In the Spring of his senior year at McKenzie High School, Matthew applied to Starfleet Academy. His dream of someday reaching the stars was one step closer to fulfillment when the response from Commandant Mayfield arrived in the daily message drop. Matthew Timothy Salinger was going to Starfleet Academy.

Matthew focused his efforts on Operations Management with additional studies into the fundementals of Engineering. He graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2369. From there he went on to an additional year at Command School. Matthew was posted to the USS Hood, NCC-42296 under the command of Captain Robert de Soto in 2371. It was a big moment for the young officer, and it would be the start of a long and productive career. The Hood's first posting was in the area around Bajor and Deep Space Nine when the station was turned over to the Federation and Starfleet.

In his first year on the Hood, Ensign Salinger made a good impression on Captain de Soto and Lieutenant Michael Winsborough, the Chief of Operations. At the end of his third mission aboard the Hood, Matt was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant junior grade after assisting in the rescue of the first officer and two other Hood crew members held by a group of Ve'gallin pirates.

Matthew Salinger performed his duties to the best of his abilities over the next two years. When Lieutenant Winsborough was promoted to full Commander and assigned as the new executive officer of the USS Excaliber, NCC-26517, Matt was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned as the Hood's Chief of Operations.

Matt Salinger was well-liked among his peers and the junior officers of the Hood. It was clear from the time he took over the Operations department that he would definitely have his own command one day. He worked hard to serve as a role model to the officers under his command in the Hood's Operations department. His work over the next two years earned him a promotion to Lieutenant Commander and the position of Second Officer in addition to his duties as Chief of Operations.

When Capain de Soto's first officer, Commander Janelle Neuburgh, was offered her own command, Matthew was given the chance of a lifetime -- Captain de Soto offered Matt Salinger a promotion to the rank of full commander and the position of Executive Officer of the USS Hood. Matt informed de Soto that it was a big step and would require some further thought on the situation. Less than a second later, Commander Matt Salinger accepted the position of First Officer of the USS Hood.

Matthew's service on the Hood was everything the captain could have hoped for. He had studied some of the best first officers in Starfleet and incorporated what he could use from them into his performance on the Hood. On more than one occasion, there were heated discussions in the Captain's Ready Room when Matthew cautioned the captain against certain command choices that he felt put Captain de Soto in danger. In the end, the captain bristled with anger, knowing his Number One was correct.

During the Dominion War, the Hood was on the front line. It took nearly three weeks in dry dock to get the ship back in shape after the war, but the crew fought hard. During the Dominion War, Matt Salinger was awarded the Silver Star and the Medal of Valour. He had seen many of his friends cut down during the war, and there were many days when he questioned everything he was doing. But, in the end, he'd contributed to making life somewhat safe again for the Alpha quadrant.

With the losses suffered during the war, Starfleet took long looks at all of its officers on the command track, and many were promoted into command posts on the remaining ships in the fleet. Matt Salinger transferred from the Hood to the USS Harriman, a Norway-class starship assigned to patrol the Breen border.

After a year at the helm of the Harriman, Matt was given a promotion to captain, and assigned to a new starship just being finished. He returned to earth to witness the finishing touches being put on his new command, the USS Sulu, an Intrepid-class light explorer. It was a good day for Matt Salinger, but the adventure was just beginning...

Matthew Salinger has a warm heart when it concerns helping his fellow Starfleet comrades. He is a strong believer in the Federation and Starfleet, and what they stand for. Officers that violate the ideals of the Federation do not stay on his good side for long. While he is an easy-going, likeable person, he knows that a starship captain cannot afford to be like that at all times. There will be times when he may need to make decisions that people will not like. Whenever he can, he tries to make his crew feel at ease with their jobs.

When he is off-duty, he tries to make others feel comfortable around him. But, when he is back on-duty, he makes sure they are aware of that fact and that he is in charge.

Matt is a good looking man. Many have described him as boyish, a statement he tries not to hold against them. He has brown hair and eyes and a charming smile.

Matt has a scar on his chin from an incident on Risa that he'd rather not talk about. A bunch of his shipmates from the Hood thought it would be fun to jump out of a runabout from low orbit. Matt enjoyed the orbital skydiving, despite the broken jaw.

Matthew is one of the youngest officers to make the rank of captain in the history of Starfleet. He is a good officer and respected by those around him.