Why Starfleet changes uniform styles so bloody often

[BK613]

Same globe, I had one more stripe. I had to do six years because of the schooling. I made EM1 with a year to go to keep my options open. The economy was in the crapper when I got out and Ronny Reagan stopped unemployment benefits for those who were discharged from service. I went to University on the old Vietnam era GI-bill. If I wasn't able to get to graduation, I could always go back and I could have made Chief. That way I could keep the Zumwalt era uniforms and just have to buy khakis. If I did graduate but couldn't get I job I could go back as an O1E, and still have to buy khakis. The commuting off-base not in dungarees, that is what the coveralls were for. . Luckily I got a job lined up before I graduated from University.

I was LPO of Engineering Department's Liberty Boat Repair division on CVN 68 aka USS BOHICA, aka USS Nimitz. I would get TAD orders to the beach to work on small boats electrical systems, and an Engineman or MM in my shop would work on mechanical systems ashore; alongside the Beach Guard duty section. We had no place to change out of my dungarees, so I would throw a set of coveralls over my dungarees, grab my tool bag and leave fleet landing for my hotel at the end of my duty day. When we were in Portsmouth England for a port call, I stayed in UK barracks on the Portsmouth Naval base, I didn't have a British Navy uniform to wear, so I couldn't wear their UotD. At the time I was EM2 and the Royal Navy doesn't have that rank, so I just stayed in my dungarees from fleet landing to their barracks. I also didn't like the boot camp issued blue utility pants and shirt with the iron on red stripes, too much polyester for my liking.

I initially went in slated to be an ET but switched to EM because of the post-service job potential. After boot and schools, I landed on a combat stores ship. The assignment wasn't as "glamorous" as a sub or surface combatant and it always required an Arlo Guthrie* explanation of what the ship did whenever my family or friends would ask. The upside was that we made many, many ports,
The EM contingent was no doubt small compared to carrier standards: we had one E division made up of 15-20 EMs and 10-15 ICs. The division had one CPO billet and three E6 billets (two EMs, one IC.) The EMs worked out of two shops, the main one and the tool checkout shop. The EMs were responsible for all things electrical aboard the ship except the unrep equipment and the boats** and for standing switchboard watches.

*(needing "8×10 color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was")
**(There was a hybrid division in the Deck department called STREAM that had EMs, HTs, MMs and BMs in it that maintained, repaired and operated the unrep equipment.)

 

[Kraig]

I initially went in slated to be an ET but switched to EM because of the post-service job potential. After boot and schools, I landed on a combat stores ship. The assignment wasn't as "glamorous" as a sub or surface combatant and it always required an Arlo Guthrie* explanation of what the ship did whenever my family or friends would ask. The upside was that we made many, many ports,
The EM contingent was no doubt small compared to carrier standards: we had one E division made up of 15-20 EMs and 10-15 ICs. The division had one CPO billet and three E6 billets (two EMs, one IC.) The EMs worked out of two shops, the main one and the tool checkout shop. The EMs were responsible for all things electrical aboard the ship except the unrep equipment and the boats** and for standing switchboard watches.

*(needing "8×10 color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was")
**(There was a hybrid division in the Deck department called STREAM that had EMs, HTs, MMs and BMs in it that maintained, repaired and operated the unrep equipment.)

We had five Divisions in two Departments with EMs. When I first entered service I was a sub volunteer. When I was cleaning floors in a wing at Nuc school in the two months in Orlando waiting for my class to start, I made a quick observation that saved my ass from a lot of future pain. I noticed that all the Enlisted Faculty Advisors to students that were on surface ships had visited a lot of ports and were always in good spirits. The EFA's that served on submarines were all in a bad mood and had no experiences off ship in very many ports to talk about. All they saw was the inside of a tube, their home port or a sub-tender. So when I started Nuc school, the first thing I did was drop my status as submarine volunteer.

After my short six year stint as a Nuc and spending just over four of them on a Carrier stationed in Norfolk, VA. I got to visit, multiple ports in Italy and Spain, one port call each in the U.S.Virgin Islands, Germany, England, Egypt, Tunisia, Greece, and Israel. My last civilian job before retirement was at a small Non-profit public power company. Another Navy Nuc veteran working at the power company, that started his enlisted service as I was ending mine was a sub volunteer. He was on a Los Angeles class fast attack stationed out of San Diego. The only other port he visited was where his sub tender was docked in Pearl Harbor, HI.


Back to thread:
It seems to me in the Navy every time a new Chief of Naval Personnel takes over they want to change things up and make their own mark. The easiest thing to do that doesn't cost the government any money is change uniforms. The sailor is the one who has to buy his new kit. Once every three or so years you get a new CNP. The next one sees a lot of sailors unhappy, finds out with "sailor input" it is because of the previous CNO changes to uniforms and will undo most of what the previous one did, and add some changes of his own. The cycle repeats. Inadvertently the costume designers for Star Trek have done the same thing as the CNP for the USN in real life. At least the actors don't have to buy their own uniforms. I guess they have a better Union.

 

[Orphalesion]

I must say, I think the medical uniforms in Discovery are the best medical uniforms.

I think the Discovery uniforms in general look really good. Some of the best uniforms in the Franchise.

 

[BK613]

@Kraig I agree with your assessment of the changing of the uniform under a new CNO. One tension I noticed was between shore personnel that wanted a functional office uniform and those that wanted to maintain traditions like the jumpers. Let's be honest; Crackerjacks is a nice uniform for manning the rail and the occasional liberty port but it is not a great uniform for day-to-day wear. (And the 80s jumper was a dirt magnet.)

Off topic:

Spoiler: list of ports made while active

List of ports. Deployment stops were typically 2-3 day loadouts. The second stop at Pearl was on the way home and the transit from Pearl to CA was our Tiger Cruise. *indicates liberty only.

WESTPAC 81-82
Hawai'i (x 2)
Manila*
Subic Bay, The Phillipines (x 3)
Hong Kong*
Singapore*
Muscat, Oman (on-the-pier cookout only. But with beer.)
Diego Garcia (x 2)
Phattaya, Thailand*
Pusan, Korea (now Busan)
Sasebo, Japan*
Yokosuka, Japan

fleet-ex 83-1
Pusan*
Yokosuka
Hawai'i*

WESTPAC 83-84
Hawai'i (x 2)
Subic Bay (x 2)
Singapore*
Diego Garcia (x 3)
Muscat, Oman (x 2) (see above)
Phuket, Thailand*
Guam*

WESTPAC 85
Hawai'i (x 2)
Subic Bay (x 2)
Diego Garcia (x 3)
Muscat, Oman (x 3) (see above)
Mombasa, Kenya*
Singapore*

Other ports:
Oakland CA (homeport)
Alameda, CA (tied up here as often as Oakland)
San Diego (sea trials and quals were based out of here)
Long Beach*
Acapulco, Mexico*