Starfleet uniform (late 2270s-2350s)

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 , the , the , the , and the . 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.
This uniform style was phased out in the 2350s after undergoing several minor changes. It was Starfleet's longest tenured uniform design to date, having been used, with only minor variations, for approximately eighty years. (; ; ; , )
==Officer uniform==
===Late 2270s to 2290s===
By 2278, the officer uniform sported black trousers and a double-breasted red jacket worn over a turtlenecked undershirt. The undershirt, along with the shoulder clasp, left wrist rank band, and stripes on the pants had distinctive division colors (though command officers wore pants with red stripes, and not division white. 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. The interior of the flap was color coded to departments; white for command division, beige for all others. An optional skirt was available for female officers. (; ; ; ; ; ; )
James T Kirk, 2293.jpg|The jacket closed
Uhura open jacket.jpg|The jacket open
Starfleet uniform jacket.jpg|The jacket itself
Starfleet skirt, late 23rd century.jpg|A Starfleet skirt
===2320s===
By 2327, the ribbed collars of the division color undershirts were replaced by shorter "crewneck"-style collars. The division armband no longer carried gold trim along its edges; instead red was used as seen before on enlisted division armbands. ()
===2340s===
By 2344, the belts and undershirts were no longer in use, and the uniform insignia doubled as a combadge. Captains could now wear pants trimmed with gold, previously reserved for flag officers only. The combadge was redesigned by 2348. ()
Richard Castillo, uniform.jpg|Belt and undershirt removed by 2344
Jack R. Crusher in Crusher 01.jpg|Redesigned combadge by 2348
==Flag officer uniform==
Flag officer uniforms were the same as the officers uniform, except that the pants stripe and tunic were trimmed in gold.
In the 2280s, flag officers who were part of the Federation Council wore stylized pins centered on the breast of their jacket, as did all delegates and visitors in the Council chamber. ()
In the 2290s, flag officers 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. (; ; ; ; )
==Excursion jacket==
Like the excursion jackets of 2150s and 2250s, Starfleet issued a version in the 2270s that sported a large ribbed collar and several external pockets. The rank insignia was worn above the right cuff, and a patch of Earth's solar system and departmental color stripe was attached to the left shoulder. This jacket was worn in combination with an excursion vest over the turtleneck undershirt during away missions, and was issued by Starfleet. (; ; ) Captain James T. Kirk had one in his closet aboard the in 2293.
==Excursion vest==
Starfleet officers had the option of wearing a vest beneath their excursion jackets. Kirk is seen wearing one during his visit to the . When Saavik returned to the same planet later aboard the , she wore a leather version of the excursion vest under her jacket. Another version of the vest was worn by Kirk in his vision of home within the Nexus, after he disappeared in 2293. (; ; )
Kirk in excursion vest.jpg|Admiral Kirk having discarded his excursion jacket to reveal the vest, 2285
Starfleet vest, 2293.jpg|Kirk wearing an updated version of the vest, after 2293
==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 2270s 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. (; ; )
Morrow.jpg|Fleet Admiral Morrow wearing a bomber jacket, buttoned
Montgomery Scott, 2286.jpg|Commander Montgomery Scott wearing a bomber jacket, unbuttoned
==Engineering attire==
===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. (; ; ; )
===Engineering suit===
The engineering suit was a slightly modified version of the suit introduced earlier in the 2270s in order to protect engineering personnel while servicing the warp and impulse engines, as well as performing other tasks where they may be exposed to radiation. The suits were primarily white in color, featuring a black collarpiece. Changes to the suit from the previous version included the addition of a division stripe on the left sleeve, just below the elbow, and the relocation of the Starfleet insignia patch from the left forearm to the left shoulder. The color of both the shoulder tabs and the background of the insignia patch were changed to reflect the updated division colors. A variant worn by midshipmen featured a red collarpiece and division sleeve stripe.
A variant of the engineering suit was created to allow extravehicular movement in the vacuum of space. This could be used to repair damage, or to complete maintenance on the outside of a ship or starbase. These suits were supplied with their own oxygen supply and artificial gravity units. This version of the suit lacked the large collarpiece of the standard engineering suit.
===Protective suit===
==Utility uniform==
Enlisted crew wore crimson and tan utility jumpsuits with black undershirts (red for trainees), with division color appearing on shoulder tabs and strap on the left sleeve. The rank insignia indicators were pinned directly to the left sleeve between the strap and elbow. Due to anatomical differences, crewmen such as were allowed to go barefoot. (; ; ; ; ; ; )
==Medical attire==
===Type A===
A holdover from the last uniform design, this white uniform was worn by medical staff. Consisting of a white wide collared shirt worn over the division undershirt, it was worn with white pants and boots. While still sporting the division color shoulder tabs where rank was displayed on the last version of the uniform, the only rank insignia was now displayed on the above the left cuff, where a division color strap was added. The left breast now sported a different medical symbol when compared to the previous version. ()
===Type B===
This version was mostly similar to the type-A version, except for the lack of a collar on the shirt itself. ()
==Services uniform==
Waiters in Starfleet institutions and aboard ships were shown to wear uniforms with sky blue undershirts, identified in Fletcher's notes as the "Special Services Division".
(; )
Officers lounge waiter.jpg|Starfleet officers' lounge waiter, 2285
USS Enterprise-A services staff, 2293.jpg|Waiters aboard the Enterprise-A, 2293
==Security uniform==
===Type A===
Security officers continued to wear the body armor introduced in the early-2270s. This armor was worn over a specialized uniform consisting of a red shirt, pants, and red and black boots. The red shirt was worn over the dark green security colored undershirt, and sported the colored strap near the left cuff. The pants had the standard division colored strip running down the sides, but were much tighter near the boots when compared to the standard black pants. (; ; )
===Type B===
The spacedock prison guards wore blue-gray uniforms, white utility belts and white caps. ()
==Field uniform==
For field operations on a planetary surface, the 's strike team donned special field uniforms. Most field uniforms were tan in color, but Captain James T. Kirk's was charcoal gray. A ribbed shirt replaced the jacket worn over the department colored turtleneck. This shirt retained the department colored left sleeve strap, but lacked the right shoulder strap as both shoulders had a large area made of a different material. Officers wore their Starfleet insignia belts, while crewmen worn the uniform without one. The pants were the same color as the shirt with division colored piping running down the side. Unlike the standard uniform, the pants were not tucked into the boots. The uniform could also be equipped with a two-strapped backpack with optional utility belt combo. ()
Galileo raid crew.jpg|The field uniforms worn with backpacks
Strike team captured.jpg|Captain's variant uniform with officer and crewmen uniforms
==Covert ops attire==
This blue uniform with a black protective vest was worn by Starfleet officers taking part in certain covert missions, such as Lieutenant Rachel Garrett when working with Section 31 in the early 24th century. ()
==Athletic attire==
==Other uniform features==
Officers serving as a captain's or admiral's yeoman would wear an honor "cord" on the left shoulder.
In 2285, on officer's uniforms, the cord itself was somewhat textured and worn with a red epaulet that the cord attached to, encircling the left shoulder. On the utility uniform, the cord was plainer and could be worn attached to a boatswain's whistle. (; )
By 2287, the epaulet had been removed on officer uniforms, and the cord, which was the plainer version, was attached directly to left arm material at the shoulder, as well as at the belt after looping down to the waist. ()
Enterprise trainee boatswain.jpg|Yeoman's honor cord on a trainee's uniform, connected to a Boatswain's whistle in 2285
Yeoman with honor cord, 2285.jpg|Yeoman's honor cord on an officer's uniform in 2285
USS Enterprise-A yeoman with honor cord, 2287.jpg|Yeoman's honor cord in 2287
==Department colors==
Spock, 2293.jpg|White – command division
Montgomery Scott, 2293.jpg|Yellow ochre – operations division
Leonard McCoy, 2293.jpg|Light green – medical division
Nyota Uhura, 2293.jpg|Grey – sciences division
USS Enterprise operations security guard 34.jpg|Windsor green – security division
Saavik, 2285-1.jpg|Flame red – cadets and trainees
USS Enterprise-A services staff, 2293.jpg|Sky blue – special services
Grissom navigator.jpg|Black – enlisted & non-commissioned officers
Late 2270s-2350s field uniform without belt.jpg|Purple – unclear, possibly "Federation forces"
Cadets and trainees wore slashes on their flame red armbands signifying the department color they would be assigned to after graduation. For example, as a command division trainee, Lt. Saavik wore a command white slash.
Starfleet command division trainee stripe.jpg|Saavik in 2285, with a command slash on her trainee-red armband
Robin Curtis, TVH.jpg|Saavik the following year, with a science-gray slash on her command armband
In addition, command officers assigned to a different department had the personal option of adding a departmental-color slash to their white armbands and/or shoulder straps. Following her assignment to the , Lt. Saavik wore a science-gray slash on her command-white armband. Several of the command personnel in Starfleet Headquarters in wore sciences and operations slashes.
Command-level officers such as department heads had the authority to wear either white slashes on their armbands, or white undershirts and jacket trim with slashes in their department color. Montgomery Scott, in particular, occasionally wore a white undershirt after being promoted to Captain of Engineering, but only with his engineering vest, never his red uniform jacket.(; ; )
==Rank insignia==
With this new uniform style came a new rank insignia system, where each rank was represented by a different pin.
For non-commissioned officers, the insignia was worn on the left sleeve. For commissioned officers, it was worn on both the right shoulder-strap and on the left sleeve. Flag officers additionally wore a ribbon around the left cuff, with an embroidered band for each rank above commodore the officer held (i.e. one band for rear admiral, two bands for vice admiral, etc.). (, et al.)
Enlisted officer ranks
Able seaman	Petty officer second class	Petty officer first class	Chief petty officer	Senior chief petty officer	Master chief petty officer
 	 	 	 	 	
Junior officer ranks
Ensign	Lieutenant junior grade	Lieutenant
 	 	
Senior officer ranks
Lieutenant commander	Commander	Captain
 	 	
Flag officer ranks
Type 	Commodore	Rear admiral	Vice admiral	Admiral	Fleet admiral
Rank pin 	 	 	 	 	
Sleeve stripe	 	 	 	 	
==Commendation and service markers==
Like the navies of Earth during the 20th century, uniforms of this era bore commendation and service markers, used to denote time served in the fleet, as well as any earned commendations. This was done using a series of circular service markers and oblong commendation markers – familiarly called "pips" and "squeaks" respectively – worn on the left sleeve division band. A pip symbolized five years of service, a pip with a delta symbolized ten years of service. A squeak symbolized a Starfleet commendation. Service and commendation markers were gold for officers and silver for enlisted personnel, with arrangement at the individual's discretion.
By 2285, Kirk wore four squeaks, indicating four commendations, and three pips, indicating thirty years of service. (, et al.)
==Appendices==
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===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, 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.
This uniform style was first seen in . Its earliest chronological appearance is on the crew of the in (2278). Its latest chronological appearance is in the holographic message Jack R. 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 , although since the "flip" communicators were still in use as of , it's likely that that insignia was later modified to be used as a communicator, and that it didn't always have that capability.
The shirts worn by the members of the Angosian Senate were the turtlenecked men's shirts from this era Starfleet officers' uniform. ()
For more information on how the uniforms were created, see Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Several costume elements, including belts, undershirts, and division strips were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. Several parts and complete versions of the engineer's radiological suit were also sold off, as well as a completely blank crewman jumpsuit, a petty officer 1st class uniform including black Puma athletic shoes, and a flag admiral skirt. 
===External links===
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de:Sternenflottenuniform (Späte 2270er-2350er)
Starfleet uniform 07