A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior
non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards.
Canada
"Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
. A
chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxième classe'' or ''pm2'' in
French) is equivalent to a
master warrant officer in the Army and Air Force, and
chief petty officer 1st class (CPO1) (''premier maître de première classe'' or ''pm1'') is equivalent to a chief warrant officer in the Army and Air Force. In spoken references, chief petty officers may be addressed as "chief" but are never addressed as "sir".
Australia
"Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
.
India
A Chief Petty Officer in
Indian Navy is a junior-commissioned officer, equivalent to the NATO rank enlisted grade of E-6 (
Staff Sergeant ) . This rank is equivalent to
Naib Subedar
Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) is a term used for a group of military ranks which is higher than havildar ( non commissioned officer) and lower than lieutenant ( commissioned officer). The term is only used by Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Se ...
in
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
and
Junior Warrant Officer in
Indian Air force. The two highest enlisted ranks are Master Chief Petty Officer Second Class (MCPO II), equivalent to E-7/Subedar/Warrant Officer and Master Chief Petty Officer First Class (MCPO I), equivalent to E-8/Subedar Major/Master Warrant Officer in NATO/Indian Army/Indian Air Force respectively.
Pakistan
Fleet chief petty officer is a commissioned and gazetted rank in
Pakistan Navy above chief petty officer and below
master chief petty officer. It is equivalent to the
Pakistan Air Force
, "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional)
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = ...
warrant officer
Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...
and the
Pakistan Army subedar.
Philippines
In the
Philippine Navy, the rank of chief petty officer, is equivalent to
master sergeant in the
Philippine Marine Corps
The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) ( fil, Hukbong Kawal Pandagat ng Pilipinas) is the marine corps of the Philippines, a naval infantry force under the command of the Philippine Navy. The PMC conducts amphibious, expeditionary, and special op ...
and
Philippine Air Force.
United Kingdom
In the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
, the rank of chief petty officer comes above that of
petty officer
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...
and below that of
warrant officer class 2
Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mo ...
. It is the equivalent of
colour sergeant in the
Royal Marines, colour sergeant or
staff sergeant in the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, and
flight sergeant in the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
.
United States
Chief petty officer is the seventh
enlisted rank in the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
and
U.S. Coast Guard, just above
petty officer first class
Petty officer first class (PO1) is a rank found in some navies and maritime organizations.
Canada
Petty officer, 1st class, PO1, is a Naval non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces. It is senior to the rank of petty officer 2nd-clas ...
and below
senior chief petty officer. Chief petty officers are classified as senior
non-commissioned officers. The grade of chief petty officer was established on April 1, 1893, for the U.S. Navy. The
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
first authorized the U.S. Coast Guard to use the promotion to chief petty officer on 18 May 1920.
Unlike petty officer first class and lower rates, advancement to chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy not only carries requirements of time in service, superior evaluation scores, and specialty examinations, but also carries an added requirement of
peer review
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...
. A chief petty officer can only advance after review by a selection board of serving master chief petty officers, in effect "choosing their own" and conversely not choosing others.
Insignia
British Royal Navy OR-7.svg, Antigua and Barbuda Coast Guard The Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force Coast Guard is the maritime branch of the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force. The purpose of the coast guard is to maintain the countries interests, and along with the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force Air Wing, ...
Royal Australian Navy OR-8.svg, Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
Bahamas-Navy-OR-7.svg, Royal Bahamas Defence Force
The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) is the military of The Bahamas. Since The Bahamas does not have an army or an air force, its navy composes the entirety of its armed forces. Under The Defence Act, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force has been m ...
03.BNF-CPO.svg, Bangladesh Navy
The Bangladesh Navy ( bn, বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী, Bangladesh Nou Bahini) is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area, and the defence of imp ...
Barbados Coast Guard OR7.png, Barbados Coast Guard
Belize CG OR-7.svg, Belize Coast Guard
British Royal Navy OR-7.svg, Republic of Fiji Navy
The Fijian Navy was created when Fiji ratified the recently created United Nations Convention on Laws of the Sea. The Convention established that maritime nation had an Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 kilometres, which extended Fiji's waters twe ...
04.Ghana Navy-CPO.svg, Ghana Navy
The Ghana Navy (GN) is the naval warfare organizational military branch of the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF). The Ghanaian Navy, along with the Ghanaian Army (GA) and Ghanaian Air Force (GHF), make up the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF) which are co ...
blank.svg, Guyana Coast Guard
Ireland-Navy-OR-7.svg,
Irish Naval Service
Jamaica-Navy-OR-7.svg, Jamaican Coast Guard
blank.svg, Liberian National Coast Guard
India-Navy-OR-7.svg, Indian Navy
04-Namibia Navy-CPO.svg, Namibian Navy
RNZN OR-7.svg, Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...
PNG_Maritime_OR-7.svg, Papua New Guinea Maritime Element
Sierra Leone-Navy-OR-7.svg, Sierra Leone Navy
SAN-Navy-OR-7.svg, South African Navy
Sri_Lanka-Navy-OR-7.svg, Sri Lanka Navy
ta, இலங்கை கடற்படை
, image = Sri Lanka Naval Seal.png
, image_size = 180px
, caption = Emblem of Sri Lanka Navy
, dates =
, c ...
Trinidad & Tobago-Navy-OR-7.svg, Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard
British Royal Navy OR-7.svg, Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
CPO GC.svg, United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
USCG CPO.svg, United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
See also
*
Comparative military ranks
This article is a list of various nations' armed forces ranking designations. Comparisons are made between the different systems used by nations to categorize the hierarchy of an armed force compared to another. Several of these lists mention '' ...
*
List of United States Navy enlisted rates
In the United States Navy, a ''rate'' is the military rank of an enlisted sailor, indicating where the sailor stands within the chain of command, and also defining one's pay grade. However, in the U.S. Navy, only officers carry the term ''ran ...
*
List of United States Coast Guard enlisted rates
These charts represents the United States Coast Guard enlisted rank insignia. Ranks are used to describe an enlisted sailor's pay-grade. Ranks are not to be confused with " ratings", which describe the Coast Guard's enlisted occupations. (The rat ...
References
External links
History of the Chief Petty Officer Grade
{{US enlisted ranks
Marine occupations
Military ranks of Australia
Military ranks of Canada
Military ranks of the Commonwealth
Military ranks of the Royal Navy
Naval ranks
Non-commissioned officers