Chief Petty Officer Plaques 

From $96.95 including US Standard Delivery

All CPO plaques we manufacture are made of mahogany wood with detailed carving of the plaque details in 3D relief. The CPO plaques are typically made with natural finished. Different mahogany shades are available: light, medium and dark natural wood tone finished.

• Hand Carved from Solid Philippine Mahogany
• 14" in Height & Over 1" in depth with superbly detailed carving
• Purchase direct from the manufacturer

New! Now Available! CPO Plaques in Metallic Painted Finished

USN  CPO Plaque	USN Senior CPO Plaque	USN MasterCPO Plaque

CPO / Senior CPO / Master CPO Plaque with Name Plates

THE HISTORY OF THE CHIEF PETTY OFFICER

According to naval records, the first mention of the chief petty officer was on a ship's muster roll in 1775. This brief mention of the CPO title did not resurface in naval history for almost 100 years.

The history and design of the uniform date back to the 18th century Continental Navy of 1776. With the colonization of the new world, a need for a navy became apparent. Many of the people that settled our nation learned their seafaring skills in England. These sailors brought not only their seafaring skills, but also their customs, traditions, and uniform similarities to this country. Many of our uniform styles can be traced to the British Royal Navy.

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In 1865 a Navy regulation reestablished the term chief petty officer. The term was first used for the ship's Master-at-Arms. It made him responsible for preservation of order and obedience to all regulations. An excerpt from an 1865 regulation tasked the senior enlisted person with the following responsibility:

"The Master-at-Arms will be the chief petty officer of the ship in which he shall serve. All orders from him in regard to the police of the vessel, the preservation of order, and the obedience to regulations must be obeyed by all petty officers and others of the crew. But he shall have no right to succession in command, and shall exercise no authority in matters no specified above."

This, however, did not establish the term chief as a rate. It was merely a function rather than a rate. Petty officers were divided into petty officers of the line and petty officers of the staff. Chief referred to the principal petty officer of the ship.

The next reference to the term chief was in U. S. Navy Regulations Circular Number 41 dated 8 January 1885. Here again the term chief refers to a function or title rather than a rate. The men filling these chief billets were actually first and second class petty officers.

A significant change to uniforms and rating badges occurred in 1886. The first class petty officer wore a double-breasted sack-style jacket, while petty officers second class and below retained the traditional jumper-style uniform. The first class rating badge consisted of an eagle, three chevrons, and a specialty mark. The Master-at-Arms rating badge, however, consisted of an eagle, three chevrons, a specialty mark, and three arcs or rockers. This jacket along with the Master-at-Arms rating badge falsely led many people to believe this was a chief petty officer uniform.

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On 25 February 1893, President Benjamin Harrison issued an executive order outlining the pay scale for Navy enlisted personnel. This executive order was issued to the Navy as General Order Number 409. This general order divided the pay scale into rates and for the first time listed CPOs. Both General Order Number 409 and U.S. Navy Regulation Circular Number 1 listed chief petty officers as distinct rates. These documents went into effect on 1 April 1893. All evidence indicates this as the date the chief petty officer rate was actually established.

When was the term chief petty officer first used in the Navy? Based on U. S. Navy Regulation Circular Number 1, the majority of first class petty officer ratings were automatically reclassed as chief petty officer ratings.

On 24 September 1894 General Order Number 431 was issued. This general order changed the three rockers on the Master-at-Arms rating badge to one rocker. We know this as the rating badge of the CPO today. This general order also changed first, second, and third class chevrons to their present-day form.

Petty Officer

The Petty Officer can trace his title back to the old French word petit meaning something small. Over the years the word also came to mean minor, secondary and subordinate. In medieval and later England just about every village had several "petite", "pety" or "petty" officials/officers who were subordinate to such major officials as the steward of sheriff. The petty officers were the assistants to the senior officials.

The senior officers of the early British warships, such as the Boatswain, Gunner and Carpenter, also had assistants or "mates." Since the early seamen knew petty officers in their home villages they used the term to describe the minor officials aboard their ships. A ship's Captain or Master chose his own Petty Officers who served at his pleasure. At the end of a voyage or whenever the ship's crew was paid off and released the Petty Officers lost their positions and titles. There were Petty Officers in the British navy in the Seventeenth Century and perhaps earlier but the rank did not become official until 1808.

Petty Officers were important members of our Navy right from its beginnings and were also appointed by their ship's Captain. They did not have uniforms or rank insignia, and they usually held their appointments only while serving on the ship whose Captain had selected them.

Petty Officers in our Navy got their first rank insignia in 1841 when they began wearing a sleeve device showing an eagle perched on an anchor. Some Petty Officers wore the device on their left arms while others wore it on their right. All wore the same device. Specialty or rating marks did not appear officially until 1866 but they seem to have been in use for several years previously. Regulations sometimes serve to give formal status to practices already well established.

In 1885 the Navy recognized it three classes of Petty Officers--first, second and third--and in the next year let them wear rank insignia of chevrons with the points down under a spread eagle and rating mark. The eagle faced left instead of right as it does today.

The present Petty Officer insignia came about in 1894 when the Navy established the Chief Petty Officer rank and gave him the three chevrons with arc and eagle. The first, second and third class Petty Officers also began wearing the insignia they do today.