What is the proper way to address NCOs in different branches?

Hello,
I worked with many different branches, if you are uncertain of what to call enlisted ranks in different branches of service, just be polite and respectfully ask how to address their rank. Officers are easy, just refer to them as Sir, or Ma'am!

SFC Port

In Coast Guard and Navy; Chief usually works for E-7,8,9. If you recognize 1 or 2 stars above the anchor you can never go wrong by addressing them as Senior Chief (with 1 star) or Master Chief (with 2 stars) Internally some refer to the E-8 or Senior Chief as "Senior" With that said you would not call the E-9 or Master Chief "Master"

An E-7 in the Marine Corps is addressed as Gunnery Sergeant of "Gunny"
a First Sergeant (has a Diamond between his stripes and rockers) is "First" while a Master Sergeant (E-8 with Crossed Rifles) is addressed as Master Sergeant or 'Top'

a Navy Chief Petty Officer (E-7) is addressed as Chief
a Senior Chief (E-8) as Senior Chief
and a Master Chief (E-9) as Master Chief

The more I was around sailors (most of who jumped out of airplanes) I got to where I recognized and rendered Chief, Senior Chief and Master Chief. Become very close to some of them and they appreciate the effort....the Navy officer insignia's in dress uniform I never did figure out. Also refereed to Gunnery Sergeants in the Corp as Gunny once a rapport was established. Had one bad-ass E-8 we called Master Guns....he had ran the Marine Corps marathon at least a dozen times and was hard as nails but was a very smart guy and very encouraging once ya got to know him. Anywho, you'll pick up on the little nuances as you make your way, particularly when deployed and/or in a combined arms assignment environment. Don't be afraid to ask questions and keep your eye on your Squad Leader or Plt. Sgt. You'll be that guy/gal before you know it. Hooah. Thank you for your service SPC(P) (Join to see) . Best wishes in your career and stay safe.

USCG same as the Navy, Chief, Some E-9 and E9's prefer Senior Chief and Master Chief respectively, but most have told me to just call them Chief. Below E-7, Petty Officer Blank ...

Just address them by their rank. Only the army addresses all NCOs from SGT to MSG as sergeant. In the Marines we learned all the ranks of all branches of the military.

I would initially address them as 'sir' just out of respect for their rank, experience, professional knowledge, acumen, and TIS. If they want you to be a little less formal they will tell you so. Plus you can note how others address them, depending on how well they know them or the professional relationship. A lot of younger people on the outside refer to olders as 'sir' or 'ma'am' for those reasons, not necessarily because the manager or supervisor outranks them.

Personally, if I know the rank, I address them by it and stand as I would for the Army equivalent (GySgt = SFC = Parade Rest etc). If I am unfamiliar with the rank, then I defer to their custom of Sir/Ma'am.

For the USAF, USMC and the Army, "Sergeant" is a good start if you do not know the differences. If you are in a JOINT assignment or assigned to a JOINT base or posting -- LEARN IT.

The Navy and Coast Guard use a mix of their Rating and Rank. (And I am rustly on most of it)
No "Eagle" = "Petty Officer"
"Eagle" (with or without Stars) = "Chief"

Seem to remember when I was stationed on Misawa AFB, all the Air Force personnel called someone of higher rank, regardless of enlisted or officer, sir or ma'am.

OK, my earlier response may have been a little off track even if it was correct. Being Army, you are subject to ARMY courtesy and customs, not marine or any other. If you were to follow your own branches regulations for addressing an e-7, you would call him sergeant. That is probably the most correct answer, and its completely wrong...

The reality is that it would be disrespectful to call a Marine by anything other than what his branch requires. Every Marine I dealt with when I was working with 1 MEF understood after I explained OUR courtesy and customs for address. They also informed me in a very Marine manner before I got that explanation out as to what they were to be called. I found that it was best to take the ass chewing, and reply with something along the lines of:
"My apologies Gunnery Sergeant, I was following my branches regulations. I'll use your correct term of address in the future." you'll screw up because you've had 2.5-3 years of calling e7's sergeant, and he'll know you're doing what you were trained. Still probably an ass chewing, but it will be less severe in my experience. My company was the only Army unit on Camp Commando when I had to deal with this.. some Marines were less uptight about it than others once they knew we were trying to do right... Master Gunny, who I had screwed up about 4 times in the same sentence (sorry gunny, uhh, sergeant, uhh sgm, uhh... )he laughed. He knew we didnt have that title in our rank structure and we didnt have that formal address thing.. I'm sure I provided a lot of hilarious moments for the senior nco's in that NOC doing that a few times.

I learned that when the senior MC NCOs started calling me Skipper, they were comfortable enough for me to use Gunny and Staff. The more rare thing is I had a habit of calling CWOs "Guns". When queried, I'd tell them about the origin of the term. Back in the wooden ship days, a CWO was the Gunnery Officer that everyone relied on to stay alive through his skill. Hence "Guns" is an honorific. Never ran into a CWO that objected to it, but I'd make sure we knew each other first. I never got into using the term "Number One" for any of my XOs, but I did think about it on occasion. However, I hated, hence never used, "SMAJ".

Navy you say "Anchors Aweigh Swabbie" Air Force "Aim High Wing Wiper" Marines use their full rank.

Toy address all enlisted persons by their appropriate rank. For E-7 that's Gunnery Sergeant. Only officers are called sir

Army:

E4 - Corporal (2 chevrons, not the sham shield)
E5 - Sergeant.......... 3 chevrons
E6 - Sergeant.......... 3 chevrons and a rocker
E7 - Sergeant.......... 3 chevrons and 2 rockers
E8 - Sergeant w/o start, star in the middle First Sergeant 3 chevrons and 3 rockers
E9 - Get the hell away! lol but you call all E-9's Sergeant Major, including the SMA

And what about E-8's and above in the Navy? Would we call them Chief?