Chief petty officer

A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer.

By country

Australia

"Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy.

Canada

"Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (premier maître de deuxième classe or pm2 in French) is equivalent to a master warrant officer in the Army and Air Force, and chief petty officer 1st class (CPO1) (premier maître de première classe or pm1) is equivalent to a chief warrant officer in the Army and Air Force. In spoken references, chief petty officers may be addressed as "chief" but are never addressed as "sir".

India

A Chief petty officer in Indian Navy is a junior-commissioned officer. This rank is equivalent to Naib subedar in Indian Army and Junior warrant officer in Indian Air force. The two highest enlisted ranks are Master Chief Petty Officer Second Class (MCPO II), equivalent to Subedar/Warrant Officer and Master Chief Petty Officer First Class (MCPO I), equivalent to Subedar Major/Master Warrant Officer in Indian Army/Indian Air Force respectively.

Pakistan

Fleet chief petty officer is a commissioned and gazetted rank in Pakistan Navy above chief petty officer and below master chief petty officer. It is equivalent to the Pakistan Air Force warrant officer and the Pakistan Army subedar.^[1]

Philippines

See also: Military ranks of the Philippines

In the Philippine Navy, the rank of chief petty officer, is equivalent to master sergeant in the Philippine Marine Corps and Philippine Air Force.^[2]

United Kingdom

In the Royal Navy, the rank of chief petty officer comes above that of petty officer and below that of warrant officer class 2. It is the equivalent of colour sergeant in the Royal Marines, colour sergeant or staff sergeant in the Army, and flight sergeant in the Royal Air Force.

United States

Main article: Chief petty officer (United States)

Chief petty officer is an E-7 enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, just above petty officer first class and below senior chief petty officer. Chief petty officers are classified as senior non-commissioned officers. The grade of chief petty officer was established on April 1, 1893, for the U.S. Navy.^[3] The U.S. Congress first authorized the U.S. Coast Guard to use the promotion to chief petty officer on 18 May 1920.^[4]

Unlike petty officer first class and lower rates, advancement to chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy not only carries requirements of time in service, superior evaluation scores, and specialty examinations, but also carries an added requirement of peer review. A chief petty officer can only advance after review by a selection board of serving master chief petty officers, in effect "choosing their own" and conversely not choosing others.^[5]

Insignia

• 
  Antigua and Barbuda Coast Guard^[6]
• 
  Royal Australian Navy^[7]
• 
  Royal Bahamas Defence Force^[8]
• 
  Bangladesh Navy^[9]
• 
  Barbados Coast Guard
• 
  Belize Coast Guard
• 
  Republic of Fiji Navy
• 
  Ghana Navy
• 
  Guyana Coast Guard
• 
  Ard-mhion-oifigeach
  Irish Naval Service^[10]
• 
  Jamaican Coast Guard^[11]
• 
  Liberian National Coast Guard^[12]
• 
  Indian Navy^[13]
• 
  Namibian Navy
• 
  Royal New Zealand Navy^[14]
• 
  Papua New Guinea Maritime Element
• 
  Sierra Leone Navy
• 
  South African Navy^[15]
• 
  Sri Lanka Navy^[16]
• 
  Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard^[17]
• 
  Royal Navy^[18]
• 
  United States Navy^[19]
• 
  United States Coast Guard^[19]

See also

• Comparative military ranks
• List of United States Navy enlisted rates
• List of United States Coast Guard enlisted rates

References

1. Naval Regulation for Pakistan^{[citation needed]}
2. John A. Oudine, ed. (July 1963). "The Philippine Navy" (PDF). All Hands. Washington, D.C.: United States Navy. pp. 14–17. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
   "Manual of Armed Forces Law: Volume 1 Commander's Handbook on Military Law" (PDF). New Zealand Defense Force. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
   Mundo, Proscoro Ervin A (3 May 2014). "Compilation of Commonly Used Abbreviations in the Philippine Navy and the Armed Forces of the Philippines". CiteSeerX 10.1.1.739.833.
3. Campa, Joe R. Jr. (30 March 2007). "MCPON Reflects on 114 Years of Deckplate Leadership". Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2008. ...commemorating the establishment of the rate of Chief Petty Officer (CPO) in 1893.
4. The Coast Guardsman's Manual, ninth ed.,George E. Krietemeyer, Naval Institute Press, 2000, ISBN 1-55750-468-7
5. The Chief Petty Officer's Guide / John Hagan and Jack Leahy. - Naval Institute Press, 2004. ISBN 1-59114-459-0
6. Antigua & Barbuda Defence Force. "Paratus" (PDF). Regional Publications Ltd. pp. 12–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
7. "Badges of rank" (PDF). defence.gov.au. Department of Defence (Australia). Retrieved 31 May 2021.
8. "ENLISTED RATES". rbdf.gov.bs. Royal Bahamas Defence Force. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
9. Bangladesh Navy. "Rank of Navy & Equivalent Rank". navy.mil.bd. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
10. "Naval Service Rank Markings". military.ie. Defence Forces (Ireland). Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
11. "BADGES OF RANK". Official Jamaica Defence Force Website. 2019. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
12. "Defense Act of 2008" (PDF). 3 September 2008. p. 8. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
13. "Ranks & Insignia". Join Indian Navy. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
14. "Badges of Rank". nzdf.mil.nz. New Zealand Defence Force. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
15. "Rank Insignia". navy.mil.za. Department of Defence (South Africa). Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
16. "Branches/ Ranks". navy.lk. Sri Lanka Navy. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
17. "Rank Chart (Enlisted)". 69.0.195.188. Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. Retrieved 27 May 2021.^{[permanent dead link]}
18. "Shaping your career". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
19. "U.S. Military Rank Insignia". defense.gov. Department of Defense. Retrieved 13 January 2022.

External links

• History of the Chief Petty Officer Grade