Use the drop-down boxes to the right to select the appropriate Master Chief Petty Office cap device. The black version of the insignia is worn by Navy personnel serving with Marine Corps units.
According to the San Diego Naval Historical Society, the first time that Navy regulations mention a cap device for Chief Petty Officers is in the 1897 edition, which described it as “the letters U. S. N. in silver upon a gilt foul anchor.” A quarter-century later, the regulations made changes to the design, retaining the silver letters but with the cable being specified as “twisted brass wire;” in 1947, the regulations specified that the letter be arrayed in a semi-circle.
But since 1958, the primary section of the device that draws our attention is not the initials or the anchor cable, but above the anchor stock. That was the year that Congress established two new enlisted pay grades, E-8 and E-9, in a desperate bid retain highly skilled noncommissioned offices in all branches of the Armed Forces. In the Navy, the new E-9 rate was designated Master Chief Petty Officers, with two stars placed on the arms of the anchor to represent the number of grades the position is above a standard Chief Petty Officer’s rate of E-7.
Master Chief Petty Officer Insignias/Accessories