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In the last season of Babylon 5, how does Lt. David Corwin (below, left;) get away with not wearing a uniform? AFAIK he's the only command-staff character that is regularly seen on-duty in shirt-and-pants instead of a full uniform.

I suspect that after President Clark was deposed he decided not to re-join EarthForce, preferring to stay on as a civilian contractor, but I don't recall anything in the regular season episodes to support this.

Lt David Corwin

Lt David Corwin 2

Lt David Corwin 3

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  • He possible was off duty without knowing which episode it is hard to say more. I recollect times when various members of crew wore civilian cloths. Or was this the whole season? (The last season wasn't a favorite so I don't remember it well) Oct 15, 2014 at 13:04
  • @Dreamwalker: No - He's clearly shown wearing civilian cloths while on-duty in multiple episodes of season 5.
    – Joe L.
    Oct 15, 2014 at 13:13
  • Are you sure that's not a regulation shirt? Can you point it out in the regs? Maybe everyone else is wearing parade uniforms. Oct 15, 2014 at 19:41
  • @ElliottFrisch - You're right. It looks like Corwin is wearing a "uniform shirt". He takes it off in season 4, then dons it again in season 5. Not an inconsistency at all.
    – Valorum
    Oct 15, 2014 at 19:59
  • I just changed the tag to "Plot Explanation". It's the "uniform shirt" that made me think he might be working as a civilian contractor with a courtesy rank (is that a thing?) of lieutenant instead of as an EarthForce officer.
    – Joe L.
    Oct 15, 2014 at 20:33

2 Answers 2

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I've checked Joe Straczynski's notes and can't find anything, so this answer s speculative.

Lt Corwin is, by this point, the longest-serving member of the operations staff. You'll note that in this season, both Dr Franklin and Security Chief Zack Allen continue to wear their 'reborn' uniforms from their time serving under Captain Sheridan as the head of an independent Babylon 5. In the first episode of season 5, Captain Lochley has a conversation with Corwin as she assumes command of the station, in which Corwin clarifies that B5 will remain an independent state. Sheridan, who was technically the legal head of state for an independent B5, specifically requested an Earthforce officer to take over his position as station chief, but there are still officers on board the station who serve an independent B5.

Corwin, like Zack and Stephen, is one of these officers, and as such he wears the uniform he wore after Sheridan broke away from Earth. All the regular crew kept their Earthforce uniforms during Sheridan's coup, but as an officer (officially he's the station's second-in-command by the time of season 5, and was in charge during the period between Ivanova's transfer and Lochley's arrival) Corwin chose a different uniform during Sheridan's rule. It doesn't match what the main staff wore (something that always bothered me; I liked Corwin, and thought he deserved a 'rebirth' uniform himself) but it is internally consistent with the series. You'll remember the brief period between Sheridan removing his Earthforce uniform and receiving a 'rebirth' uniform in season 3, where he also only wore a dress shirt while on duty.

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Look again. Corwin is wearing the regular station personal uniform. Only the command staff (Sheridan, Ivanova, Franklin, Garibaldi and later Zack) got to wear the black army of light uniforms. The rest wore those grey shirts or the green security uniforms. I guess when Corwin succeeded Ivanova as second in command, he didn't receive a new command staff uniform because the shadow war was over and no more uniforms were made.

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