United States Coast Guard Enlisted Rate Insignia - E-4 To E-6

E-4 To E-6

E-4 to E-6 are considered to be non-commissioned officers (NCOs), and are specifically called petty officers in the Coast Guard. Their sleeve insignia is a perched eagle with spread wings (also referred to as a 'crow') atop a rating mark (a rating mark, or 'rate' is a symbol denoting their job category, similar to U.S. Army and U.S. Marines' MOS), with red chevron(s) denoting their relative rank below. The Coast Guard does not follow the Navy practice of awarding gold chevrons for twelve years good conduct; rather, all Petty Officer rank chevrons and service hash marks are red, while gold is reserved for Chief Petty Officers.

Onboard ships, the First Class Petty Officers become members of the First Class Mess which serves as a recognition of their status at the top of the junior enlisted ranks. This manifests itself on small ships as a few reserved tables in the galley, but may be a separate seating area or space on board a large ship. The food is the same as that in the galley from which the other junior ranks eat. It also is a precursor to the Chief's mess. All ranks from E-4 on also have the ability to perform a federal arrest while on duty.