Can anyone explain Navy Ranks and Rates?

2017-06-09T14:01:04-04:00

I think I have the Navy enlisted ranks down, and I have the Officers down, but it seems the Navy has a lot more history in their ranks. Different colors, insignia, even titles or rates as I understand they're called. Can anyone clarify it?

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 9 at 2017 2:05 PM

2017-06-09T14:05:04-04:00

This should have it all. Yes, I know it's Wikipedia.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_ratings

List of United States Navy ratings - Wikipedia

United States Navy ratings are general enlisted occupations used by the U.S. Navy from the 18th century, which consisted of specific skills and abilities. Each naval rating had its own specialty badge, which is worn on the left sleeve of the uniform by each enlisted person in that particular field. Working uniforms, such as camouflage Battle Dress Uniforms, utilities, coveralls, and Naval Working Uniform, bear generic rate designators with no...

Response by SN Greg Wright made Jun 9 at 2017 2:24 PM

2017-06-09T14:24:20-04:00

So you have the basic enlisted ranks that are:
Seaman Recruit
Seaman Apprentice
Seaman. These will have white stripes (0, 2 or 3 respectively)
However, depending on your eventual job those can instead be Fireman, Constructionman, or Airman (red stripes, light blue stripes, or green stripes). You can tell a Sailor's job at a glance by looking at the rating badge on his rank badge. Too many to list.
@ e4, they all convert to Petty Officers, and wear red crows, unless they've been good for 12 years, then they're gold. Those ranks are
Petty Officer 3rd class
Petty Officer 2nd Class
Petty Officer 1st Class
At E-7 they become Chief Petty Officers, then Senior Chief Petty Officer, then Master Chief Petty Officer. Their rank insignia is an anchor, then an anchor with a star, then two stars on their collar, (This confuses a lot of non-Navy SM's, and they get saluted quite a bit) and one rocker above their crows. You can call a CPO 'Chief', an SCPO 'Senior' but NEVER, EVER call an MCPO 'Master'.

All officer insignia is the same as any other service. However, the ranks are called different things:
Ensign
Lieutenant Junior Grade
Lieutenant
Lieutenant Commander
Commander
Captain
Rear Admiral (lower half)
Rear Admiral (upper half)
Vice Admiral
Admiral.

Response by SrA James Cannon made Jun 9 at 2017 2:28 PM

2017-06-09T14:28:01-04:00

Yes, the Navy's rank/ratings system can be confusing to those who are not Navy. I thought I had heard that the Navy was considering doing away with a sailor's rating as his rank title, and going to a system that it more inline with the other branches.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Jun 9 at 2017 2:30 PM

2017-06-09T14:30:59-04:00

SPC Private RallyPoint Member I'd tag 'Sailors' too.

Response by PO3 Donald Murphy made Jun 9 at 2017 2:35 PM

2017-06-09T14:35:15-04:00

The colors are for lower enlisted E-1 to E-3 only. If you are fulfilling an engineering job, you are a "Fireman" and your stripe color is red. If you are fulfilling an aviation job, you are an "Airman" and your stripe color is green. Other specialties, you are a "Seaman" and your stripe color is white. E-1 level is called Recruit, E-2 level Apprentice and E-3 by the specialty. So if you were in the aviation community an E-1 would be an Airman Recruit, E-2 would an Airman Apprentice and an E-3 would be an Airman, Seaman, Fireman, etc. Once you test for E-4, E-5 and E-6, you are known as a Petty Officer __ Class. Third Class for E-4, Second Class for E-5 and First Class for E-6. E-7 is a Chief Petty Officer, E-8 is a Senior Chief Petty Officer and E-9 is a Master Chief Petty Officer.

Sleeve location changed. In days pre-1950's, sailors had rank on the left sleeve or right hand sleeve. If you had a rank patch on the left hand sleeve, you were known as a "seagoing rate." Other sleeve was for jobs that did not go to sea. Also during this time period you had diamonds and letters. If someone had an "A" under their rank patch, they were really athletically physically fit and you could approach that person to help you in your fitness regimen. So if you were having trouble swimming, doing exercises, etc, an "A" would be your start. A "diamond" under or above the rank patch meant that you were a system expert. So if you were among a roomful of Electricians, the one with the diamond on his patch, would be the system expert out of the group. The reason I mention these defunct uses is because a lot of WW2-era vets will show up to events wearing diamonds and letters and people of today have no idea what they are. Another thing that was done "then" that isn't done now is "Liberty Cuffs." You had embroidery on the inside of your sleeves. And when you rolled your sleeves up, they showed up and signified that you were off-duty. So if someone needed an Electrician and walked into a room full of Electricians and three of them had cuffs showing, those three were off-limits.

The Navy has a principle called "Frocking" where you are promoted for rank, but not pay. So when I passed the E-4 test, I was frocked, meaning I could wear the E-4 patch, but didn't get paid for it until the prescribed time. The color of your rank also shows your behavior. If your stripes are gold, you have had good behavior. If they are red, you have had maybe an infraction or two. Or three. Or four...ha ha. Another interesting snippet is that watchstations are what makes the world go around. The OOD (Officer Of The Deck) is in command of the ship, no matter what rank he is. The people standing watch have the power. Some commands make you wear an arm band but a lot of commands don't. We didn't wear them, but one of our sister ships had arm bands to tell who the duty Radioman was, OOD, etc. Along those lines, you also have warfare badges which go hand in hand with your rank badges. They say that you are a system expert in your ship. So if you see a submarine sailor wearing Dolphins, it means that he/she can save their life, put out fires, etc.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jun 9 at 2017 6:39 PM

2017-06-09T18:39:20-04:00

It is an elaborate portion of the Naval OPSEC program, Legalman Apprentice.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jun 9 at 2017 8:40 PM

2017-06-09T20:40:12-04:00

SPC Private RallyPoint Member This Conversation was on Page 4 when I Searched Navy Articles on Google for the Last 24 Hours! Nice Response and Looksees.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jun 9 at 2017 9:12 PM

2017-06-09T21:12:51-04:00

Now that you got this down, go for the nicknames. Snipe, Twidget, Cookie, O'Shiter etc. Lots of them too. Have fun. Signed, Mustang.

Response by LTJG Richard Bruce made Jun 10 at 2017 12:18 AM

2017-06-10T00:18:54-04:00

USN follows the USCG, but the Navy decided to have stars instead of the shield of freedom on their sleeves or shoulders. Naval services have Warrant officers that have different roles than land forces. Chief Warrant officers are a continuation of enlisted ratings. CWO become division officers or even commanding officers of vessels or shore stations. Their commission grants them legal, financial, and personnel accountability that an enlisted member does not have. There are a few CWO that can be promoted straight to LT (O-3) to act as department heads in their specialty.

Warrant Officer (W-1) is no longer used in the USCG or USN. USCG has Chief Warrant Officers (W-2 to W-4). USN has Chief Warrant Officers (W-2 to W-5). W-1 were commissioned by their Dept Secretary. W-2 and above are commissioned by the President.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Jun 11 at 2017 11:32 AM

2017-06-11T11:32:02-04:00

Lot's of good explanations in this string. They Navy system, which is mirrored in the Coast Guard, is the most complex of the Services. Unlike your service (Army) and mine (Air Force) that have only a few forms of address for enlisted personnel (the Air Force has three), the Navy has combined specialty (rate) and rank (e-grade). In addition, they sometimes use different positional titles aboard ship. For example, a Master Chief Petty Officer (E-9) may be the ranking Non-Commissioned Officer on a submarine, so he or she would be the Chief of the Boat (COB), which is a job with specific qualifications and responsibilities not a rank.

The officer ranks have two versions. The collar brass is similar, but not exactly the same, as the Army and Air Force. Their shoulder and sleeve rank is based on thick and thin stripes. You can find pictures on reference charts. Just to keep it complicated, the Navy uses names for their officer ranks that are not the same as the Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps. O-1: ensign; O-2: lieutenant junior grade; O-3: Lieutenant; O-4 Lieutenant Commander; O-5: Commander; O-6: Captain; O-7: Rear Admiral (lower half) (Commodore in some situations); O-8: Rear Admiral (upper half); O-9: Vice Admiral; O-10: Admiral.

The good news is most sailors I've worked with are proud to explain their rank and rate to the uneducated members of the other Services. Courtesy and honesty will get you a long ways in most cases. As a Private, you can almost never go wrong with a "Sir" or "Ma'am" when in doubt. If the subject is a salty old Chief, he will grumble something about being a working man not an officer and tell you to call him "Chief."

Response by SCPO Morris Ramsey made Jun 11 at 2017 4:43 PM

2017-06-11T16:43:50-04:00

The use of the word "rank" for Navy enlisted personnel is incorrect. The term is "rate." The rating badge is a combination of rate (pay grade, as indicated by the chevrons) and rating (occupational specialty, as indicated by the symbol just above the chevrons).
The insignia here represents a Petty Officer First Class (the rate) who is a Boatswain's Mate (the rating). A rating badge is worn on the left upper sleeve of all uniforms in grades E-4 through E-6. Chief Petty Officers (E-7 through E-9) wear collar devices on their white and khaki uniforms, and rating badges on their Service Dress Blues.

Response by CPO Gregory Smith made Jun 11 at 2017 6:04 PM

2017-06-11T18:04:26-04:00

Anyone wearing an Anchor on their collar is a Chief regardless of the addition of a star or two. Back before the time of the Super Chiefs we were all called Chief. I very highly doubt Del Black would have batted an eye if a young Sailor called him Chief. If anyone gives you crap about not noticing their stars, they're a dipsh!t that shouldn't be wearing Anchors in the first place.

Response by PO1 Jack Howell made Jun 11 at 2017 9:40 PM

2017-06-11T21:40:34-04:00

http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/nec/NEOCSVol1/Documents/CHG_70_APR17_%20OCCSTDS_MANUAL.pdf
This the official manual that will tell you everything you need to know about the navy rating system and the various rates.

CHG_70_APR17_%20OCCSTDS_MANUAL.pdf

Response by COL Charles Williams made Jun 12 at 2017 12:55 AM

2017-06-12T00:55:10-04:00

Yes SN Greg Wright, a Sailor can.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 17 at 2017 6:01 PM

2017-08-17T18:01:52-04:00

Looks like you've got answers as to the colors, titles, etc. Lots of good answers here!
Also, throwing in a bit of the history/tradition, back in the days of sail and the English Navy, you had the CO of a rated ship (lots of guns) was a Captain. The CO of an unrated ship (no or few guns) was a Commander. Every other officer, regardless of if they were age 12 or age 50, was a Lieutenant. Officers in training were Midshipmen. Now, you also had a sailing master, who was the expert in sailing that particular ship, while the CO was the expert in military matters (it evolved from the 1400s through the 1800s and up through the present). Then you had the rates: Carpenters, Boatswains, Carpenters, Sailmakers, and every other speciality you need to make a sailing man-of-war operate. These were the Petty Officers (There's a line in Horatio Hornblower novels, where LT Hornblower makes one of the common sailors in his division the senior guy, "Matthews, I rate you a Petty Officer."). They had their "Mates", similar to the old apprenticeship model in medieval/renaissance Europe. Then the non-rates, "Able Seaman" (been at sea a while, but no trade to be mated to), "Ordinary Seaman" (knows the sea and sailing, but you can't quite trust him with jobs), and the lowest "Landsman" (land-lubber, gets seasick and good for nothing).
So, E-1 through E-3 are similar to the Seaman/Landsman, still learning their job in the Navy. E-4 through E-6 are the "descendants" of the rates and mates, they know their job and are skilled at it, thus YN1 or RP3 or MM2: their job (rate) and the level they do that at (First Class, 2nd, 3rd). The descendants of the Sailing Master are the Chiefs (Navy had only Chiefs through WWII, when Senior Chief and Master Chief were added; this is reflected in the uniforms of the time, where they wore the enlisted sailor's dungarees, but with the Officers' khaki cover.)
Officers have their own histories of where they came from and why. But perhaps the least known is that all officers other than the CO of a ship were Lieutenants, regardless of if they were 50 years old and the XO of a 1st rate (100+ gun) ship or a 17 year old and the 4th-highest on a non-rate (0 guns), they all had the same rank. This being America, that's hardly fair, so Congress made it to where the XOs of the 6 biggest ships at the time (1830s, I think) were made a senior-type of lieutenant (like how Sergeants Major are a senior type of Sergeant). This rank was called Lieutenant-Commander (remember, unlike how Army O-4 through O-6 are field grade officers, in the Navy only Commanders (O-5) and Captains (O-6) could originally command ships). That's why today's Lieutenant Commander (O-4) is technically a "junior officer" and doesn't wear scrambled eggs on their cover's visor; they're the senior most grade of Lieutenant! Ok, so not in practice ever, but historically, that's the why.
Sorry, history teacher at work......