Starfleet uniform (alternate reality)

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Chekov, Kirk, Scott, Bones, Sulu, Uhura — Standard Starfleet duty uniforms used in 2258

The Starfleet uniform of the 2250s experienced a slight change due to an alteration of the timeline by the renegade Romulan Nero. As a result of Nero's changes, which included the premature death of George Kirk and the destruction of the USS Kelvin, Starfleet by the mid 2250s was using a different uniform than that which had been seen in the "normal" timeline.

The original uniform of the 2250s and 2260s had seemingly phased out as early as 2255, and in its place, Starfleet was using the same "red/gold/blue" shirt design which in the prime reality was not introduced until at least 2266. The rank insignia had also changed slightly, consisting of silver bands on the sleeve, but with a thinner secondary band, rather than the previously used "hashmarks", for the ranks of lieutenant commander and captain.

The Starfleet insignia of this reality was the delta/arrowhead design for all personnel, contrasted with unique insignia for each ship or base in the "prime" reality. The arrowhead design was originally the insignia of the "prime" Enterprise only and was not adopted as the insignia for all of Starfleet until about 2270. (Star Trek)

Standard duty uniforms

The duty uniform consisted of a black undershirt, and a colored overshirt featuring the officer's division color and the Starfleet insignia. The undershirts also featured the arrowhead design present on the overshirt. It was acceptable for cadets and those unassigned to Starfleet to wear a Starfleet undershirt.

Rank stripes were displayed on the sleeves. Black pants and boots were issued with the uniform. Female officers wore either a uniform similar to the standard male uniform or alternatively short-skirted uniform not dissimilar from the prime universe equivalent - which itself had two variations, one with no sleeves and one with full sleeves. Without the sleeves however, these dresses did not display the rankings of each officer on them.

Medical outfit

Some members of a shipboard medical staff wore a white overcoat, white trousers or a white skirt.

Engineering suit

A technician performing last-minute maintenance on Shuttle 89 was seen wearing blue coveralls.

EV suit

Olson, Kirk and Sulu — Operations, Sciences and Command suits

The EV suit was used for operations within unstable atmospheres. The suit was available in all three division colors with a Starfleet insignia displayed prominently in the center of the chest piece and featured breathing equipment, including a helmet, for use outside of Class M environments. It could also be equipped with a parachute for orbital skydiving missions. A communicator was placed in the left glove.

Field outfit

For cold environments like the planet Delta Vega, officers were given appropriate wear including a hooded jacket, gloves and boots.

Starfleet Academy uniforms

Training uniform

While training on the Kobayashi Maru simulator at Starfleet Academy, cadets wore a simple blue-gray jumpsuit with the Starfleet insignia stenciled on the left chest, with no rank or class insignia.

Junior officer dress uniform

Starfleet Academy cadets and junior officers (ranked Ensign, Lieutenant, and Lieutenant Commander) wore a red jumpsuit and jacket with a stand collar over a red turtleneck-like sweater; men wore pants while women wore skirts. On both male and female designs, the Starfleet insignia was displayed prominently on the collar of the jacket. On some occasions, cadets wore a red cap with the uniform.

Senior officer dress uniform

Senior officers (ranked Commander and Captain) wore a black version of the junior officer's dress uniform; instructors at Starfleet Academy also wore this uniform. Barracks officers and shuttle officers wore a variation of this uniform which included a black cap.

Flag officer uniform

Admirals and flag officers wore a cream-and-grey uniform for ceremonial purposes. Admiral Christopher Pike wore one such uniform when transferring command of the Enterprise to James T. Kirk. Starfleet Command Admirals such as Richard Barnett wore a silver tunic without any division colors while serving on the Starfleet Academy Board in 2258. Other flag officers wore this uniform with a cap of the same design, featuring the Federation emblem on the front.

While the Federation-emblem caps are only shown briefly in the film itself, footage from the DVD's gag reel includes a shot of three extras in these uniforms, in which the UFP crest is clearly visible.

Assignment patches

Rank insignia

Ensign insignia Ensign	Lieutenant insignia Lieutenant	Lieutenant commander insignia Lieutenant commander
Commander insignia Commander	Captain insignia Captain	Unidentified admiral insignia Admiral

The insignia used in the 2250s consisted of silver bands worn on the lower sleeve of the uniforms of line officers, or gold bands for flag officers. Enlisted personnel and officers holding the rank of ensign wore no rank insignia. As seen with Admiral Pike, Admirals can also wear epaulettes on their shoulders.

Starfleet uniform styles

By era:

2140s-Early 2160s • Mid 2160s •
2230s • Late 2230s-2250s • 2250s-Early 2270s • Mid 2270s • Late 2270s-2350s •
2350s-2370s • Late 2360s-Early 2370s • 2370s-Early 2380s • Early 2380s • Mid 2380s •
Late 2390s • Early 2400s • 29th century • 32nd century

By type:

Casual duty attire • Alternate & parallel uniforms • Alternate reality uniforms •
Fictional uniforms • Terran Empire uniforms

Appendices

Background information

The uniforms seen in the film Star Trek were designed by Michael Kaplan. They are quite different from the pilot uniforms seen in "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before". It can be assumed that Nero's time tampering had something to do with the shift, although the real-life explanation is that the uniforms seen in Star Trek were intended to associate the audience with the much more familiar Original Series uniforms seen through the late 1960s, in contrast to the pilot uniforms, which were only seen in two episodes. A similar situation arose in "Friday's Child" where Leonard McCoy is shown in a flashback video wearing an Enterprise tunic whereas, historically, he should have been wearing an earlier pilot episode uniform. The filmmakers expressed surprise in Star Trek - The Art of the Film that the classic uniforms were never used in a film.

Kaplan explained in The Art of the Film that he selected red for the dress uniforms because of the strong patriotic feel the color gave. Admiral Pike's dress uniform was based on Admiral Kirk's dress tunic from Star Trek: The Motion Picture.