We offer two versions of the Khaki Combination Cap for the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy—one made with a 75/25 polywool blend and a second made with a Certified Navy Twill polyweave of 100 percent polyester—to comport with the Navy regulation that the same fabric must be used for the combination cap and the uniform with which it’s worn. Beginning 31 October 2018, Female Master CPOs will be required to own either this Combination Cap (which was deemed a unisex cover in 2015) or the new Alternate Combination Cover in place of the old Female Combination Cap.
Our Khaki Combination Cap comes ready to wear with all insignia mounted according to Navy regulations, including the black chin strap, gold retaining buttons/screws with embossed Navy Eagles, and the unique MCPON insignia featuring three stars atop the CPO’s fouled anchor.
Those three stars do bring up an interesting meme that circulates from time to time regarding this singular billet, namely that the MCPON is in the “E-10” pay grade while other Master CPOs are in the E-9 grade. One reason it continues to pop up is that in the book Winds of Change: the history of the Office of the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, 1967-1992, author Charlotte D. Crist states, “Although the title was established in pay grade E-9…the MCPON is paid at the E-10 level.”
The bottom line is there while there is no E-10 pay grade, the MCPON definitely is not paid the same as other MCPOs with equivalent experience. For Fiscal Year 2018, for instance, basic pay for the MCPON is $8,361.00, while the pay for a “regular” E-9 Master Chief with the same amount of experience (29 years) is $6,939.00.