As members of the Coast Guard Officer Corps, Material Maintenance Chief Warrant Officers display their insignia of grade on shoulder boards worn on white Dress and Service uniforms as well as on a handful of other uniform components and outerwear garments. But their technical expertise in the rating in which they rose through the enlisted ranks is recognized with the inclusion of their specialty’s mark or insignia. In the case of Material Maintenance CWOs, this is a carpenter’s square, first used in the Coast Guard as the Carpenter’s specialty mark in 1916.
Shoulder boards are issued in two styles, Hard and Enhanced, both available in regular (Large) or three-quarter-scale (Small) sizes.
Hard shoulder boards are designed for wear with shoulder loops and are primarily worn on white Dress and Service uniforms, specifically the Dinner Dress White Jacket (from the uniform of the same name) and the Service Dress Coat worn with the Dinner, Full, and Service Dress White uniforms. Hard boards are also authorized for Bridge Coats and the iconic (but discontinued) Reefer Coat.
Enhanced shoulder boards are also authorized for wear with Bridge Coats, but only if the coats have epaulettes rather than shoulder loops. Enhanced boards are primarily intended for wear on shirts (or corresponding women’s overblouses) with epaulettes, such as the Light Blue short-and long-sleeve shirts of the SDB “Bravo” and Tropical Blue uniforms. Enhanced boards are worn on the Wooly-Pully and Cardigan sweaters, but not when the optional Winter Dress Blue uniform has been prescribed for wear.
Related Items
Material Maintenance CWO Collar Device
Material Maintenance CWO Sleeve Device