Unlike in the seven uniformed services of the United States, Coast Guard Auxiliary insignia indicates the organizational level at which the wearer is serving rather than rank or authority, but the Auxiliary borrowed certain aspects of the Department of Defense’s Officer rank system because many of its member were familiar with its constructs and could easily “transpose” military to organizational rank. Thus, the Flotilla Staff Officer, serving at the smallest organizational level and with a limited scope of duties, wears a single gold bar that recalls the rank insignia of Ensigns or Second Lieutenants in the Armed Forces of the United States. The red "A" signifies that the FSO is an appointed officer rather than an elected position.
Flotilla Staff Officers wear pin-on metal collar insignia on the Undress Blue Winter, Winter Dress Blue, and Undress short-sleeve shirts (embroidered sew-on insignia is used for the Operational Duty uniform.) The insignia is worn with the top of the “A” facing up, with the device vertically centered between the visible top and bottom collar edges and the long edge of the bar 1 inch from and parallel to the collar’s inner edge.