posted
Topher said this would probably be the best place to stick this, so I apologise if it doesn't seem entirely on-topic.
Long ago, FASA came up with divisions within Starfleet Headquarters. Now, I don't know which of the movie-era RPG books had the full write-up on what they signified or who was to wear them, but I think they were supposed to indicate areas of responsibility (or whatever) for all those white-shirted people working under the nebulous departmental catchall of "Command".
One of the licensees made pins of these insignia, which I shall attempt to describe.
About 1�" high by an inch wide; the top portion is a half-circle and the bottom is flat (so it looks like the outline of an arch); the movie-era circular "gridded starfield" device decorates that upper portion, and is circumscribed by a colour-coded circle bearing the words "Starfleet Headquarters"; over top of this is the elongated five-pointed star that was the TOS Command division symbol, and that was punched out of the middle of the movie-era Starfleet pins; at the bottom of the pin is a horizontal strip of the same colour as the circle described above, bearing the name of the appropriate command branch; just above this in the little bit of space left between it and the bottom arc of the circle the symbol/insignia of that branch is displayed.
I can't remember the full list of Command branches (I think there were between eight and twelve), but they did include Headquarters (violet), Intelligence (black), Marines (royal blue), Communications (apple green, I think), Materiel (orange?), Merchantmarine (?), and so on.
If any one here has good scans of any illustrations FASA did, or good photos of the pins, please would you post or PM me. 'Preciate it...
--Jonah (yep, I'm back)
-------------------- "That's what I like about these high school girls, I keep getting older, they stay the same age."
--David "Woody" Wooderson, Dazed and Confused
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posted
Here's another scan at higher resolution (well, it was originally twice the resolution, but I reduced it a little bit so it would be under 1MB for upload).
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posted
Interesting. Would these have been departmental logos shown on signage and stuff? That's what I would assume, since they don't look like something that would be worn on a uniform.
posted
If memory serves, they were worn (when they were worn) just below the regular Starfleet breast insignia. I like 'em on a beret. Or maybe a shoulder strap like Admiral Morrow's adjutant had.
machf, thank you so much. Now, who wants to join me in recreating the branch logos? I don't know how many of these appeared in FASA materials. I have the Starfleet Intelligence RPG books, and there was a greyscale line drawing of the Intelligence logo behind the text in a few places.
--Jonah
-------------------- "That's what I like about these high school girls, I keep getting older, they stay the same age."
--David "Woody" Wooderson, Dazed and Confused
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posted
There are actually a few more of those; there are 12 in all. Here's a scan from the catalogue section of the official Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country movie magazine:
posted
I am puzzled. What is the difference between a Department of Military and a Department of Marines? Wouldn't it be more logical for there to exist a single department? If I read this right, this case would be analogous to having our United States Marines having their own department, while the rest of the armed forces are headquartered in the Defense Department.
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posted
Isn't Starfleet for the most part considdered the military? Though they are not primarily a military orginaization, they do seem to fill the role. Certanly Starfleet Security would more or less fall under military as well.
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posted
Military technically just refers to land based armed forces, ie. the army. However, I don't think people have been too bothered about that particular distinction for about 50 years. Also, you'd think that any Federation army would be seperate from Starfleet rather than a department within it.
-------------------- "I am an almost extinct breed, an old-fashioned gentleman, which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-bitch when it suits me." --Jubal Harshaw
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posted
Also, remember these are areas of responsibility within the Admiralty -- so the guy with the "Marines" pin would be somehow involved in organizing/running the SFMC, while the guy with the "Military" pin would be part of the office handling the offensive/defensive aspect of the ships themselves. I know a lot of people here despise FASA, but I like to refer to them to get raw material to help fill in details for things hinted at in aired material, but never fleshed out.
According to FASA's take on the Marines, there were only a couple classes of ships designed for their use, and they had limited production runs. For the most part, the Marines themselves shipped out aboard starships -- as seen in Star Trek V.
And speaking of Federation armies, did we ever reach a consensus on the nature of the forces stationed on the planet where the Rossas were (cf. TNG "Suddenly Human")? Jeremiah's dad (and his mom?) were wearing Starfleet uniforms, but dialogue referred to ground forces.
My personal take is that during the happy-peaceful time between 2311 (Romulans get asocial) and the 2340s (first Cardassian border skirmishes began here), Starfleet lost a lot of the militaristic feel that grew out of their protracted conflict with the Klingons, and more pacifistic elements in the Federation Council were able to get the SFMC disbanded. The Rossas' group (they had a baby there?) and the folks we saw in "...Nor the Battle to the Strong" and "The Siege of AR-558" were regular Starfleet, but -- as with the Corps of Engineers, they had been training from the get-go for service in a particular specialized discipline OTHER than the exploratory/diplomatic direction Our Heroes have focussed on, and their ships probably reflect that. I imagine the same goes for Starfleet's science or medical vessels.
--Jonah
-------------------- "That's what I like about these high school girls, I keep getting older, they stay the same age."
--David "Woody" Wooderson, Dazed and Confused
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![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Or maybe a shoulder strap like Admiral Morrow's adjutant had.![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
I don't know how many of these appeared in FASA materials. I have the Starfleet Intelligence RPG books, and there was a greyscale line drawing of the Intelligence logo behind the text in a few places.
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