The Navy Chief is often referred to as the backbone of the United States Navy. The US Navy Chief has been the senior enlisted within the United States Navy and has shaped its course both as proven leaders providing instruction as well as training to lower enlisted ranks. Not to mention they have some of the best Navy Chief coins and designs seen throughout the US Navy.
The Navy Chief steers the course of the future US Navy and brings over a century of proven skills, dedication and hard work to help younger Sailors learn and prepare for their careers in the United States Navy. The Navy Chief shapes the future of the United States Navy.
1893
The United States Navy Chief has a birthday and each year it is celebrated on April 1st. Going back to 1893 the US Navy created a rank called Chief which is earned once one reaches the rank of E-7. Since 1893 and this is only the case with the US Navy, that rank has a uniform that was actually created specifically for this enlisted level. Wearing khaki and a combination cover, the Navy Chief wears this uniform along with their fouled anchors on their collar identifying them as a Navy Chief.
The year 1893 is so significant that all Navy Chiefs have used an alternate fouled anchor called the 1893 anchor which has no single or double star but is equally received by all three ranks.
The Trifecta
The Navy Chief or just Chief is part of a brotherhood and sisterhood that is as large as any organization around the world. They are one of the tightest groups of professionally trained Sailors in the world. The 3 ranks of US Navy Chief are Chief (E-7), Senior Chief (E-8) and Master Chief (E-9). All three Navy Chiefs wear the fouled anchor on their covers and uniform identifying their rank, The fouled anchor alone represents the Navy Chief while a single star centered above is the rank of Senior Chief and two stars is the insignia for the Master Chief.
When all three anchors are displayed together as a group they are often referred to as the trifecta.
USS Chief
Did you know the US Navy has a warship that was named in honor of Navy Chiefs? They did and it does exist. The USS Chief MCM- 14 is an Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship of the United States Navy. As fortune would have it this famous USN ship did at their request have a design created for their Navy Chief mess and a challenge coin befitting their US Navy Chiefs.
The design team of Vision Strike Coins designed this amazing coin featuring their ship with a trident in the background, stormy seas and a variety of placards that created a circle around the artwork. April 1st, 1893, Goat Locker Approved and other terms completed the design and made it very unique. THis Navy Chief challenge coin was so popular it has since been reordered many times and enjoyed by the newly arriving US Navy Chiefs on board.
Ask The Chief
One often hears a phrase, slogan or term within the US military and you can’t escape a day in the service without hearing a military term. Spoke in jest or cast at someone for screwing up there are hundreds if not thousands of military terms that one experiences within their military tenure. “Ask The Chief” is one of the most prolific terms heard throughout the US Navy. It identifies success, and experience and when someone is in need of help what do you do? You go and Ask The Chief!
The Goat Locker
THe Navy Chief Mess often referred to as the Goa Locker is where the Goats (US Navy Chiefs, and if you are retired, Old Goats) meet to discuss their daily activities from training to any and all functions their enlisted Sailors must do. The Goat Locker aka Mess is often a non-profit organization found within the United States Navy and does not actually fall under the direction of the US Navy therefore its actions are independent of the service.
The Goat Locker is the core and the place where the Chiefs bond and learn from each other. This is where they gain the knowledge needed to ensure the success of the US Navy command where they operate. Throughout the US Navy the jobs a Sailor has, called Rates, cover a variety of job responsibilities. They perform specific tasks and carry out orders associated with each job function. From Aviation Boatswain’s Mates to Yeoman every Navy Chief has a trained job role. Their rate carries with them throughout their career and when a collection of Goats arrive in the Goat Locker they cross train or help each other with special insights their rate training has given them. There are Seabee Chiefs and Chiefs that serve aboard US Navy submarines,
And of course those Navy Chiefs that have special qualifications like Surface Warfare with an insignia that is worn on their uniform that identifies this achievement.
Then there are the brown shoes of the US Navy also called airdales. These are the men and women that serve with US Navy squadrons and have earned their naval aviation air warfare insignia.
Navy Chief Challenge Coins
Without question one of the most exciting groups of Sailors to design challenge coins for has to be the Navy Chief. There is such an honored history and tradition that spans centuries that their Navy Chief coins are seriously some of the most inventive because of the amount of details and references that can be found supporting these groups of Sailors.
The shapes, sizes, colors the artwork and the elements that make up an original US Navy Chief challenge coin is unlimited. With the thousands of US Navy commands spread out globally there are also regional influences that help to determine how a surprisingly cool coin can be designed for the Chiefs. From Diego Garcia to Guam, Okinawa to Bahrain, San Diego to Norfolk, Hawaii, Jacksonville and all the ships at sea have their own personality each with its own Goat Locker. Each has its own Navy Chief coin and with it a story, an accomplishment and a part of US Navy history and tradition designed to last a lifetime.