Original 12 Constitution class ships

[Nerys Myk]

@GSchnitzer: you slightly misunderstood my last question. Allow me to clarify: I wasn't asking in the Memory Alpha article makes anything official. I was asking if the information Memory Alpha presented is the result of the studio making it official. In other words: the use of the older Starfleet turtleneck uniforms, the Starfleet pennant and registry on the side of the ship, etc. Doesn't this add up, with those subtle changes shown in TOS-R, to Antares now being revealed as a Starfleet starship?

Federation and Starfleet weren't in use when "Charlie X" was made. Their subsequent use is about as official as it got. The owners of the franchise aren't as interested in 'retcons" as fans are. (or the TOS-R guys for that matter)

 

[GSchnitzer]

@GSchnitzer: you slightly misunderstood my last question. Allow me to clarify: I wasn't asking in the Memory Alpha article makes anything official. I was asking if the information Memory Alpha presented is the result of the studio making it official. In other words: the use of the older Starfleet turtleneck uniforms, the Starfleet pennant and registry on the side of the ship, etc. Doesn't this add up, with those subtle changes shown in TOS-R, to Antares now being revealed as a Starfleet starship?

I don't think the Antares and her crew have officially been determined to be Starfleet. (I wonder what office would determine such things?)

I think the re-use of the old-style uniforms was done 1) to save money and 2) using an alternative uniform style for officers who might plausibly be of some alternative department/service. Like we saw in that Justman memo, he suggested that the Antares was some kind of "merchant marine" service because of their odd patch. When he and Roddenberry issued an edict that "all Starfleet people wear the delta patch," the implication is that this alternate patch reflects that the Antares must not have been Starfleet.

I think it's "angels on the head of a pin" stuff, though. Generally, I lean towards trying to divine producer-ly intent, rather than some in-universe canonicity and consistency. Rather than looking at uniform styles and patch insignias to determine Starfleet and duty status and reporting structures and fleets and such, I just look at a memo rom Justman and Roddenberry that says "the Antares was a 'merchant marine' ship, not Starfleet." Boom! Done in my book.

(The new VFX depicting the ship in the remastered episode complicates things. We might speculate (God, I sound like Timo), that these "merchant marine" ships have the same external red banner with yellow wedge" markings as Starfleet ships--the way many Merchant Marine ships look like Navy ships.

 

[PCz911]

I think the ship is meant to be some kind of non-Starfleet-ish vessel--like a "merchant marine" or "transport" ship. Because we don't know the structure of Starfleet, we don't know if this "merchant marine" or "transport" division is some lesser division under Starfleet, or something parallel to it. Maybe they are something like the Military Sealift Command organization under the U.S. Navy.

."

And to think I grew up on naval bases as a military brat.... Here's the second time in almost as many posts that brings up something new. Military sealift command. never heard of it until now. I guess I wasn't paying attention as a kid but, to be fair, all I was surrounded by other kids parents who were regular officers.... Well, that's my excuse

 

[Maurice]

The Antares crew were...

TO: Bill Theiss
FROM: Bob Justman
SUBJECT: STARSHIP EMBLEMS
DATE: December 18, 1967

Whilst sitting in Dailies today, it was noticed that a Starship Captain (from another Starship) was wearing an emblem unfamiliar to yours truly. I have checked the occurences out with Mr. Roddenberry, who has reassured me that all Starship personnel wear the Starship emblem that we have established for our Enterprise Crew Members to wear.

Doubtless this situation has arisen due to the fact that a different Starship emblem was used last season on “CHARLIE X”. However, the personnel of that other ship in that show were the equivalent of merchant marine or freighter personnel -- and therefore not entitled to bear this proud insignia on their individual and collective breasts.

Please do not do anything to correct this understandable mistake in the present episode. However, should we have Starfleet personnel in any other episodes, please make certain that they were the proper emblem.

Under penalty of death!

Signed this 18th day of December, in the year of our Lord, 1967, by

ROBERT H. JUSTMAN
Chief Inquisitor

CC: Gene Roddenberry
John M. Lucas
D.C. Fontana
Gregg Peters

RHJ:sts
P.S. A carven “I’m sorry!” will be sufficient.
R.H.J.

 

[Timo]

So there we have the intent. And then we have these other people who were intended to be Starfleet despite their patches, and supposedly thus a pile of corpses somewhere in the back yard of Desilu...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[GSchnitzer]

So there we have the intent. And then we have these other people who were intended to be Starfleet despite their patches, and supposedly thus a pile of corpses somewhere in the back yard of Desilu...

Timo Saloniemi

That's three people who were miscostumed, right? Commodore Decker, Captain Tracey, and Commander Carter?

 

[J.T.B.]

So there we have the intent. And then we have these other people who were intended to be Starfleet despite their patches, and supposedly thus a pile of corpses somewhere in the back yard of Desilu...

It's not really contrary to that intent, though. There would be different badges within Starfleet, the Antares design just wouldn't be one of them.

 

[Maurice]

So there we have the intent. And then we have these other people who were intended to be Starfleet despite their patches, and supposedly thus a pile of corpses somewhere in the back yard of Desilu...

Timo Saloniemi

That's three people who were miscostumed, right? Commodore Decker, Captain Tracey, and Commander Carter?

And the Exeter CMO.
^^^EDIT: Oops, the CMO is Commander Carter!

 

[Ithekro]

That would be Commander Carter, wouldn't it?

 

[Maurice]

That would be Commander Carter, wouldn't it?

Oh yeah... I forgot his name. Will correct.

 

[GSchnitzer]

That would be Commander Carter, wouldn't it?

Oh yeah... I forgot his name. Will correct.

Yes, the Exeter's CMO is the aforementioned Commander (and Doctor) Carter.

 

[Wingsley]

Did anyone ever inventory guest characters in TOS who wear different badges than the Enterprise's delta-shield badge?

Just off the top of my head, we're talking about...

Enterprise-style delta shield badge (TOS)

• Enterprise crew
• Unidentified former Starlfeet Academy classmates of Capt. Kirk, seen in Starbase 11 Lounge

Flower-power/Sunburst badge, presumably a Starfleet Command badge:

• Commodore Stone
• Commodore Mendez
• Commodore Stocker
• Lieutenant Ariel Shaw
• Commodore Wesley
• Admiral Komack / Westervliet
• Admiral Fitzgerald
• Admiral Fitzpatrick
• Commodore Barstow
• (and other Starbase 11 personnel???)

Ground personnel, hand/dove/sun badge

• Tantalus V Colony personnel; "Dr. Adams", etc.
• Elba II Colony personnel; Governor Corry, etc.

Funny squiggly insignia (combined with old-style turtlenecks) could signify either "merchant marine" or some kind of "spacelift command" in the Star Service; used for UESPA Antares:

• Captain Ramart
• Lieut. Tom Ellis

Pretzel-shaped badge

• Commodore Matt Decker, U.S.S. Constellation

"Butter Bar" with squiggles badge

• Captain Ron Tracey
• Dr./Cmdr. Carter

And there were also TAS badges...

Really weird distorted delta-shield badge with a pair of arms coming from it

• U.S.S. Huron officers; Capt. O'Shea, etc.

Enterprise-style delta shield badge

• Crew of U.S.S. Ariel, LCdr. Tom Markel, C.O., etc.

Sharp-angled cross-like shield badge

• Descendent of the Bonaventure crew

I would also add that the Epsilon IX commandant (TMP) and crew seemed to have their own badge as well.


...any other additions or corrections?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

^ The "fish badge" seen on "beige shirt" base personnel in "Balance of Terror" and "Arena".

http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x14hd/balanceofterrorhd117.jpg
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x18hd/arenahd029.jpg

Edit - These characters are each said in dialog to be at an "outpost."

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The Defiant badge seen in "In a Mirror, Darkly".

 

[J.T.B.]

Small-size flower worn (on "glittery" shirt) by Midshipman Finnegan in "Shore Leave."

 

[Timo]

Also, the delta is seen on a SB11 employee, in addition to the random barflies - arguably the more significant appearance if one wants to contest the concept of ship-specific insignia.

http://tos.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/1x11/themanagerie1_023.jpg

Timo Saloniemi

 

[GSchnitzer]

It's always worth trotting out these non-Enterprise people wearing an "Enterprise" patch:

http://www.trekbbs.com/showpost.php?p=4011577&postcount=12

 

[J.T.B.]

So a guess at original intent in season one might be badges for "starships," "starbases," "outposts," "Academy" and "merchant/transport."

 

[Timo]

...Or an honest attempt at a different badge for every ship and/or installation, with multiple failures en route.

The end result does seem to be best explained by the "division badge" model. And one could see the organization dispensing with "divisions" altogether at some point, just like real militaries have had to follow the times and discontinue certain organizational structures and invent new ones. The "First Fleet" emblem would then probably be adopted universally, rather than the "Fourth Fleet" one or somesuch...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Avro Arrow]

Starfleet adopting the "Starship Division" emblem as the new fleet logo does seem more palatable than the thought that they singled out one starship out of their whole fleet and used their emblem.

(And IMHO fits in better overall with non-TOS uses of the arrowhead, such as the Friendship One probe in Voyager, and the various arrowhead uses in ST09.)