# Me being an agitated nerd aka:A minor TNG WTF **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 8, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-being-an-agitated-nerd-aka-a-minor-tng-wtf/359948 "2006-06-08T20:20:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-being-an-agitated-nerd-aka-a-minor-tng-wtf/359948/21 "2006-06-09T18:41:20Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > And **Skald** , Nog is an officer that wears mustard I though they called it gold. “Wearing mustard” makes it sound like they don’t know how to eat hot dogs. Roddenberry had problems with enlisted men, because he wanted to make the future society almost utopian. After all, if they were going to have a CPO, he would have to, at some point, say “I’m not an officer, Goddammit! I work for a living!” ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-being-an-agitated-nerd-aka-a-minor-tng-wtf/359948/22 "2006-06-09T18:56:07Z")
They do, I just prefer to call gold “mustard” and red “wine” 'cause … well, I don’t really know nor do I have any fancy food-related words for the cerulean uniforms. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-being-an-agitated-nerd-aka-a-minor-tng-wtf/359948/23 "2006-06-09T18:57:22Z")
> [@Scupper](#): > > Starfleet is so touchy-feely, in fact, that they apparently eliminated enlisted ranks entirely, so no one would feel bad that they weren’t officers. Ever notice that the lowest rank in Starfleet seems to be “Ensign?” Yeah, this reminds me of the Great Army of Oz sometimes - all officers and only one Private. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-being-an-agitated-nerd-aka-a-minor-tng-wtf/359948/24 "2006-06-09T19:01:18Z")
The Color of the uniform had/has nothing to do with enlisted/commisioned status… it was used as a way to seperate functional jobs… IN TOS: Gold - \> Command Red -\>Security/Engineering Blue -\> Sciences/Medical The rows of leaf on the shirt sleave also had some determination of Rank. In TNG (and all others except “Enterprise”) they swapped Gold and Red and added the PIPs for rank. I do not currently recall how the non-coms were differentiated… ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-being-an-agitated-nerd-aka-a-minor-tng-wtf/359948/25 "2006-06-09T19:23:12Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > … > Roddenberry had problems with enlisted men, because he wanted to make the future society almost utopian. After all, if they were going to have a CPO, he would have to, at some point, say “I’m not an officer, Goddammit! I work for a living!” Hmmm. This triggered a couple of brain cells. I THINK I actually heard that once, on TNG. Vague rememberance of one of the crew’s father, who was a noncom in Starfleet, visiting him on the Enterprise. Sorry, no cites or links, I’m not even sure I’m correct. I think the phrase was “Don’t call me ‘sir.’ I work for a living.” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-being-an-agitated-nerd-aka-a-minor-tng-wtf/359948/26 "2006-06-09T19:26:35Z")
> [@LiveOnAPlane](#): > > Hmmm. This triggered a couple of brain cells. I THINK I actually heard that once, on TNG. Vague rememberance of one of the crew’s father, who was a noncom in Starfleet, visiting him on the Enterprise. > > Sorry, no cites or links, I’m not even sure I’m correct. I think the phrase was “Don’t call me ‘sir.’ I work for a living.” [geek mode] It was Worf’s father, second episode of the fourth season, talking to chief o’brien, whom he was delighted to see was also a noncom (as he had been before retiring). ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-being-an-agitated-nerd-aka-a-minor-tng-wtf/359948/27 "2006-06-09T19:29:16Z")
> [@simster](#): > > The Color of the uniform had/has nothing to do with enlisted/commisioned status… it was used as a way to seperate functional jobs… > > IN TOS: > Gold - \> Command > Red -\>Security/Engineering > Blue -\> Sciences/Medical > > The rows of leaf on the shirt sleave also had some determination of Rank. > > In TNG (and all others except “Enterprise”) they swapped Gold and Red and added the PIPs for rank. I do not currently recall how the non-coms were differentiated… No one was stating that uniform color related to rank and it was brought up only to point out the continuity error of Nog, an officer, being under O’Brien, a non-com, due to wearing a services (Engineering, Operations, Security, et al) uniform. And enlisted personnel were shown with braidless sleeves in Star Trek, their own epaulets in the movies, hollow pips in TNG, cloth badges in DS9, and bars in VGR. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-being-an-agitated-nerd-aka-a-minor-tng-wtf/359948/28 "2006-06-09T19:35:00Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > No one was stating that uniform color related to rank and it was brought up only to point out the continuity error of Nog, an officer, being under O’Brien, a non-com, due to wearing a services (Engineering, Operations, Security, et al) uniform. Except he was under O’Brien, not as a non-com, but as a CADET. He got a field commission during the war, true, but I suspect if you check the episodes where he’s answering to Miles, he’s still a cadet. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-being-an-agitated-nerd-aka-a-minor-tng-wtf/359948/29 "2006-06-09T20:35:39Z")
> [@Skald the Rhymer](#): > > [geek mode] > > It was Worf’s father, second episode of the fourth season, talking to chief o’brien, whom he was delighted to see was also a noncom (as he had been before retiring). Thanks, **Skald**! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-being-an-agitated-nerd-aka-a-minor-tng-wtf/359948/30 "2006-06-09T21:23:19Z")
> [@simster](#): > > I do not currently recall how the non-coms were differentiated… [Star Fleet Rank Insignia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfleet_ranks_and_insignia) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/me-being-an-agitated-nerd-aka-a-minor-tng-wtf/359948.md?page=1)