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The three divisions have no sense to them

Thanks. Couldn't remember exactly but I thought that it had divisions like Medical and Engineering all under one umbrella.

They all eventually report to the Commander of Starfleet and the Federation Council.
 
Given Starfleet's emphasis on exploration and scientific discovery (when not engaged in all out war) then it would probably be weighted far more towards the "science" division if there were just two (maybe a third in the "military" division and two-thirds in the "science").
 
I treat Science/Exploration as in the same over all category.

While you explore, you experiment & study everything around you.

That's why ships carry a big science department in everything possible that you are likely to encounter.
 
The old Spike's Star Trek Page used to have a great piece from the Movie Era about what each department/colour encompassed and it's what I still use to this day when thinking up crew rosters.
 
The old Spike's Star Trek Page used to have a great piece from the Movie Era about what each department/colour encompassed and it's what I still use to this day when thinking up crew rosters.
I've made up my own to fit my 26th century Head Cannon and taken in design lineage from the past series and what's predicted to happen in the future to help guide my Uniform design decisions along with color assignments.

I also make things more "Specific" instead of over generalizing into 3x major categories.
 
I never got the impression that security personnel were under the chief engineering officer's authority.

Well, they wear the same tunic and have the same badge, so there's literally nothing to suggest otherwise. If they had a split similar to Science and Medical that would be some evidence, but they didn't.

Engineers who operate the warp drive, warp core, etc. should also be sciences. More physics than machinery.

LT Charlene Masters*, who is responsible for handling dilithium "re-amplification" wore science blue, so would a good candidate for the supervisor of the warp systems specifically in that case.

* Wore the plain sleeves of a Yeoman or Ensign, but was identified in dialogue as a LT.

Something that struck me as odd is the implication that in the 24th century anyway, everyone Captain and above seems to exclusively wear red, with the only exceptions being Admiral Toddman on DS9 and more recently Commodore Oh* on Picard, both of whom wore gold. It seems that aside from them, everyone who achieves Captain automatically switches to Command to achieve the rank.

Agreed.

The idea that McCoy, who wasn't even a qualified Bridge Officer, would have worn red if he stayed in that long bothers me for instance.
 
The old Spike's Star Trek Page used to have a great piece from the Movie Era about what each department/colour encompassed and it's what I still use to this day when thinking up crew rosters.

It still does.

Although it's hasn't had an update since they caught up on the ENT-era, so it's utility is becoming a little limited.
 
Given Starfleet's emphasis on exploration and scientific discovery (when not engaged in all out war) then it would probably be weighted far more towards the "science" division if there were just two (maybe a third in the "military" division and two-thirds in the "science").

You have starships running around bristling with WMD's. I imagine the military has a pretty big slice of the pie.
 
Given Starfleet's emphasis on exploration and scientific discovery (when not engaged in all out war) then it would probably be weighted far more towards the "science" division if there were just two (maybe a third in the "military" division and two-thirds in the "science").
given how bad quality control is on starfleet ships and equipment, i think ops and engineering outnumber everyone else by a wide margin.

in the shuttle era, there were normal crew and payload specialists. Payload specialists were the equivalent of the blues. they'd make sure the satellite or experiment worked. They did not fly the shuttle, nor were they from the normal astronaut background of the era. The mission commander and co pilot would have been the obvious chose for golds and everyone else was red. That's as close as we've got to a large crew on a vehicle with seven people at a time in one vehicle in space (ISS gets close but it's a station and it isn't going anywhere really).

I can see the color system working. It's odd but then that's part of star trek appeal, it is a culture a little alien to us, even if its relatable.
 
So, in TOS, they would be able to wear (maybe the individual's choice) their red uniforms while in command of Starbases (thinking Commodore Stone and Stocker) and, if it is a science discipline, blue uniforms as captain of a starship (thinking Captain Krasnovsky). I'm not confused. Really. YMMV :).

Yeah, if it was "control" division instead of "command" there would be less of a question. It would make sense for commanding officer of a ship repair/maintenance base to wear red, or even for the captain of a science-only vessel to wear blue.

Most Commonwealth navies also require stints as both Engineering Officer of the Watch and (Bridge) Officer of the Watch as part of the Warfare pipeline, AFAICT.

That's interesting. But engineering officers will never command a vessel.

Still, given that there are those in the non-command divisions that can achieve a rank of Captain or higher. Why would a Captain or Admiral with a background strictly in science/medical, or engineering and security have to switch to red when they are promoted? TOS had plenty of Captains and above who wore the other colours, why not the 24th century.

It does seem little odd. Just out of curiosity, I checked the US Navy's flag officers from April 2020:

Code:
Adm ****  9 Unrestricted Line
VAdm ***  37
          (26 Unrestricted Line, 10 Restricted Line, 1 JAG)
RAdm  **  78
          (49 URL, 16 RL, 3 Health Care, 6 Supply Corps, 2 Civil Engineer Corps, 1 Chaplain Corps, 1 JAG)
RAdm   *  155
          (91 URL, 35 RL, 11 HC, 10 SC, 4 CEC, 3 CHC, 1 JAG).


So about 30% of vice admirals,
37% of rear admirals (upper),
41% of rear admirals (lower),
38% of flag officers total.

That's more than I would have guessed actually, over a third not from the traditional "command" community.
 
Still, given that there are those in the non-command divisions that can achieve a rank of Captain or higher. Why would a Captain or Admiral with a background strictly in science/medical, or engineering and security have to switch to red when they are promoted? TOS had plenty of Captains and above who wore the other colours, why not the 24th century.

I'll concede with the Admirals it was likely productions reasons that mandated the decisions, no one wanted to make an Admiral's uniform in gold or blue. Though that gets shot down with Admiral Toddman getting a gold uniform custom made and only used once. But really, it would have been no trouble at all to show Captains in gold or blue uniforms.
I've never understood why Admirals needed a special uniform.
 
Only speaking anecdotally, but most of the Engineering Officers of the Watch I encountered were CPOs or Warrant Officers. But then again, officers in the US Navy are managers and not technicians. Hence the phrase "Don't call me 'sir', I work for a living."
 
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