What do the colors of the uniforms mean?
The colors and their meanings changed during the years between The Original Series and The Next Generation. In TOS, the colors were: • Gold – Command • Blue – Science and Medical • Red – Engineering and Security It was common practice for “expendable” crew members on away teams to be Security crew who wore red shirts. Therefore, the term “redshirt” to refer to the obligatory dying crewmember. In TNG, DS9 and VOY, the colors are: • Maroon – Command • Teal – Science and Medical • Mustard – Engineering and Security It is important to note that the Command colors are reserved for officers who are on the command track. While someone in Sciences or Engineering might be in the line of command (such as Spock and Scotty in TOS), these officers were not specifically seeking command posts.
