Petty officers are usually sailors that have served at least several years in their respective navies. Petty officers represent the junior and mid-grade non-commissioned officer ranks of many naval services, and are generally responsible for the day-to-day supervision of ranks junior to them. They may also serve as technical specialists within their rating (military occupation).
Origin
The modern petty officer dates back to the Age of Sail in the Royal Navy. Petty officers rank between naval officers (both commissioned and warrant) and most enlistedsailors. These were men with some claim to officer rank, sufficient to distinguish them from ordinary ratings, without raising them so high as the sea officers. Several were warrant officers, in the literal sense of being appointed by warrant, and like the warrant sea officers, their superiors, they were usually among the specialists of the ship's company.[1] The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the title derives from the Anglo-Norman and Middle French "petit", meaning "of small size, small, little".[2]
Two of the Royal Navy petty officer's rates, midshipman and master's mate, were a superior petty officer with a more general authority, but they remained no more than ratings. However, it was quite possible for a warrant officer (such as the armourer), in his role as a superior officer, to be court-martialed for striking a midshipman. This is because the midshipman was regarded as future sea officer, with the all-important social distinction of having the right to walk the quarterdeck. Midshipmen wore distinctive uniforms, master's mates dressed respectably, and both behaved like officers. The master's mate rating evolved into the rank of sub-lieutenant, and midshipman evolved into naval cadet.[1] In the same administrative reforms of the 1860s that created the rank of Sub-lieutenant, two grades of Petty Officer were established for senior ratings — Petty Officer Second Class and Petty Officer First Class, the latter usually being achieved by men who had served as a PO 2nd Class with good conduct for six years. PO2s wore 'square rig' (the traditional sailor suit worn by junior ratings) while PO1s wore 'fore and aft' rig like chief petty officers and above. PO2s wore insignia of a fouled anchor (as for leading hands) but surmounted by a crown, while the insignia of a PO1 was a pair of crossed fouled anchors with a crown. The rank of Petty Officer Second Class was abolished in 1907 and the rank simply being titled as Petty Officer from then, with the uniform and insignia formerly used by PO1s.[3]
Petty officers are normally addressed as "Petty Officer Bloggins" or "PO Bloggins", thereafter as "PO". The "1st class" and "2nd class" designations are normally only used when such a distinction needs to be made, such as on a promotion parade or to distinguish two petty officers with similar names but different ranks. The NATO rank denotion for "petty officer, 2nd class" is OR-6 (petty officers, 2nd class with less than 3 years seniority are considered OR-5). The NATO rank denotion for "petty officer, 1st class" is OR-7.
A petty officer has the ability to work as a leader, capable of taking charge of a group of personnel, and taking roles in the training and recruitment of new members of the Indian Navy.
In the Navy, Petty Officer, Third Class is the juniormost of the Non-Commissioned Officer ranks, and thus a sailor must demonstrate satisfactory performance in the previous rank (E-3) in the form of a favorable performance review(s) by his/her superiors, and the passing of an exam, in order to be promoted to PO3.
Enlisted rank has two components: rate (pay grade) and rating (job specialty). Both components are reflected in the title. A sailor in the rate of petty officer first class with a rating of Aviation Machinist's Mate, would be an Aviation Machinist's Mate 1st Class (abbreviated "AD1"). In the Navy, it is acceptable to refer to a Petty Officer as such, while in the Coast Guard, rating is always used.
^"BADGES OF RANK". Official Jamaica Defence Force Website. 2019. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
^"Government Notice"(PDF). Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia. Vol. 4547. 20 August 2010. pp. 99–102. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
^"Badges of Rank"(PDF). nzdf.mil.nz. New Zealand Defence Force. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
^Smaldone, Joseph P. (1992). "National Security". In Metz, Helen Chapin (ed.). Nigeria: a country study. Area Handbook (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. pp. 296–297. LCCN92009026. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
^"Rank Insignia". navy.mil.za. Department of Defence (South Africa). Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
^"Branches/ Ranks". navy.lk. Sri Lanka Navy. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
^"Rank Chart (Enlisted)". 69.0.195.188. Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. Retrieved 27 May 2021.