Gold cap screws are used on the Combination Caps worn by Officers and Chief Petty Officers in the U.S. Navy to secure the decorative chin strap at the rear of the cap. Officer caps feature gold chin straps, while those worn by Chief Petty Officers have black straps made of leather or leatherlike material.
In the Navy, the amount of gold on ornamentation and devices on a Combination Cap is directly related to rate or rank. As the lowest-ranking personnel wearing the combo cap, Chief Petty Officers have only two gold items on their dress headgear: the anchor that is part of the CPO insignia and these gold cap screws.
The white CPO Combination Cap is a basic component of almost every uniform worn by Officers and Chief Petty Officers; aside from Working and PT uniforms, the Service Khaki uniform is the only one that does not list the white cap as a basic requirement.