Chief Petty Officer
A senior US Navy noncommissioned officer, E-7 and NATO OR-7, initiated into the Chief community and its Mess.
Overview
Chief Petty Officer wears an anchor with the letters USN in a shield, moves into the khaki uniform of the chief community, and is addressed as Chief. Initiation, formalized over the twentieth century, culminates in the chief petty officer induction season and entry into the Chiefs Mess, the shipboard and station organization of E-7 through E-9 that functions as a self governing leadership body. E-7 is OR-7 in NATO terms. The rank was created in 1893 when Congress reorganized enlisted grades. Chiefs are the technical and moral backbone of the Navy; the saying asks for a chief when in trouble.
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