Master Chief - Definition

Master Chief Petty Officer is the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy, just above Senior Chief Petty Officer, and is a non-commissioned officer. They are referred to as Master Chief in most circumstances.

Advancement to Master Chief Petty Officer is similar to that of Chief Petty Officer and Senior Chief Petty Officer. It carries requirements of time in service, superior evaluation scores, specialty examinations, and peer review. A Senior Chief Petty Officer can only advance if the existing master chiefs approve.

A Master Chief Petty Officer is purely administrative and is usually tied closely with the Commanding Officer, except possibly when the command is very large (e.g. an aircraft carrier). Their uniform reflects this administrative duty; becoming similar to that of an officer, albeit with different insignia than an officer.

There exists one post, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, which is unique. The holder of this post represents the most senior enlisted member in the U.S. Navy. The current incumbent is MCPON Terry D. Scott (SS/AW).

External Links

• Official Site of the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/mcpon/mcponpg.html)

Related Articles

• Petty Officer
• U.S. Navy enlisted rate insignia
• Comparative military ranks

U.S. military enlisted ranks
	E-1	E-2	E-3	E-4	E-5	E-6	E-7	E-8	E-9
Air Force:	AB	Amn	A1C	SRA	SSgt	TSgt	MSgt	SMSgt	CMSgt - CCM - CMSAF
Army:	PV1	PV2	PFC	SPC - CPL	SGT	SSG	SFC	MSG - 1SG	SGM - CSM - SMA
Marine Corps:	Pvt	PFC	LCpl	Cpl	Sgt	SSgt	GySgt	MSgt - 1st Sgt	MGySgt - SgtMaj - SMOMC
Navy:	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO - CMCPO - MCPON

Master Chief is also the rank and given title of John-117, the main character in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2.