Chief Petty Officer
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This article is considered a canon article for Star Trek: Equilism. |
Chief petty officer (CPO) is an enlisted naval rate, a type of military rank used by the service organizations of different cultures. As a traditional naval grade, CPO is senior to a Petty Officer, and is the highest enlisted grade in organizations.
While chiefs are subordinate to all commissioned officers, they have far more experience and practical knowledge than Ensigns and Lieutenants, and are expected to act as mentors to them and to the junior enlisted assigned. As such, chiefs are often among the actual leaders in a Starfleet organization. Chiefs serve with distinction in most Starfleet branches and specialties, but are particularly visible in engineering and other technical trades.
There are usually individual grades of chief petty officers, differentiated by first, second class, etc; more senior CPOs are referred to as senior chief petty officer (SCPO) or master chief petty officer (MCPO), referred to as "senior chief" or "master chief" (respectively) in conversation.