List of United States Navy Enlisted Rates - E-7 To E-9

E-7 To E-9

E-7 to E-9 are still considered Petty Officers, but are considered a separate community within the Navy, unlike NCOs of other branches of service. They have separate berthing and dining facilities (where feasible), wear separate uniforms, and perform separate duties. Advancement to Chief Petty Officer (E-7) or above requires a board review by existing Master Chief Petty Officers beyond the normal examination score and performance evaluation process. The annual list of Chief selectees are authorized by Congress, leading chiefs to sometimes overstate, "it took an act of Congress to put these anchors here, it will take an act of Congress to take them off."

The proper form of address to a Chief Petty Officer is "Chief", "Senior Chief" (or "Senior"), or "Master Chief" according to their rating. In the U. S. Navy, the Chief is specifically tasked, in writing, with the duty of training Junior Officers (Ensign, Lieutenant (j.g.), Lieutenant)—one of the major differences between a Chief in the Navy and his counterparts in the senior NCO corps in the Army and Air Force. Staff NCOs in the Marine Corps are also tasked with mentoring junior officers.

Although the title "Chief" has been around since the Continental Navy in 1776, the Chief Petty Officer rate was not established until 1 April 1893. At that time nearly all enlisted members who had carried the rate of Petty Officer First Class since 1885 were advanced to Chief Petty Officer, with the exception of Schoolmasters, Ship's Writers, and Carpenter's Mates.

The rates Senior Chief and Master Chief were established on 1 June 1958. To be eligible for advancement to Senior Chief, a Chief Petty Officer must have had three years in the current grade. For advancement to Master Chief, a Senior Chief must have a total of three years in the current grade.

The dress blue insignia consists of a perched eagle or "crow" with spread wings atop a rating mark, with three chevrons and one 'rocker' above the rating mark. Inverted five-point stars above the crow denote the rank of Senior Chief (one star) or Master Chief (two stars). All other uniforms use the collar device to denote rank. It consists of a fouled anchor (an anchor that is entangled with its chain) with the initials U. S. N. (in silver) superimposed, with stars above the anchor to indicate higher pay grades, similar to the dress blue insignia.