Starfleet Uniforms
From Hidden Frontier
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Starfleet Uniforms
Though one of Starfleet's most important missions is exploration, the proper running of its ships, starbases, and other fascilities has necessitated the use of military decorum, including uniforms. The uniform allows Starfleet personnel to not only be easily distinguished, but it also allows people to tell just by looking at the uniform what function and rank the person has.
Starfleet uniforms can be divided into three types, each with a specific use:
- Class A - Designed for formal purposes, such as diplomatic engagements. Also called Dress Uniforms
- Class B - Designed for everyday wear. Also called Standard Duty Uniforms
- Class C - Uniforms that are designed for specific duties, such as
- Engineering radiation suits
- Lab jumpsuits
- Medical Officer's lab coats
This article is broken up in sections describing the uniform styles of specific eras.
2245 - 2265
Standard uniform description: The Duty Uniform for this period consisted of a department colored tunic and black slacks for both male and female Starfleet personnel. The slacks were bunched just below the top of the black, patent leather boots. The wearer's department was also denoted by a specific symbol within the unit patch worn on the left side of the chest. Rank was denoted by braid on the wearer's wrists:
- Two solid gold lines: Captain
- One solid gold line: All other officer ranks
- One braided gold line: NCO's of Chief Petty Officer and above
- No insignia: All crewmen of Petty Officer rank and below
Dress uniform: The dress uniform for this era consisted of the tunic and slacks from the standard uniform, with a department colored jacket over the tunic. The jacket featured a V-neck collar lined with gold piping and braided epaulets.
Class C: For away teams, crew members could wear a grey excursion jacket. The jacket featured the wearers department patch on the left side of the chest. All crew members had silver braid on the wrist of the jacket, regardless of rank. Phasers, communicators, and other landing party accesories could be worn under the jacket on a shoulder harness. Other Class C uniforms in use at the time included jumpsuits for medical and engineering technicians.
Department colors
- Gold - Command
- Beige - Operations and Support
- Blue - Science
- Silver - Cadet
2265 - 2270
Standard Duty Uniform: The Class B uniform for this period was very similar in design to the previous period. The department colored tunic now had a black collar that ended at the bottom of the wearer's neck. Female officers could wear either a department colored long sleeve mini-skirt or a longer version of the standard tunic with slacks. Both female variants featured a V-neck collar. As before, department was also denoted by a symbol within the wearer's unit insignia. Rank was displayed as gold braids and gold dashes on the wrist. Phasers, communicators, and medkits were attached either directly to the wearer's pants or a belt by adhesion strips without the need for holsters.
Dress Uniform: The Class A uniform consisted of a tighter fitting tunic made of a shiny, department colored material. No unit patch was worn on this uniform. Instead, the wearer wore the service ribbons which had been awarded to him by Starfleet on his left chest. Rank was denoted by an ornate combination of gold piping and braid on the uniform.
Class C: Some of the additional variations in uniforms for this period included a wraparound tunic for command officers and short sleeved tunics for medical officers.
Department colors:
- Yellow - Command
- Red - Operations, Security, and Support
- Blue - Science and Medical
2273 - 2277
The period of 2273 - 2277 saw a renaissance not only in warp engine and starship design but also uniform design. It also marked one of the shortest lived and most unpopular uniform styles.
Class A: The new dress uniform consisted of a two-tone tunic, white and a second color, and styrup pants in the second color of the tunic. The second color denoted the crewman's function on a ship or starbase. Unit patches were dropped for the first time in favor of a Starfleet wide design based on the USS Enterprise's command insignia with a circle as a background behind the arrowhead. The circle's color denoted the wearer's department. Rank was denoted on either department colored epaulets or wrist stripes that were similar to the previous uniforms.
- Second colors
- Blueish-grey: Command
- Light beige: Bridge Officers
- Light Brown: Non-bridge officers
- White: Technicians
- Dark Grey: Planetary personnel
Class B: The class B uniforms were similar to the dress uniforms, except that they were one color. The class B uniforms came in many different variants, including three tunic and pant combinations: long sleeve with round collars, long sleeve with v-neck collars, and short sleeve with v-neck collars. There was also a jumpsuit variation.
Class C: Some of the Class C options included a field jacket very similar to the ones worn in the 2265 - 2270 era and informal, loose tunics that were closed at the waist with a tyed sash. Some other options included chest armor and helmets for security personnel.
Department colors:
- White: Command
- Red: Engineering
- Yellow: Helm, Navigation, Communication
- Orange: Science
- Green: Medical
- Grey: Security and tactical
2278 - 2350
This era included one of the longest runs by a uniform styles.
Standard Duty Uniform: The standard officer uniform of this time consisted of three main pieces: a department colored turtleneck shirt, black slacks, and a jacket. The jacket was dark red for all officers and closed asymetrically. A department colored shoulder strap connected to the closure flap on the right side, and a black leather belt was worn around the waist over the jacket. The inside of the jacket was either white or beige, depending on the wearer's function. Rank insignia were worn on the shoulder strap and also just above a department colored stripe on the left wrist. The wrist stripe also housed a set of insignia to depict the number of years that the wearer had been in Starfleet.
Enlisted personnel and trainees wore a dark red jumpsuit with a beige yolk. Enlisted personnel had a black collar and trainees wore a red collar.
Class C: The class C options of the time included an optional "bomber jacket" for officers. It was dark red, closing with buttons down the middle, and only extended to the wearer's waist. The jacket still had department stripes on the shoulder and left wrist. Officers on away teams had a number of options, including a dark red field jacket with a number of pockets for phasers, communicators, and survival equipment, and a special fatigue consisting of a sweater over the standard duty turtleneck and pants of the same color. The color of the fatigues depended on the situation, such as beige for desert situations or green for jungle missions.
Department colors:
- White - Command
- Yellow ochre - Engineering and Flight Control
- Grey - Science, Navigation, Communications
- Light Green - Medical
- Dark Green - Security
- Red - Officer Cadets
For the first time, department heads could wear a white stripe on both the shoulder strap and wrist strap to denote their position.
2351 - 2365
Class B: This era went back to a simpler design consisting of a black and department colored jumpsuit. The jumpsuits had no collars, and the rank insignia was worn on the right side of the shoulder yolk just below the wearer's neckline.
Class A: The dress uniform of the time consisted of a long jacket in black and the department colors. The jacket had an asymetrically closing flap, similar to the uniforms of the previous era. No rank insignia were usually worn on this uniform.
Class C: Both male and female personnel could opt to wear a skant, which was basically a short-sleeved skirt.
Department colors:
- Red: Command and Navigation
- Yellow: Operations, Engineering, and Security
- Blue: Medical and Science
2366 - 2372
Standard Duty: During this period, the tight fitting jumpsuits were phased out in favor of a similarly designed slacks and jacket combo. The jacket looked similar to the upper part of the jumpsuit from the previous era, with the edition of a nehru collar and the removal of the piping along the shoulder. The rank insignia was moved to the right side of the collar.
Class A: The dress uniform from this era consisted of a shortened version of the dress jacket from the previous era. Rank insignia was now worn on the upper right side of the closure flap.
Class C: An option that came up late in this era included a fatigue design consisting of a mostly black jumpsuit with department colored shoulders over a grey turtleneck. This design was first heavily favored by outpost and starbase crews, but eventually found its way onto starships. Officers also had another uniform variant they could wear consisting of a grey and black tunic, black pants, and a jacket made of black leather on the shoulder and department colored suede. This variant was mostly used by command officers.
2372 - Present
Standard Duty: The current duty uniform consists of black pants, a department colored turtleneck, and a black jacket with grey shoulders. The jacket features department colored stripes on each wrist. Rank insignia is displayed on the right side of the turtleneck collar.
Class A: The current class A uniform consists of a mostly white jacket with gold piping and black pants. The front of the jacket is white for Captains (brevet or actual rank) and Admirals and grey for all other officers. A department colored stripe runs around the wearer's wrists.
Class C: Instead of the standard uniform jacket, an officer may opt to wear a black vest with grey shoulders. The collar of the vest is square cut, ending about a third of the way down the wearer's chest.
References
More information on Starfleet Uniforms may be obtained from the following sources:
- Memory Alpha Starfleet Uniforms article
- Spike's Star Trek Page - Includes uniforms, insignia, and badges form all eras in addition to "Mirror Universe" variants
