First Master Chief Petty Officer

Master chief petty officer is the 9th rank in the united states navy ranking above senior chief petty officer and directly below command master chief petty officer.

First master chief petty officer. Earlier use of the title chief dates back to 1865 during the civil war era. 146 were promoted to master chiefs e9 and 914 promoted to senior chiefs e8 effective 16 november 1958. Like petty officers all chief petty officers have a rating or job and their full operational title is determined by their rating. Marine corps and u s.

At that time cooks were promoted to chief cook meaning the highest in ranking or authority. Master chief gunner s mate delbert black was selected by navy leaders for a four year term. On 28 april of the same year black s title was changed to master chief petty officer of the navy to bring the navy in line with the u s. Chief petty officer is the first of the navy s chief petty officer ranks and the first rank with the chief petty officer s enhanced duties and benefits.

A master chief petty officer is a senior noncommissioned officer at dod paygrade e 9 with a starting monthly pay of 5 473. The rich nautical origin of the chief petty officer can be traced back to 1 april 1893 when the navy created the rank of chief petty officer. They changed his title to master chief petty officer of the navy mcpon on april 28 of that same year finally catching up to the marine corps and the army who formed their senior enlisted positions in 1957 and 1966. Navy photo by ensign amber lynn daniel november 30 2011.

A chief petty officer specializing as a gunner s mate for example is known by the full title of chief gunner s mate. Mcpon black s duties were to the chief of naval personnel. Der vartanian the first female master chief petty officer died august 4 2011 at the age of 90.