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In TOS, Spock was assigned as both Kirk's First Officer and his Science Officer. Throughout the duration of the series, except for in "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Spock wears a Science Division uniform.

Meanwhile, in TMP, Decker is temporarily assigned as Kirk's First officer (either temporarily or formally?). In addition, after the death of the Commander Sonak, Kirk requests Decker to "double up" as the both his First Officer and the ship's Science Officer.

To be fair, uniform regulations clearly changed a lot between TOS and TMP, so maybe that could account for this seeming aberration. But does anyone have another explanation? One that might be more cohesive with the uniform expectations across the rest of the franchise?

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    The obvious explanation is that Decker didn't bother changing his uniform. He was, after all, rather resentful about being demoted from Captain.
    – ApproachingDarknessFish
    Commented Feb 12, 2021 at 2:36

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As @ApproachingDarknessFish mentions.

Decker WAS the captain of the ship, Until Kirk arrived and took over command, demoting Decker to First Officer position. BUT Decker IS still a Captain, and even while filling the First Officer position, is probably entitled to wear a Command Uniform. (Also I doubt he would have anything other than Command Uniforms onboard in his quarters.)

Spock arrives as a replacement Science Officer after the death of Science Officer Sonak. Spock has not been in a Command position previously, and is arriving specifically to fill the Science Officer Position. Thus he would be arriving wearing a Science Division uniform.

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  • Decker may have been captain and commanding officer of the Enterprise, but when Kirk reassigned him to XO he also gave him a "temporary grade reduction", dropping Decker from captain's rank to commander. As for Spock, I was actually referring to his dual positions in TOS. We know from subsequent series' like YNG that a First Officer's division is Command (seen when Captain Jellico reassigns Data to XO).
    – rr_cola
    Commented Feb 12, 2021 at 20:22
  • Its been to long since I have seen the movie so cant comment on specifics of the movie. Kirk does actually say he is giving Decker a "temporary grade reduction", but This would be in NAME only. He would not have the authority to just reduced his rank to commander in all aspects that would involve (pay. time in grade, etc.) This would be for the "Only 1 Captain On a Ship" reason. In every respect he IS still a Captain. Just referred to as Commander so there was no confusion in the "chain of command" [At least in the real world.. This IS a movie, so who is to say what really applies]
    – NJohnny
    Commented Feb 12, 2021 at 22:28
  • As for when Captain Jellico reassigns Data to XO, I vaguely remember it, BUT did he give him the dual position as XO and SO? or did he actually reassign him from SO to XO? As for Spock in TOS, WAS he officially the XO? He certainly was the SO, and 2nd in command, But I cant recall if he was referred to as the Enterprise's XO.
    – NJohnny
    Commented Feb 12, 2021 at 22:37
  • Decker's sleeve stripes even change to accommodate his temporary grade reduction, but you're right - I'm sure as soon as Kirk left, Decker would've gone right back to captain. But this reduction still definitely had some degree of formality. Also, what's the "1 Captain On a Ship" rule you're referring to?
    – rr_cola
    Commented Feb 13, 2021 at 3:13
  • Oddly enough, Picard never had Data assigned as an SO. Basically, all that happened was Jellico dropped Riker and Data took his place, resulting in Data putting on Command Red. There was no implication this was temporary, either. I'm not sure if Spock was ever referred to as Kirk's XO either, I'll have to check!
    – rr_cola
    Commented Feb 13, 2021 at 3:16

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