Chief petty officer, 1st class, CPO1, is the most senior

non-commissioned member A non-commissioned member (NCM), in the Canadian Armed Forces, is defined in the Queen's Regulations and Orders as: "... any person, other than an officer, who is enrolled in, or who pursuant to law is attached or seconded otherwise than as an offi ...

(NCM) rank of 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 subma ...

(RCN). It is equivalent to a

chief warrant officer Chief warrant officer is a military rank used by the United States Armed Forces, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Pakistan Air Force, the Israel Defense Forces, the South African National Defence Force, the Lebanese Armed Forces and, since 2012, th ...

(CWO) in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

and

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

. It is immediately senior to the rank of chief petty officer 2nd-class and its equivalents,

master warrant officer Master warrant officer (MWO) is a senior military rank in the Bangladesh Armed Forces, the Canadian Forces, Singapore Armed Forces, the South African National Defence Force and the Israel Defense Forces. Bangladesh Armed Forces Bangladesh-army- ...

; it is part of the cadre of

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 mo ...

s. The

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in N ...

form of the rank is {{lang, fr, premier maître de 1^re classe (pm 1).

Insignia

The rank insignia of the CPO1 is the

arms of Canada The Arms of Canada (french: Armoiries du Canada, links=no), also known as the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada (french: armoiries royales du Canada, links=no) or formally as the Arms of His Majesty the King in Right of Canada (french: Armoiries de Sa M ...

, worn on both forearms of the

service dress Service dress uniform is the informal type of uniform used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for everyday office, barracks and non-field duty purposes and sometimes for ceremonial occasions. It frequently consists of ...

tunic and on slip-ons on both shoulders of other uniforms. Unlike other chiefs and petty officers, CPO1s wear the cap insignia of naval officers, although the brim of the peak cap remains plain, the same as other naval NCMs.

Forms of address

CPO1s are generally initially addressed as "Chief Petty Officer Bloggins" or "Chief Bloggins", and thereafter as "Chief", although in correspondence the full rank or abbreviation is used before the member's name. The

coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boa ...

of an RCN ship will be answered as "Coxswain" (e.g. "yes, Coxswain" or "no, Coxswain") The full appellation "Chief Petty Officer 1st Class" in speech is generally used only when the "first class" distinction must be made, such as to distinguish between members with similar names but differing ranks, or on promotion parades. CPO1s are never addressed as "Sir" or "Ma'am", regardless of the protocol for their army and air force equivalents; in naval tradition, the titles "Sir" and "Ma'am" are reserved for officers.

Appointments

One of the normal appointments of a CPO1 is that of coxswain, the senior NCM on a ship; it is roughly analogous to an army regimental sergeant-major (RSM). Due to the unified nature of the CF, however, it is not unheard-of for CPO1s — especially those of the "

purple trades {{unreferenced, date=June 2010 In the Canadian Armed Forces, the purple trades are occupations and careers that are not strongly linked to one of the three major 'environments' or 'elements': sea, land, or air. Purple trades include – but are ...

", such as logistics or military police to find themselves filling the appointment of RSM in what are otherwise considered "hard" army units (such as service battalions). CPO1s may also hold appointments as the senior NCM in a larger formations or on a base; these appointments, and their respective insignia, include: * Base chief petty officer (BCPO) — the coat of arms over crossed crusader swords *

Formation chief petty officer Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

— the coat of arms over the central insignia of the badge of the Canadian Armed Forces (an anchor, crossed swords and an eagle). *

Fleet chief petty officer {{Unreferenced, date=January 2010 Fleet chief petty officer is a non-commissioned naval rank, typically senior to chief petty officer and ranking with army warrant officers. Pakistan Fleet chief petty officer is a commissioned and gazetted rank in ...

(fleet CPO) — the coat of arms over a small fouled anchor * Chief petty officer of the navy (CCPO) — the coat of arms with a wreath of laurel wrapped around the base *

Canadian Forces chief warrant officer The Canadian Forces Chief Warrant Officer (abbreviated CFCWO) is the senior non-commissioned member appointment in the Canadian Armed Forces. The post was created in 1978 with the first appointment of Chief Warrant Officer Robert Osside. CFCWO is ...

(CFCWO) — the coat of arms with a wreath of twenty-eight maple leaves wrapped around the base and sides. The title of this highest non-commissioned position in the Canadian Forces is not, however, ever referred to as "Canadian Forces chief petty officer" if the incumbent is from the navy. File:Cdn-Navy-Fmn CPO1(OR-9+).svg, Formation chief petty officer File:Cdn-Navy-Comd CPO1(OR-9++).svg, CCPO File:Cdn-Navy-CFCWO(OR-10).svg, CFCWO

Messes and quarters

CPO1s generally mess and billet with

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 ...

s and other

chief petty officer 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. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxiè ...

s, and their army and air force equivalents,

s and

sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

s. Their mess on naval bases or installations are generally named the "Chiefs and POs Mess".

Insignia

Forms of address

Appointments

Messes and quarters

See also