How is the chain of command determined?

[Sovereign_One]

And there wouldn't be conversations like this.

 

[PhoenixIreland]

That's right. Geordi switched from red to gold and conn to chief engineer between seasons one and two.

Then theres that mysterious gold uniform admiral from DS9, the one and only seen so far.
Starfleet security?

 

[Praetor]

That's right. Geordi switched from red to gold and conn to chief engineer between seasons one and two.

Then theres that mysterious gold uniform admiral from DS9, the one and only seen so far.
Starfleet security?

That would be my guess. Surely security Admirals hold security administration positions, and (unseen) science Admirals hold science administration positions...

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

There was a blue uniformed Admiral in the New Frontier Turnaround comic. Obviously someone thinks that's how it works.

Ultimately, I think that the Captain arranges how the chain of command works on a single ship - Spock was science officer and second in command on Kirk's Enterprise, while Data was the science officer, third in command, and OPS manager under Picard while Riker was second in command and executive officer, and when the Satarrans gave the crew amnesia in 'Conundrum,' their inflitrator took over the later role. So basically, I think the Captain picks the officers and gives them their duties, arranging it however he or she feels their abilities best serve the ship and crew.

 

[kitsune]

Other than Crusher on a couple of occasions, I don't remember a doctor ever taking command of the ship.

Emergency Command Hologram!

 

[Praetor]

There was a blue uniformed Admiral in the New Frontier Turnaround comic. Obviously someone thinks that's how it works.

Ultimately, I think that the Captain arranges how the chain of command works on a single ship - Spock was science officer and second in command on Kirk's Enterprise, while Data was the science officer, third in command, and OPS manager under Picard while Riker was second in command and executive officer, and when the Satarrans gave the crew amnesia in 'Conundrum,' their inflitrator took over the later role. So basically, I think the Captain picks the officers and gives them their duties, arranging it however he or she feels their abilities best serve the ship and crew.

I tend to agree that the captain has a lot of discretion over his senior staff and bridge arrangment. A captain other than Picard, for example, might not have had the ship's counselor on the bridge, or might have made the 'wishbone' station ops instead of tactical (which was actually considered during TNG preproduction.)

 

[kitsune]

Is Beverly still in blue when she is in command of that medical ship in AGT? She's a captain there...although of a medical ship.

Red, alas.

It wasn't the same red as Riker wore, though. It reminded me of the uniforms worn during Star Trek II-VI:

 

[Timo]

One gets the impression that Riker's uniform wasn't really conforming to the 2390s (?) regulations, but rather was his old, historical uniform, retained for emotional reasons like so many flag officer uniforms in reality. That is, Crusher's red would have been the accepted command color in that era, as later demonstrated by Admiral Janeway in "Endgame".

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Praetor]

Interesting - I hadn't considered that the red of the 'new' uniforms might have special significance. I just assumed it was because Riker's was a reuse of an older costume that matched the earlier set.

Edit: Timo, ya beat me to it.

 

[Sector 7]

Chain of Command:
GOD
||
\/
Me
||
\/
you

*Quoted from my Company Commander in boot camp, many years ago*

 

[Der_Hans]

.

 

[caisson2delta]

I can't remember, but the female JAG, from "the measure of a man" might have worn blue.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

One gets the impression that Riker's uniform wasn't really conforming to the 2390s (?) regulations, but rather was his old, historical uniform, retained for emotional reasons like so many flag officer uniforms in reality. That is, Crusher's red would have been the accepted command color in that era, as later demonstrated by Admiral Janeway in "Endgame".

Timo Saloniemi

Maybe one of those uniforms was washed more than the other, causing it to fade. This would also explain why some blue uniforms (like the one worn by Picard in "Tapestry") are a lot brighter than others. In that case, Picard's was only worn once, so it wouldn't fade like others would which were worn many times (Crusher).

 

[Myasishchev]

I've always wondered why there seem to be so many folks in red wandering around when the Command Division on, say, the E-D appears to only be two senior officers plus the flight controllers.

 

[Delta1]

The other redshirts could be the flight crew for the embarked shuttlecraft, shuttlepods, and the captain's gig. DS9 also indicates that "strategic operations," whatever that is, is a redshirt job. In Worf's case it seemed to be a one-off staff job, but there could be strategic operations cells aboard starships, doing whatever they do.

 

[Timo]

Also, we could take a look at what sort of jobs the goldshirts did aboard Kirk's ship.

Phaser and torpedo operations may be more automated aboard Picard's ship, but the people tending to that automation could still be wearing the command colors ("Balance of Terror"). Also, "Records Officer" sounds a bit weird for a futuristic command-color officer title, but perhaps it's the historical way for addressing the all-important guy in charge of the ship's computers ("Court Martial")? The navigation department might still be clad in command colors, too, even though their presence on the bridge is no longer required.

What other goldshirt positions did we witness in TOS? We could also argue that command colors are optional for any department head, regardless of the colors of his or her department. This was the apparent case in the TOS movies, or at least in Bob Fletcher's intended color scheme for those movies.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Kaziarl]

Is Beverly still in blue when she is in command of that medical ship in AGT? She's a captain there...although of a medical ship.

Red, alas.

It wasn't the same red as Riker wore, though. It reminded me of the uniforms worn during Star Trek II-VI:

Riker was an admiral though. And from what i've noticed, it seems the admirals uniforms are almost always a different stlye, and usually a darker shade of color.

 

[Colonel Midnight]

^ *Gah* And here I had been hoping to ban that dang Granny Hip-Wader Uniform from AGT out of my memory... Thanks!!

Cheers,
-CM-