Petty Officer First Class

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This article is about the United States Navy rank. For the rank in the Canadian Forces, see Petty Officer 1st Class.

Petty Officer First Class is the sixth enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, just above Petty Officer Second Class and below Chief Petty Officer, and is a non-commissioned officer.

Similar to Petty Officer Second and Third Class, advancement to Petty Officer First Class is dependent on time in service, performance evaluations by superiors, and rate (technical specialty) examinations. The advancement cycle is currently every 6 months. Only a certain number of billets (job openings for this rank) open up biannually and all petty officers second class compete. The top scorers are chosen for advancement, but only in sufficient quantities to fill the billets available.

First Class Petty Officers often form associations at their commands. Membership in these associations are voluntary but often seen as a vital step in preparation for advancement to Chief Petty Officer. At smaller commands with few Petty Officers, Second Class Petty Officers are sometimes invited to join, in which case the associations are commonly referred to "Acey-Ducey" associations.

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 Machinist's Mate would properly be called a Machinist's Mate First Class. The term petty officer is, then, only used in abstract, the general sense, when referring to a group of petty officers of different ratings, or when the petty officer's rating is unknown.

Each rating has an official abbreviation, such as MM for Machinist's Mate, QM for Quartermaster, or YN for Yeoman. When combined with the petty officer level, this gives the short-hand for the petty officer's rank, such as BM1 for Boatswain's Mate First Class. It is common practice to refer to the petty officer by this short hand in all but the most formal correspondence (such as printing and inscription on awards). Often, the petty officer is just referred to by the short hand designation, without using the surname. Thus MM1 Miller would just be called MM1. A First Class Petty Officer may be generically referred to as PO1 when the sailor's rating is not known, although some prefer to be called simply "Petty Officer (Jones)."

The rating insignia for a Petty Officer First Class is an eagle with spread wings above three cheverons. On more formal uniforms (summer whites and winter working blues or above), the symbol for the petty officer's rating will be placed between the eagle and the cheverons. On white uniforms, the eagle, rating, and cheverons will be black (this has lead 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, the crow and rating are white, and the cheverons are red. Working uniforms and metal rank devices have the rating symbol omitted.

See also

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