The 3-bladed propeller with a single blade pointing upward that serves as the specialty mark for a Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) in the Naval Engineering (ENG) specialty was originally introduced in 1916 as the insignia for Chief Machinists. In 1920, Congress authorized the official establishment of Coast Guard Warrant Officers, and the Coast Guard retained the insignia for CWO Machinists.
This was the same year that the rating of Machinist’s Mate (MM) was established, with an insignia nearly identical to the CWO specialty mark except a single blade was pointing down rather than up. In 1921, the Coast Guard began to use the MM specialty mark for the Watertender (WT) rating, and at some point between the wars it also assigned a 3-bladed propeller with a lone upward propeller bookended by the letters “M” and “O” to the Motor Machinist’s Mate (MoMM) rating.
In 1974, the Machinist’s Mate, Boilertender, and Engineman ratings were merged to create the Machinery Technician (MK) rating, which today is the only feeder rating for the Chief Warrant Officer ENG specialty. The ENG specialty is obviously derived from the old CWO Machinist specialty, but precisely when it was introduced is unclear; we do know that in 1988 the ENG specialty had already been established. At that time, the specialty’s feeder ratings were Electrician’s Mate (EM) and Machinery Technician (MK).
Along with the Boatswain (BOSN) specialty, Naval Engineering CWOs is one of the largest branches of the Coast Guard Warrant Officer Corps.
Related Items