In the navies of the Commonwealth nations, three stripes on the sleeves would mean a Petty Officer (PO). But in the US navy, he would be a “Chief” Petty Officer.
In this post
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.
Navy service stripes come in three colors and they are red, gold, and blue.
In the Navy, warrant officers to lieutenant commanders are junior officers.
- Ensign (ENS, O1)
- Lieutenant, Junior Grade (LTJG, O2)
- Lieutenant (LT, O3)
- Lieutenant Commander (LCDR, O4)
- Commander (CDR, O5)
- Captain (CAPT, O6)
- Rear Admiral Lower Half (RDML,O7)
- Rear Admiral Upper Half (RADM, O8)
four years
All personnel wear one stripe for each four years of active duty service or reserve service in an active status in any of the armed services.
Navy officers wear their rank devices in different places on their uniforms, depending upon the uniform. The three basic uniforms and the type of rank devices are: khakis (a working uniform) – pins on the collar; whites – stripes on shoulder boards; and blues – stripes sewn on the lower sleeve.
O-1 through O-4 are junior officers: ensign, lieutenant (junior grade), lieutenant, and lieutenant commander. O-5 and O-6 are senior officers: commander and captain. O-7 through O-10 are flag officers: rear admiral (lower half) (one star), rear admiral (two stars), vice admiral (three stars), and admiral (four stars).
Chevrons: Most enlisted personnel in every military service branch wear chevrons, or v-shaped stripes. Bars: Officers in the lower pay grades wear bars. Officers at the O-1 pay grade wear one gold bar, O-2 wear one silver bar, O-3 wear two silver bars and warrant officers wear striped bars.
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 |
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.”
Navy Ranks: This Will Help You The Most While At Navy RTC
| Pay Grade | Rank | Collar Device Description |
|---|---|---|
| E-2 | Seaman Apprentice (SA) | 2 DIAGONAL STRIPES |
| E-3 | Seaman (SN) | 3 DIAGONAL STRIPES |
| E-4 | Petty Officer 3rd Class (PO3) | PERCHED EAGLE, 1 CHEVRON |
| E-5 | Petty Officer 2nd Class (PO2) | PERCHED EAGLE, 2 CHEVRONS |
The majority of Navy SEALs (about 2,000) are Navy Enlisted personnel (E-4 to E-9). They are led by roughly 500 SEAL Officers (O-1 to O-10). There is also a small number of SEAL Warrant Officers (circa 30) who rank as officers above the senior-most Enlisted but lower than an Officer (O-1).
Seaman Recruit
Seaman Recruit (E-1)
Seaman recruit (SR) is the lowest enlisted rank in the Navy, just below seaman apprentice.
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.
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.
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.
The Navy Department Library. Chevron is a French word meaning rafter or roof, which is what a chevron looks like; two straight lines meeting at an angle just as rafters do in a roof. It has been an honourable ordinarie in heraldry since at least the Twelfth Century.
For advancement to E-4, the member must have a minimum of 6 months Time in Rate (TIR) and an E-3. For advancement to E-5, member must have 12 months TIR as an E-4. For advancement to E-6, member must have a minimum of 36 months TIR as an E-5*.
Navy Active Duty High Year Tenure.
| Pay Grade | Years |
|---|---|
| E-5 | 16 |
| E-6 | 22 |
| E-7 | 24 |
| E-8 | 26 |
What is a soldier with no rank called?
A private is a soldier of the lowest military rank (equivalent to NATO Rank Grades OR-1 to OR-3 depending on the force served in).
Cadet Ranks
| Cadet Officer Ranks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rate | Abbreviation | Description |
| Lieutenant | C/LT | The collar device is three attached gold bars. |
| Lieutenant (Junior Grade) | C/LTJG | The collar device is two attached gold bars. |
| Ensign | C/ENS | The collar device is a single gold bar. |
A third E-9 element is the senior enlisted person of each service. The sergeant major of the Army, the sergeant major of the Marine Corps, the master chief petty officer of the Navy and the chief master sergeant of the Air Force are the spokespersons of the enlisted force at the highest levels of their services.