"I'm going to amend the previous comment to point to this one as it appears this thread has a fair bit of confusion in it.



Crew behave the same as wing members. If you have a crew member helping you take out other ships, you share the combat rank progression equally (assuming everyone in the fight is the same combat rank).



For example, if you have one crew member active and participating in a kill, you'd receive 50% of the progression you'd have gotten without that crew member active.



If you have a crew member and one wing member assisting you, you'll each get a third of the progression one of you would have gotten by doing the same thing solo.



So, if you have a crew member, make use of them! Take on something that's high ranked and poses a much greater challenge (and reward). If your crew are higher ranked than you, let them help. You'll get more for it and they'll get less. They're there to help, even if they do need to share with you.



And finally, we'd like to apologise for the previous confusion about this issue - I'm glad we could clear this up.



CMDR Vanguard"