Originally posted by Larsen E. Whipsnade:
Baron Saarthuran von Gushiddan gushed:
"It is trekish indeed , milord, but practical... consider the flight crews on the old Terran Aircraft Carriers... the colors of the shirts denoting function rather than rank..."
Mr. Gushiddan,
Yes, let's consider the flight deck crews on old Terran; specifically USN, aircraft carriers.
Most of the personnel working on a flight deck do wear color-coded smocks to denote the job they are doing at that moment in time. Change jobs and you change smocks. Some smocks even have alpha-numeric designations so that specific jobs within a general work classification can be quickly identified. These smocks are used because verbal communications are all but impossible on the flight deck, large pieces of very fast equipment are bustling about, and time is at a premium. The smocks are not a uniform, they are a tool of the trade like hearing protection or steel-toed boots.
One should also note that the rest of the crew aboard the carrier; all ~5000 of them, do not wear color-coded smocks. It should also be noted that the flight deck crew wears the same uniform under their smocks that as the rest of the crew.
Let's leave color coding to Star Blecch and Paranoia, shall we?
Sincerely,
Larsen E. Whipsnade, MM1(SW) - LPO #2 ER USS California CGN-36