Star Ranger: about the only time you see an officer in khakis on a ship is when he's visiting from a shore command or, if said officer's command is a ship, he has business to attend to that day ashore.
See, the thing about life on a Navy ship is that you live, work, and play in an industrial environment, QED. Therefore, coveralls are the order of the day by pure necessity, even for the Captain himself. Therefore, while underway you'll see everyone from the Captain all the way down to the newest unrated seaman-recruit wearing coveralls and baseball caps (usually with the ship's mascot on the cap). And yes, this includes medical personnel. Additionally, there's no way to tell who's rate is what from the insignia on their coveralls. You can only see what rank they are. Usually you find out by way of introduction. For example: "Howdy, I'm GM3 Rhodes." "Hi GM3, I'm GSMSA Tobias." GM3 = Gunners Mate, Petty-Officer 3rd Class (E-4); GSMSN = Gas Turbine (Mechanic), Seaman Apprentice (E-2). It's alphabet soup, but you learn to cope. It's best on a smaller command like Destroyer or a Submarine where everyone knows everyone - it's like a small village and the rumor mill has a life of its own. On an aircraft carrier.... forget it. You see a random dude there and chances are you won't see him again for months.
Additionally, there are two different kinds of coveralls: Standard and Engineers. The latter is difference in that it is flame retardant and does not require a belt. It also has no button closures and has velcro to cinch up the the cuffs and hem. (Note: The CO on a small command always wears Engineers Coveralls because he's always walking through the spaces to make sure everything is running smoothly.)
Now, in port a lot of the crew, including the officers who are the department heads, will most likely be wearing the new NWU's (Navy Working Uniforms). The digital camo pattern on these fatigues are designed so that you can get commonly used paints (machinery gray, haze gray, deck gray, black) on these uniforms and not have it be particularly noticeable. This color pattern is known as Type 1. Type 2 (Dessert) and Type 3 (Woodland) are used for uniforms of those at forward deployed shore commands and are rarely seen.
Lastly, I'll refer you to the Wikipedia article that details current Navy uniforms: http://en.wikipedia.org/w...f_the_United_States_Navy
One final note: The only uniform that has rate insignia are the Dress Blues and the Dress Whites. Otherwise, the only insignia visible are rank and special warfare qualifications.
See, the thing about life on a Navy ship is that you live, work, and play in an industrial environment, QED. Therefore, coveralls are the order of the day by pure necessity, even for the Captain himself. Therefore, while underway you'll see everyone from the Captain all the way down to the newest unrated seaman-recruit wearing coveralls and baseball caps (usually with the ship's mascot on the cap). And yes, this includes medical personnel. Additionally, there's no way to tell who's rate is what from the insignia on their coveralls. You can only see what rank they are. Usually you find out by way of introduction. For example: "Howdy, I'm GM3 Rhodes." "Hi GM3, I'm GSMSA Tobias." GM3 = Gunners Mate, Petty-Officer 3rd Class (E-4); GSMSN = Gas Turbine (Mechanic), Seaman Apprentice (E-2). It's alphabet soup, but you learn to cope. It's best on a smaller command like Destroyer or a Submarine where everyone knows everyone - it's like a small village and the rumor mill has a life of its own. On an aircraft carrier.... forget it. You see a random dude there and chances are you won't see him again for months.
Additionally, there are two different kinds of coveralls: Standard and Engineers. The latter is difference in that it is flame retardant and does not require a belt. It also has no button closures and has velcro to cinch up the the cuffs and hem. (Note: The CO on a small command always wears Engineers Coveralls because he's always walking through the spaces to make sure everything is running smoothly.)
Now, in port a lot of the crew, including the officers who are the department heads, will most likely be wearing the new NWU's (Navy Working Uniforms). The digital camo pattern on these fatigues are designed so that you can get commonly used paints (machinery gray, haze gray, deck gray, black) on these uniforms and not have it be particularly noticeable. This color pattern is known as Type 1. Type 2 (Dessert) and Type 3 (Woodland) are used for uniforms of those at forward deployed shore commands and are rarely seen.
Lastly, I'll refer you to the Wikipedia article that details current Navy uniforms: http://en.wikipedia.org/w...f_the_United_States_Navy
One final note: The only uniform that has rate insignia are the Dress Blues and the Dress Whites. Otherwise, the only insignia visible are rank and special warfare qualifications.