United States Navy ratings are general

enlisted Enlisted may refer to: * Enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or ...

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

s used by 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 ...

since the 18th century, which denote the specific skills and abilities of the sailor. Each naval rating has its own specialty badge, which is worn on the left sleeve of dress uniforms of

personnel. U.S. naval ratings are the equivalent of military occupational specialty codes (MOS codes) used by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

, the ratings system used by the

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, mult ...

, and

Air Force Specialty Code The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

s (AFSC) used by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

and

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

. Ratings should not be confused with '' rates'', which describe the Navy's enlisted rank and pay-grades. Enlisted service members (sailors) are often referred to by a combination of both their rating and their pay-grade. For example, if a sailor has the pay-grade of E-5 (rank of petty officer second class) and the rating of boatswain's mate, then combining the two—boatswain's mate second class (BM2)—defines both rank and rating in formal address or epistolary salutation. Thus, boatswain's mate second class (BM2) would be that sailor's rate. Sailors from pay-grades E-1 to E-3 have no rates and are considered to be in apprenticeships or training for a rating, thus the slang term "non-rates" when referring to them as a group. They are instead divided into five general occupational fields (airman, constructionman, fireman, hospitalman, or seaman). A Sailor actively working toward a specific rating is referred to as "striking for a rating" and is called a "striker". Naval Officers: Although naval officers do specialize in various fields their occupations are classified according to designators for both officers of the line (e.g., line officers) and those of the professional staff corps.

History

The U.S. Navy's enlisted occupational system was a product of more than 200 years of Naval evolution. The Navy of the United Colonies of the 1775 era offered only a few different jobs above the level of ordinary seaman. These included Boatswain's mate,

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

, and

Gunner's Mate The United States Navy and United States Coast Guard occupational rating of gunner's mate (GM) is a designation given by the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) to enlisted sailors who either satisfactorily complete initial Gunner's Mate "A" scho ...

. These were titles of the jobs that individuals were actually performing and became the basis for

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 superior ...

s and ratings. During this time, ship crews were taken from civilian life and enlisted for only one cruise, thus making the job at hand the primary consideration, rather than career possibilities. It was not until 1841 that distinguishing marks for a rating were prescribed in the Regulations of the

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

, but specialty marks were not added to enlisted men's uniforms until 1866. The marks consisted of the tools or instruments used in each rating's specific duty. The Master-at-Arms, the police officer of a ship, wore the star of authority and the Gunner's Mate wore two crossed cannons. Currently, all specialty marks for new ratings are approved by the Permanent Naval Uniform Board, which is a division of the Bureau of Naval Personnel. As the U.S. Navy's rating system changed so did the U.S. Navy. The first

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

, and many other "firsts" all established a new era in the Navy, and each directly impacted the enlisted occupation structure. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the U.S. Navy also briefly maintained a rating of " Specialist", similar to the rank in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. The rating of "Specialist" was discontinued in 1948. Since the establishment of the rating system, the U.S. Navy enlisted rating structure played a key role in career development, serving as a basis for training, detailing, advancement, and simply keeping tabs on several hundred thousand sailors.

Temporary end of ratings

Beginning in June 2016, then Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy,

Michael D. Stevens Michael D. Stevens is a United States Navy sailor who served as Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON). He became the 13th MCPON on September 28, 2012, when he accepted the passing of the ceremonial cutlass from outgoing MCPON Rick D. Wes ...

, oversaw a review of the Navy's existing enlisted rating system. After Stevens's retirement, a group of senior enlisted leaders came to the conclusion that the Navy needed to replace its current enlisted system and announced the changes on 29 September 2016 with the release of NAVADMIN 218/16. The changes would have eliminated ratings in favor of the generic titles of "Seaman" (E-1 to E-3) or "Petty Officer" (E-4 to E-6) and accompanying Navy Occupational Specialty (NOS) codes. The Navy stated that the decision was motivated by a desire to assist former sailors in obtaining employment after their naval service by making naval job titles more congruent with their civilian counterparts, as well as to make said titles more unisex. However, the "overwhelmingly unpopular decision" was not well received as many sailors had grown accustomed and attached to their ratings, viewing them as a source of morale. Further, they had no desire to be unisex. In response to widespread criticism, ratings were reinstated with immediate effect on 20 December 2016. Former CNO John Richardson indicated he still intended to change the personnel system in the future; however, he stepped down in 2019, and there has since been no change.

Rating structure

The pay grades E-4 ( petty officer third class) through E-9 ( master chief petty officer) fall within the rating structure. It is further broken down into four types of ratings and classifications: * 57 General ratings: consisting of broad occupational fields such as boatswain's mate,

electronics technician Electronics technicians help design, develop, test, manufacture, install, and repair electrical and electronic equipment such as communication equipment, medical monitoring devices, navigational equipment, and computers. They may be employed i ...

, machinist's mate, fire controlman, etc. * 37 Service ratings: which are made up of sub categories of general ratings that require further specialized training and qualifications. Service ratings are established, changed, or removed depending on service requirements and changes in the way personnel are managed. * 4 Compression ratings (AF, AV, CU, CB): Identify the combining of several general or service ratings at paygrade E-9 (E-8 for CU) to form broader career fields when the occupational content is similar. These ratings exist only at the E-8/E-9 levels and are not identified previously as a general or service rating. *

Navy Enlisted Classification The Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) system supplements the rating designators for enlisted members of the United States Navy. A naval rating and NEC designator are similar to the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) designators used in the U ...

s (NEC), which are alphanumeric codes attached to a specific rating and are frequently used to indicate specialized qualifications and Emergency ratings. * Emergency ratings, which are specific ratings that can be established in time of war and are distinguished by a letter of the alphabet enclosed in a diamond.Navy Ratings
Bluejacket.com, last accessed 5 June 2021 Paygrades E-1 through E-3 can also have a rating abbreviation preceding their paygrade symbol if they are graduates of Class "A" schools; have received the rating designation in a previous enlistment; are assigned to a billet in that specialty as a ''striker''; have passed an advancement examination and not been selected for advancement for reasons of numeric limitations on advancements; or have been reduced in rate because of punishment. Examples: BMSR is a boatswain's mate seaman recruit (paygrade E-1); MMFA is a machinist's mate fireman apprentice (paygrade E-2); EOCN is an equipment operator constructionman (paygrade E-3). HN is hospitalman, which is a

hospital corpsman A hospital corpsman (HM r corpsman is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy, who may also serve in a U.S. Marine Corps unit. The corresponding rating within the United States Coast Guard is health services technician (HS) ...

with the paygrade of E-3.

Aviation ratings

Aviation ratings notes

I: ABE, ABF, and ABH combine at paygrade E-9 to the rate of ''Master Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (ABCM)''.
II: AM and AME combine at paygrade E-8 to the rate of ''Senior Chief Structural Mechanic (AMCS)''; AM, AME, and AD combine at paygrade E-9 to the rate of ''Master Chief Aircraft Maintenanceman (AFCM)''.
III: AE and AT combine at paygrade E-9 to the rate of ''Master Chief Avionics Technician (AVCM)''.
IV: In 2008, the AW rating merged with all other aircrew NEC's and changed their title from aviation warfare system operators to naval aircrewman.

Construction ratings

Construction ratings notes

I: BU, EA, and SW combine, as follows: *at paygrade E-8 to the rating of ''Senior chief constructionman (CUCS)'' *before NAVADMIN 054/21; at paygrade E-9 to the rating of ''Master chief constructionman (CUCM)''. II: Before NAVADMIN 054/21; CE and UT combine at paygrade E-9 to the rating of ''Master chief utilitiesman (UCCM)''.
III: Before NAVADMIN 054/21; CM and EO combine at paygrade E-9 to the rating of ''Master chief equipmentman (EQCM)''. IV: Per NAVADMIN 054/21: Constructionman Master Chief (CUCM), Equipmentman Master Chief (EQCM) and Utilities Constructionman Master Chief (UCCM) -9 paygradesrating names, all change to Seabee Master Chief (CBCM). The change applies to Active-Duty and Selected Reserve Sailors. Those Master Chiefs already in CUCM, EQCM or UCCM ratings were to be automatically converted to CBCM on 15 March 2021, but current source ratings badges were to be retained.

Medical rating

Administration, deck, technical, and weapons specialty ratings

Administration et cetera notes

I: Cryptologic technician now includes former rating of electronic warfare technician (EW).
II: Information systems technician now includes former rating of cryptologic technician – communications (CTO).
III: Quartermaster QM now exists as electronics technician (navigation) ETV on submarines.
IIII: LN and RP are also issued to sailors attached to Marine units.

Engineering and hull ratings

Engineering and hull ratings notes

Prior to March 2014, IC and EM combine at paygrade E-9 to the rating of Master Chief Electrician's Mate (EMCM). After that time, the IC Rating was moved to the Seaman ratings group from the Fireman ratings group. Now, upon selection to E9, ICCS is promoted to ICCM.

Command ratings

Discontinued and changed ratings (1962–present)

References

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from the United States Navy.''

External links

NAVPERS 18068F Navy Enlisted Occupational Standards
also available as
PDF file

{{US military navbox Ratings list Military personnel