Starfleet uniform (late 2270s-2350s)

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.

The Starfleet uniform of the late 2270s through the 2350s represented a radical change from older uniform designs. Around this period, Starfleet abandoned the practice of using individual insignia for each mission or starship. From this point on, all Starfleet personnel wore the "arrowhead" insignia previously used by the crew of the USS Enterprise. The uniforms of this period bore the new Starfleet insignia on a brass-colored pin worn on the breast; officers wore the insignia with a round-ended rectangular shield backing it. New rank insignia, with individual symbols for each rank, were also introduced, and were worn on the clasp and left wrist of the tunics. The uniform style was phased out in the 2350s.

Contents 1 Service jacket 1.1 Changes Over Time 2 Department colors 3 Rank Insignia 3.1 Sleeve Stripe Insignia 4 Other uniform and accessories 4.1 Security Armor 4.2 Excursion jacket 4.3 Bomber jacket 4.4 Engineer's Vest 4.5 Field/Combat Uniform 5 Appendices 5.1 Background Information 5.2 External Links

[edit] Service jacket

Starfleet's new officer uniforms had black trousers and double-breasted red tunics worn over a turtlenecked undershirt; undershirt, pants stripe, shoulder and left sleeve strap had distinctive division colors. Flag officer pants stripe and tunic were trimmed in gold. An optional skirt was available for female officers. The jacket closed by a clasp at the right shoulder and a sealing mechanism that ran along the black stripe. This allowed the wearer to have a more relaxed appearance and likely allowed more circulation of air.

Enlisted crew wore crimson and tan jumpsuits with black undershirts (red for trainees), with division color appearing on shoulder tabs and strap on the left sleeve.

Captain James T. Kirk wearing command white

Commander Uhura with an open jacket

A yeoman, wearing the optional skirt, and an enlisted crewman

Closeup of Enlisted Crew member

[edit] Changes Over Time

In the 2290s, flag officers ranking from Commodore and above wore service ribbons on the left breast of the jacket, below the Starfleet insignia. These ribbons varied in color and position, and likely indicated different commendations and awards received by the officers for their service in Starfleet.

It is possible that these ribbons are worn during special occasions such as meetings and are some sort of equivalent of a dress uniform.

By the first half of the 24th century, the division color undershirts no longer had turtleneck collars, but crewneck collars. In the 2320s the ribbed collars of the division color undershirts were replaced by shorter "crewneck"-style collars. (TNG: "Tapestry", "Dark Page")

By 2344, the belts were no longer in use, and the uniform insignia doubled as a combadge. The combage was redesigned by 2348. (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise", "Family")

It also appears that by the time Jack Crusher recorded his message to his son, the uniform no longer uses division color undershirts of any kind.

Admirals wearing service ribbons

24th century crewneck collars

Belt removed by 2344

Redesigned combadge

[edit] Department colors

Uniforms worn from this period to the mid-2350s used this color code:

White – command division	Gold – operations division, helm and engineering branches	Light Green – sciences division, medical branch	Gray – operations division, communications and navigation branches; also sciences division, scientific research and technical branches
Dark Green – operations division, security branch	Red – cadets, trainees and junior officers	Light Blue – special services	Black - enlisted & noncommissioned officers

[edit] Rank Insignia

Crewman	Petty officer second class*	Petty officer first class*	Chief petty officer	Senior chief petty officer	Master chief petty officer
Ensign	Lieutenant junior grade	Lieutenant	Lieutenant commander	Commander	Captain
Commodore	Rear admiral	Vice admiral	Admiral	Fleet admiral

This chart represents the rank insignia seen on screen throughout these uniforms' appearances. No petty officer rank was seen in close up, and their different marking is taken from production notes.

[edit] Sleeve Stripe Insignia

Like the navies of Earth during the 20th Century, uniforms of this era used insignia to denote time served in the fleet. This area was also used to display commendations and awards. This was done using a series of circular and oblong devices located on the left sleeve stripe of the wearer.

Behind the scenes, these devices were known as pips and squeaks.

^{(citation needed • edit)}

[edit] Other uniform and accessories

[edit] Security Armor

Security officers continued to wear special body armor, complete with helmet into the mid-2280s.(Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)

The security armor was apparently phased out sometime after the time of "The Undiscovered Country", which marked the last time they appeared on screen.

[edit] Excursion jacket

Like the excursion jackets of 2151 and 2254, Starfleet issued a version in the 2270s that sported a large ribbed collar and several external pockets. The rank insignia was worn above the left cuff, and a patch of Earth's solar system and departmental color stripe was attached to the left shoulder. This jacket was worn over the turtleneck undershirt during away team missions, and was issued by Starfleet for a only a brief period as away team missions in the late 2280s and onward did not utilize them. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)

Away-mission jackets

• Worn in 2285, during mission to Research station Regula I
• Worn in 2285, during mission to Genesis Planet

According to the non-canon Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise, there was a matchbox-sized emergency transponder above the left breast under the Starfleet insignia.

[edit] Bomber jacket

In keeping with the Starfleet practice of allowing officers of command rank to wear a less formal variant of the uniform, starting in the late 2270’s command officers were given the option of wearing a suede leather bomber jacket version of the uniform. This was worn over the department color turtle neck.

[edit] Engineer's Vest

Starfleet also allowed its engineers to wear a vest with pockets to hold various engineering instruments. It was worn over the standard undershirt.

There is some confusion regarding Scotty's undershirt color. When he wears his engineering vest, he wears a command division white shirt, presumably because he holds the rank of captain. However, when wearing his standard duty jacket, his undershirt is engineering gold.

[edit] Field/Combat Uniform

For combat operations on a planetary surface, officers donned a special field uniform. (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)

Starfleet uniform styles
By era:	Starfleet uniform (22nd century) • Starfleet uniform (mid 23rd century-2265) • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270s) • Starfleet uniform (early 2270s) • Starfleet uniform (late 2270s-2350s) • Starfleet uniform (2350s-2360s) • Starfleet uniform (2366-2370s) • Starfleet uniform (2373) • Starfleet uniform (29th century)
By type:	Starfleet dress uniform • Alternate reality Starfleet uniform • Terran Empire uniform • Fictional Starfleet uniform
Related topics:	MACO uniform • Starfleet ranks • Starfleet decorations • Starfleet insignia

[edit] Appendices

[edit] Background Information

Robert Fletcher designed the uniforms seen throughout the movies, with later new designs provided by Nilo Rodis (which were further adapted into future versions on TNG by Robert Blackman).

In addition to lacking belts, TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise" had crew neck undershirts (instead of the turtleneck-style) that were sometimes not visible over the collar of the uniform jacket. The shoulder strap and wristband still displayed the division color, however.

This uniform style was first seen in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Its earliest chronological appearance is on the crew of the USS Bozeman in TNG: "Cause and Effect" (2278). Its latest chronological appearance is in the holographic message Jack Crusher recorded for his son Wesley in 2349 in "Family", where a TNG-style communication badge was used because the art department had no contemporary available. The previous uniform insignia was in fact used as a communications badge, however, as evidenced by Richard Castillo of the USS Enterprise-C, although since the "flip" communicators were still in use as of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, it's likely that that insignia was later modified to be used as a communicator, and that it didn't always have that capability.

For more information on how the uniforms were created, see Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

[edit] External Links

Uniform Gallery at Ex-Astris-Scientia.org