Geordi La Forge wearing a command division uniform.
Around reference stardate 2/9004, the Federation Starfleet chose to adopt a new uniform design as general issue, with the final decision and adoption worked towards at stardate 2/9501. This Starfleet uniform was created as one of a number of responses to concerns of the overly military look of the previous design dating back to the 2270s. The uniform featured a black boots, with a jumpsuit, mostly in black, bearing a swath of division color-coded fabric across the torso and sleeves, with divisional piping across the shoulders and collar. A Starfleet arrowhead combadge was worn on the chest and a set of gold rank pip insignia was usually worn at the collar, similar to the style of silver rank pips adopted with an interim uniform. The division colors were roughly based on previous designs, but realigned slightly, with red for command division, gold for operations division and blue for sciences division—switching the command and operation division colors from the first uniform design. (FASA RPG module: Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual)
This officially became standard issue by Starfleet in the year 2351. (Decipher RPG module: Starfleet Operations Manual)
By 2353, the uniform was in widespread use on bases and starships. (TNG episodes: "Suddenly Human", "The Battle")
This uniform began to phase out of use in 2366 when new designs were adopted. However, these 2350s-2360s uniforms closely resembled the succeeding style and continued to be worn by some personnel until 2370. (TNG episode: "Evolution")
Uniforms[]
- Since some styles of cadet uniform and utility clothing were carried over from these designs into the next uniform system unchanged, it is possible that other types of uniforms of that later issue, including utility fatigues, service jackets and surface operation blacks, were also part of this issue with similar designs.
Appendices[]
Connections[]
| Starfleet uniforms | ||
|---|---|---|
| By era | 2140s-Early 2160s • Mid 2160s • 2230s • 2230s-2260s (Kelvin timeline) • 2240s-2265 • 2265-2270 • early 2270s • 2278-2350s • stardate 2/5501 • stardate 2/7206 • 2350s-2366 • 2366-2373 • 2373-2380s • early 2380s • 2380s • 2386-2409 • 2390s • 2400s • 2410s to 26th century • 27th to 29th century • 31st to 32nd century | 
|
| By name | Antares uniform • NX-01 Enterprise uniform • Deep Space 9 uniform • Enterprise-E uniform • Sierra uniform • Starfleet 2399 • Odyssey uniform • Starfleet Academy uniform • Wells uniform • Starfleet 3189 | |
| By type | Dress uniforms • Engineering suit • Environmental variants • EV suit • Hazard suit • racing uniform • Surface operations blacks | |
| See also | Federation Starfleet ranks • Federation Starfleet insignia • Away team equipment • Imperial Starfleet uniform | |
Appearances and references[]
Canon episodes[]
This uniform type's first appearance in canon was in TNG episode: "Encounter at Farpoint", taking place in the year 2364. The uniform continued in use for all season 1 and 2 TNG episodes until a new style was adopted in TNG episode: "Evolution". However, since the studio had so many of the original set of uniforms in stock, extras and background players continued to wear the jumpsuit style until season 4 when the last of the older uniforms were converted with the new collar and yoke. The last example of this was ENT episode: "These Are the Voyages...", taking place in 2370, when an extra taken from TNG season 3 stock footage appeared in this uniform.
At various points, uniforms of this type were shown in order to establish flashback sequences chronologically.
- TNG episode: "Suddenly Human" showed an example of this uniform worn in the year 2353, the earliest chronological occurrence of the issue in canon.
- TNG episodes: "Identity Crisis", "Violations", "All Good Things..." showed these uniforms to establish flashback sequences in 2362, 2355 and 2364, respectively.
- DS9 episode: "The Sound of Her Voice" showed the body of Lisa Cusak wearing this uniform to establish a timeframe of the 2363 departure of USS Olympia.
- ENT episode: "These Are the Voyages..." showed a number of photos of personnel wearing this uniform in photos taken prior to 2357.
Comic books[]
This uniform first appeared in comic book format in the Beginnings miniseries of DC Comics's TNG comics, in TNG comic: "... Where No One Has Gone Before!". The uniforms were in use for the rest of that miniseries and then in the later ongoing TNG comic series until the fourth issue "The Hero Factor", which was the last comic to take place during the time of this uniform's use, although a later story TNG comic: "Lifesigns" took place during the 2365 era. A WildStorm Comics story, "The Legacy of Elenor Dain", in the Star Trek Special, took place in 2365 and depicted these uniforms. IDW Publishing released TNG comics in The Space Between miniseries taking place during various points in the TNG era, including a 2364-era issue using this uniform, "History Lesson".
At various points, uniforms of this type were shown in order to establish flashback sequences chronologically.
- TNG comic: "The Noise of Justice" showed Picard's Stargazer crew in these uniforms during the Battle of Maxia, as they had in TNG episode: "The Battle".
- TNG - Annual comic: "Thin Ice" depicted Riker's Academy days in flashback, including a cadet variant. The cadet variation did not appear again, and another flashback to that era in TNG comic: "The Abandoned" showed Riker wearing a cadet jumper of a design common with other sources but the coloration of the "Thin Ice" variation.
- TNG - Special comic: "The Choice" shows Ro Laren's away team on their fateful mission to Garon II wearing this uniform, in 2359.
- PIC - Stargazer comic: "Issue 1"
Novels[]
This uniform occurs on the covers and internal illustrations of a number of novels of the era, beginning with the Pocket Books TNG novelization: Encounter at Farpoint, which featured a photo cover showing a publicity image of the TNG cast. Original releases from TNG novel: Ghost Ship through Gulliver's Fugitives all took place in this era, as well as the unnumbered Metamorphosis.
Several books of the Starfleet Academy series take place during the era of this uniform's use, although they use a different type of cadet uniform that matches the later style from canon. Books from The Lost Era series taking place after 2351 also feature uniforms of this type in cover artwork, as do books from the Double Helix series taking place before 2366.
External links[]
- Starfleet uniform (2350s-2366) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.