My Navy and CG SNCOs out there. How do you respond to a service member mistakenly calling you the wrong rank?

I'm guilty of this one but more so because it's hard to see the single star on the black device that is mixed in with the dark camo. When Senior got closer, I'd apologize and tell him my eyes couldn't make it out soon enough. Know I did it 2-3 times. We'd both chuckle and agree the device is pretty stealthy.

I guess you could jump up and down, yelling. SCPO collar devices are hard to see from a distance and may be mistaken as CPO devices. If the service member knew me and called me "Chief", I would diffidently correct them. If we were unknowns, I may or may not say anything. The Sailor usually catches the mistake and makes the correction without help.

SCPO Joshua A: The Senior Chief Star on a Coast Guardman's SCPO Device is over centered in the eye of the anchor; making it very hard to see. I know Senior Chiefs who have very discretely pointed out they were Senior Chiefs, not Chiefs; and some others who bellowed it out so all within earshot could hear. Both earned the right to be addressed correctly; quite an achievement these days; even more so 30 years ago. The better leader? The Senior Chief who were discrete. Nobody likes an "ass chewing" but they are supposed to be done in private.

I went from Chief Petty Officer to Chief Warrant Officer; aka Commissioned Warrant Officer in 1991; I know that each service (except the Air Force who no longer have any CWOs) address CWOs differently. In 1994 we had several hundred Marines attached to our Coast Guard Base to provide security onboard our cutters who were intercepting thousands of Cubans fleeing Cuba in July and August of 1994. I was the Supply Officer at Coast Guard Group Key West, at the time the busiest base in the country! One of the Gunnies called me Gunner; and explained the different manners of address in the Marine Corps to a CWO: He said if they like you they called you Gunner, if they respected you it was Chief, no respect, but correct - they called them Warrant Officer (Last Name).

In the Coast Guard it was polite/correct to say Mister, Miss, Mrs., Ms.. or Chief Warrant Officer; and I know that in the Navy - with no disrespect intended, is to refer to a CWO as "Warrant." During my two tours of duty in Key West (last time on a cutter) I had Navy Chief, Senior Chief, and Master Chiefs as neighbors. Just to keep the inter service rivalry going when they referred to me (with no disrespect intended) as Warrant I would reply "Yes, Chief?" They'd reply and say "its Senior or Master Chief" and I would laugh and say I know that but its Chief Warrant Officer! All in good fun.

You've worked hard to become a Chief, Senior Chief, or Master Chief Petty Officer (as I did for Chief and CWO) and you deserve the respect befitting of your rank and that includes being addressed correctly!

That tiny star is a little hard to see sometimes, so I generally ignore it, being a Chief is great. If I feel a need to call it out I would say "you can call me Senior"

I made this mistake many time during tech school, which was on a Navy base. In the Air Force, if you got something shiny in your cap you are to be saluted. Leave it to the Navy to throw an anchor in every CPO/SCPO/MCPO's cap and a rank and anchor in every officer's cap while giving them the same uniform. I saluted sooooooo many SNCOs down there. Got to the point where I would never walk where I couldn't see both sides of the cap, or at the very least so I could see their right sides so I knew whether to salute or just verbally address.

Simply correct them with a kind voice. Then upgrade as necessary...

That would simple. You point to the STAR in the middle of your Chief's insignia and nothing more. Unless you are vindictive, let it go. Once someone gets to know you, they will respond correctly. I was once mistaken as the youngest Admiral in the Navy. I was in the Admiral's car in civilian clothes with a Marine driver. Every military person who saw the car HAD TO SALUTE IT and ME. When the car stopped for a red light, three people came over and asked me how old I was. When I assured them that I was not the Admiral, they were relieved and so was I.

I don't say anything. I work with mostly civilians and they know I'm a Senior Chief but call me Chief. If I get questioned about it I say "Once A Chief, Always A Chief".

My name when I retired was Senior Chief or Bull Nuke. There was never any problem when spoken but written it was and is EMCS(SS) Fox now it is the same except Ret. behind it. But I also go for Jim, dad, Grampa, and a bunch more by my friends.

Typically just respond with a greeting. If time will give them tips on how to tell the difference from a distance, such as look for more silver than gold towards top or something. Always reinforce I was a Chief first and always and it's the core of all we are no matter what we are wearing. Hope they remember the lesson and move on.