Not quite, George. Brownshoes are the Aviation Branch of the Navy. Officers and Chiefs wear brown foot gear with khakis, while the blackshoes, the deck Officers and Chiefs, wear black shoes with khakis. It started right out of boot camp. I enlisted as a Seaman Recruit, and was designated an Airman Apprentice when assigned to Airman School in Norman, Oklahoma. Upon graduation I was an Airman, and assigned to Photo School in Pensacola. Photographers Mate was an Aviation Rating, though during and right after WWII there were both Aerial Photographers and Photographers Mates. They were merged by the time I came along. When I got out of photo school I was a PHAN, or striker for Photographers Mate. This meant, so long as I was designated PHAN, I would only be assigned duties in the Photographers Mate rating, excepting guard duty, which was everyone's responsibility, until I became a Petty Officer. Of course, to further confuse things, we wore black shoes with Dress Blues, and white shoes with Dress Whites; that is, Officers and Chiefs. Regular enlisted wore black shoes with Dress Whites. Clear now? LOL. BTW, we referred to Coasties as shallow water sailors, belonging to the Hooligan Navy. Not true so much now, with Homeland Security duties, as well as drug interdiction. It was all in fun, of course, and not cause for a fight. A lot simpler in the WTBS, when everyone was a black shoe. Stan