Chief petty officer

File:Mov mcpo.png

2280s MCPO rank pin.

Master chief petty officer (MCPO) is an enlisted naval rate, a type of military rank used by the service organizations of different cultures. As a traditional naval grade, MCPO is the most senior grade of chief petty officer, and is almost the highest noncommissioned officer grade in organizations like Starfleet and the US Navy. In comparison to infantry ranking systems, this rate is approximately equivalent to the most senior sergeant grade, such as Sergeant-Major. Personnel of this grade can be addressed simply as chief (or more properly, "master chief"), and sometimes by their job title, such as "master chief specialist."

While nominally subordinate to all commissioned officers, Master Chiefs wield far more influence and authority than most junior officers and act as mentors and advisors to senior officers. Master Chiefs have decades of practical experience and are an indispensible source of technical skill and leadership on Starfleet vessels.

When there are individual grades of chief petty officers, senior chief petty officer (SCPO) is subordinate to MCPO.

In 2286, when a probe projecting humpback whale signals threatened to destroy Earth, Master CPO Janice Rand was one of the officers in Admiral Cartwright's command area. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

The Star Trek Movies-era rank insignia, designed by Robert Fletcher, were the first and only Trek insignia systems to feature separate pins for several realistic grades of CPOs. It's odd that Janice was in a chief uniform -- while she was an enlisted chief in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, she had appeared again in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, wearing officer insignia.

See also

• Starfleet ranks
• Starfleet enlisted personnel

This chart shows only general equivalencies based on the ranks used by many governments on Earth, as well as the rest of the galaxy.