Posted on Oct 16, 2016
CPOs or just chiefs? Navy guidance leaves sailors confused
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With the elimination of all rating titles, a new question is popping up across the fleet: Are E-7s still "chief petty officers" or just "chiefs?"
With sailors still reeling from the unpopular stripping of all these time-honored titles, the service issued conflicting guidance on the official titles for senior enlisted, which has sailors scratching their heads.
Navy officials say this is a misunderstanding and that their official title remains, chief petty officer.
“There has been no change to our E-7 and above rank titles,” said Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Christensen, spokesman for the chief of naval personnel. “A chief petty officer is still that, and those words are still part of their formal title, that is the intent.”
But the words "petty officer" are no longer to appear on any chief's formal award, according to written guidance from the CNO's awards branch now circulating in the fleet. Instead, Navy awards will refer to them as:
• E-7. "Chief," such as Chief Timmy Turner.
• E-8. "Senior Chief," such as Senior Chief Timmy Turner.
• E-9. "Master Chief," such as Master Chief Timmy Turner.
However, officials say this awards guidance is wrong -- reiterating that awards should say, "chief petty officer," for example -- and will be corrected.
With sailors still reeling from the unpopular stripping of all these time-honored titles, the service issued conflicting guidance on the official titles for senior enlisted, which has sailors scratching their heads.
Navy officials say this is a misunderstanding and that their official title remains, chief petty officer.
“There has been no change to our E-7 and above rank titles,” said Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Christensen, spokesman for the chief of naval personnel. “A chief petty officer is still that, and those words are still part of their formal title, that is the intent.”
But the words "petty officer" are no longer to appear on any chief's formal award, according to written guidance from the CNO's awards branch now circulating in the fleet. Instead, Navy awards will refer to them as:
• E-7. "Chief," such as Chief Timmy Turner.
• E-8. "Senior Chief," such as Senior Chief Timmy Turner.
• E-9. "Master Chief," such as Master Chief Timmy Turner.
However, officials say this awards guidance is wrong -- reiterating that awards should say, "chief petty officer," for example -- and will be corrected.
CPOs or just chiefs? Navy guidance leaves sailors confused
Posted from navytimes.com
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 13
Posted >1 y ago
Hmm, haven't heard this yet. This is something that really hasn't changed. It's always broken down as:
Chief Petty Officer- Official Title
Chief- Colloquial Title
CPO- Rank Abbreviation.
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL FYI, the CPO rank you have tagged is for the Coast Guard, The Navy CPO tag is the one with the gold chevrons.
Chief Petty Officer- Official Title
Chief- Colloquial Title
CPO- Rank Abbreviation.
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL FYI, the CPO rank you have tagged is for the Coast Guard, The Navy CPO tag is the one with the gold chevrons.
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
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SCPO (Join to see) thanks, I learn something new every day, appreciate the feed back!
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ENS (Join to see)
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Perfect response, Chief.
There are always those who will "nuke" anything they are told. I feel that 99% of the Navy understood the instruction clearly..
There are always those who will "nuke" anything they are told. I feel that 99% of the Navy understood the instruction clearly..
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Posted >1 y ago
Thanks for sharing SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL. I will defer to our navy contacts. Thanks SCPO (Join to see) and ENS (Join to see) for weighing in with your knowledge and assessment.
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If I may, this whole thing is stupid. Some people are "nuking" the crap out of this. Not sure if that term branches out so, in other words, they are making it much harder than it needs to be. The instruction said E7s will now be referred to as Chief, E8s will be referred to as Senior Chiefs, and E9s will be referred to as Master Chiefs. In context, this was addressing how they will no longer be, for example, Chief Petty Officer Information System Technician (ITC). However, there are those who asked, "well, if the instruction said I am just "Chief" does that mean I am no longer a "Chief Petty Officer." An article came out to rectify this "confusion." However, I wonder how wide spread or common this confusion was. I work in a building with more than 300 people, and no one seemed to have an issue..
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