Like the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard eschews sleeve stripes to display insignia of rank on its Officer and Warrant Officer white Dress and Service uniforms, as well as on some of its more casual Service uniforms and outerwear garments. In their stead are Hard and Enhanced shoulder boards, with the Hard version prescribed for wear on the jacket and coat worn with the Dinner Dress White Jacket and the Service Dress, Full Dress, and Dinner Dress White uniforms. Hard boards are also used for Bridge Coats manufactured with shoulder loops and the now-discontinued Reefer Coats (may be worn if still in good condition).
Enhanced shoulder boards slide over the epaulettes found the Light Blue shirts (and in some cases corresponding women’s overblouses) of the Service Dress Blue “Bravo” and Tropical Blue uniforms, as well as on Cardigan and Wooly-Pull sweaters (unless the optional Winter Dress Blue uniform has been prescribed for wear). Enhanced boards are also authorized for Bridge Coats with epaulettes.
Hard and Enhanced shoulder boards are issued in Large (regular) and Small (3/4-scale) sizes, but these are not associated with the wearer’s gender—male and female Officers and CWOs alike can wear either size in order to achieve the best appearance.
Shoulder boards for Chief Warrant Officers feature rank insignia, a gold Coast Guard shield, and the specialty mark of the wearer. The original Marine Safety Specialist Chief Warrant Officer mark was a trident rising through a wave, but it was replaced with a life ring on top of a fouled anchor with bent stock in 2015.
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