Why do we tend to refer to our Grades instead of our Rank?

The primary reason is because we have five branches of Service, including the Coast Guard, and there are different ranks associated with most pay grades. However, traditionally, within individual units you should be addressing one another by rank and I find it odd that the CSM would have to point this out. After all, your units NCOs should already be inforcing this standard unless it is Tri or Quad service like many units in the MDW.

What a concept.

I agree!! Pay grades should be used only on admin issues!! We are NCOs and should be call by our ranks!!

Typically in the aircraft maintenance world when talking to other NCOs it refers to one's attitude and how they treat their people....for example an Air Force E9 is a Chief Master Sergeant. He'll be addressed as Chief out of respect for his rank however when talking about him with other NCOs he's referred to as a Chief if he takes care of his people and an E9 if he seems to be still looking to get promoted

I've never understood why someone would rather be addressed by his/her "E"nlisted grade (designated by the "E") than the rank. The rank is a part of our military history, with ranks being designated in some form or another in each branch of service since the establishment of the branch; the "E", "W", or "O" grades have historically been more associated with pay and entitlements... As anyone associated with the Navy can attest, once an individual makes Chief Petty Officer (E7), it is a well known insult to address that person as an E7 and not a Chief...

I understand the issue, AND I understand how it can be almost insulting. Staff Sergeant is a rank; E-6 is a pay grade, with no respect for the individual who's earned it. In short, there are 2 primary reasons for this: 1. It simplifies things (especially in the Army, since every NCO "can" be referred to as "Sergeant") to speak of someone in terms of their paygrade, rather than rank, and 2. It also helps make the distinction clear for other branches when referring to someone of higher or lower military status.

I have no problem with either, really. Some people just 'see' differently. Each rank is paired with a pay grade, and some people's minds just lean towards the 'E' side. That's just how they are. I surmise that most mean no harm when they refer to you or others as an E-5, or 6, or whatever. They're just wired differently.

He is correct. You are not a pay grade, you are an NCO. A senior NCO at that.

As a Sailor, and the Career Counselor for Bravo Company (Seabees; we've organized based off the Marine rifle platoon, to a lesser extent), one of the things I tell my junior Sailors is that when you're an E-whatever, you're someone that simply collects the pay and benefits of that paygrade. When you're a Petty Officer 3d / 2d / 1st Class or a Chief, Senior Chief or Master Chief Petty Officer, you're a professional. Ergo, "Be a professional, not just a paygrade."

Why anyone would want to insult themselves by simply referring to their paygrade is beyond me.

This Observation of our "E-Grade" goes back to the Vietnam era. The Specialist Rank from E-4 went all the way to E-8. You Addressed a Specialist as such even though the held the rank of E-whatever. I saw one Spc.8 in 1983. All of that changed just before the Gulf War. The Army needs to get rid of the Spc-4 rank.