal work in restoring and overseeing the technical support needed to overcome Borg interference in human first contact.

 I must say -- some guys get all the luck.

 Medical Briefing: Report of CMO Beverly Crusher, M.D.

 LaForge suffers no ill effects from his lifelong use of the VISOR, including the ongoing pain suppression that accompanies its
 use. Ironically, the direct cortical contacts it employs have made him a vulnerable target at times, as when the pro-Romulan
 faction in the Klingon civil war tried to set him up with unconscious programming to kill a Klingon and create an interstellar
 incident.

 He nearly died when trapped with a Romulan centurion, Bochra, on desolate Galorndon Core in 2366 and was given up for
 dead two years later when accidentally cloaked by the Romulans' failed interphasic cloak test.

 Update, NCC-1701-E: CMO Crusher:

 LaForge seems to realize even less pain with his new ocular implants. I for one am happy with the change, since there is
 now no obvious connection points that injury, infection or even saboteurs can easily access.

 Personnel File Addendum: Report of Captain Jean-Luc Picard

 As part of the Q-induced future scenario I was made to experience in 2370, my chief engineer left Starfleet, became a
 successful novelist, and married the onetime Leah Brahms, a Starfleet engineering design colleague, with three children -
 Bret, Alandra  and Sidney. As with my other senior officers, I made the conscious decision to reveal the events of that possible future.