I remember an interview with Garrett Wang who talked about a conversation with Rick Berman where he asked him whether Kim would ever be promoted to Lieutenant. Berman pretty much shot him down, saying that someone has to be an ensign.

I always thought it would’ve been a fun twist if Harry got a promotion once Tom got demoted in Thirty Days.

Normally I’d agree with you wholeheartedly, but didn’t the episode explicitly state and show that the ships were amidst a gargantuan field of interstellar ice?