It is the sixth
enlisted rate or enlisted rank (E-6) in the
United States Navy and the
U.S. Coast Guard, ranking just above
petty officer second class and directly below
chief petty officer. It is designated as
non-commissioned officer, as are all petty officer ratings. It is equivalent to the rank of
staff sergeant in the
Army and
Marine Corps, and
technical sergeant in the
Air Force.
Job description Petty Officers serve a dual role as both technical experts and as leaders. Unlike the sailors below them, there is no such thing as an "undesignated Petty Officer." Every Petty Officer has both a rate (rank) and rating (job, similar to an
MOS in other branches). A Petty Officer's full title is a combination of the two. Thus, a Petty Officer First Class, who has the rating of interior communications electrician would properly be called an Interior Communications Electrician, First Class (IC1).
Leading Petty Officers First class petty officers normally serve as
leading petty officers of a division, and direct the activities of a division. There are situations when there are more than one first class petty officers in a division, due to the demands for highly experienced or skilled sailors in technical areas. Promotion to E-6 generally comes from Navywide advancement exam or through the Command Advance to Position program. In the CAP program commanding officers have the option to promote eligible sailors into vacant E-6 billets. The rate
insignia for a petty officer, first class is a perched eagle above three chevrons. On more formal uniforms (dress white and dress blue uniform), the symbol for the petty officer's rating will be placed between the eagle and the chevrons. On white uniforms, the eagle, rating, and chevrons are dark blue (almost black- this has led to the eagle being referred to as the "crow" in common practice, and often the entire rating badge is simply referred to as the crow). On navy blue (black) uniforms, the eagle and rating are white, and the chevrons are red, unless the sailor has served in the Navy for at least 12 consecutive years, then that sailor wears gold chevrons on the dress blue uniform. In 2019 the Navy eliminated the old policy of requiring "good conduct" in order to switch to gold chevrons. Gold chevrons are also worn on the collars of the Navy blue coveralls uniform, and on the black garrison cap (only) worn with the Navy service working uniform (often called "peanut butters" or "black and tans"). The Coast Guard does not use golden chevrons until the rank of E-7. Working uniforms (all variations of the camouflage uniform) and metal rank devices do not have the rating badge symbol. ==Insignia==