If a sailor hits the 12-year mark before meeting those requirements, they wear red stripes. Sailors who have qualified for the gold stripes but are later convicted by court-martial or nonjudicial punishment (NJP) must also switch to red. At that point, the 12-year clock to earn the gold stripes back starts over again.
In this post
Why do sailors wear red stripes?
The current policy mandates that sailors who have received nonjudicial punishment or court-martials within the past 12 years wear red stripes. Sailors who already have reached the milestone had to restart the 12-year clock if they had further infractions.
Navy service stripes come in three colors and they are red, gold, and blue.
Criteria: A service stripe, commonly called a hash mark, is a decoration of the United States military which is presented to members of the U.S. military to denote length of service. The United States Navy awards each stripe for four years of duty.
What do upside down chevrons mean?
In the United States, the army and marines use chevrons proper, (though prior to the 20th Century this was not true), while the Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard use inverted chevrons. Arcs, known as “rockers” are also added to chevrons to indicate higher rank.
Under the current regulation, only those who meet the minimum requirements for the Good Conduct Award can wear gold rating badges and service stripes, each of which marks four years of service. If a sailor hits the 12-year mark before meeting those requirements, they wear red stripes.
Who wears the blood stripe in the Marines?
Marine Corps tradition maintains that the red stripe worn on the trousers of officers and noncommissioned officers, and commonly known as the “blood stripe,” commemorates those Marines killed storming the castle of Chapultepec in 1847.
Enlisted Sailors
- Seaman Recruit (SR/E-1)
- Seaman Apprentice (SA/E-2)
- Seaman (SN/E-3)
- Petty Officer Third Class (PO3/E-4)
- Petty Officer Second Class (PO2/E-5)
- Petty Officer First Class (PO1/E-6)
- Chief Petty Officer (CPO/E-7)
- Senior Chief Petty Officer (SCPO/E-8)
The Rockers were discontinued in 1975 when the Navy fully instituted the Officer style uniform for all members known as the Salt and Pepper uniform. In 1980, the Navy revived the jumper style uniform for Sailors E-6 and below. They did not, however immediately reinstitute the Rockers.
Navy Ranks – Enlisted and Officer, from Lowest to Highest
| Pay Grade | Rank | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| O-1 | Ensign | Junior Officer |
| O-2 | Lieutenant Junior Grade | Junior Officer |
| O-3 | Lieutenant | Junior Officer |
| O-4 | Lieutenant Commander | Junior Officer |
Under the current regulation, only those who meet the minimum requirements for the Good Conduct Award can wear gold rating badges and service stripes, each of which marks four years of service. If a sailor hits the 12-year mark before meeting those requirements, they wear red stripes.
12 cumulative years
“All enlisted Sailors with 12 cumulative years of active naval or active reserve service are authorized to wear gold rating badges, and gold service stripes in lieu of red rating badges and stripes.”
How to greet each rank
- Commissioned officers (Army, Marine Corps and Air Force): rank (General, Colonel, Captain, Lieutenant,) and last name.
- Commissioned officers (Navy): rank (Admiral, Captain, Commander, Lieutenant) and last name.
- Warrant officers: Warrant Officer and their last name or Mr./Ms. and last name.
What does double chevron mean?
Double Chevron Tattoo
As mentioned before, the double chevron symbol means you are a corporal of the military. As a corporal, you get another chevron on your patch or badge. This is a promotion from an E-4 specialist to an E-5 sergeant and serves in an E-5 billet, being a leader of a firing squad.
Why do American soldiers wear their stripes upside down?
In bootcamp the drill instructor told the platoon the reason we have our chevrons pointed up and the Navy has theirs pointed down (Air Force came later and took the traditional route) is because we surrendered during a battle against the Native Americans.
What does 4 chevrons mean?
Private First Class (one stripe) Corporal (two stripes) Sergeant (three stripes) Staff Sergeant (four stripes) Technical Sergeant (five stripes)
How many years is a hash mark?
noun. 1A service stripe worn on the left sleeve of an enlisted person’s uniform to indicate three years of service in the army or four years in the navy. ‘One of the Honor Guards had 10 ‘hash marks’ on his sleeve. ‘
A crow is an unofficial Navy term for the petty officer rank insignia, which includes an eagle above one to three chevrons, depending upon a Sailor’s rank.
Lieutenant Commander C
Cadet Ranks
| Cadet Officer Ranks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rate | Abbreviation | Description |
| Commander | C/CDR | The collar device is five attached gold bars. |
| Lieutenant Commander | C/LCDR | The collar device is four attached gold bars. |
| Lieutenant | C/LT | The collar device is three attached gold bars. |
What rank gets blood stripe?
The promotion from lance corporal to corporal is a momentous one for all enlisted Marines, as it means they have been trusted to serve our Nation as Noncommissioned Officers, a designation that allows them to add the legendary “Blood Stripe” to their uniform.
Why do they call Marines jarheads?
The phrase “jarheads” is also a slang phrase used by sailors when referring to Marines. The term first appeared as early as World War II and referred to Marines’ appearance wearing their dress blue uniforms. The high collar on the uniform and the Marines’ head popping out of the top resembled a Mason Jar.