A naval rating is an enlisted member of a country's navy, subordinate to warrant officers and officers hence not conferred by commission or warrant. The naval term comes from the general nautical usage of rating - a seaman's class or grade as recorded in the ship's books, whilst in the United States it is currently used differently to denote both rank and specialist employment.
The system of conferring authority on sailors in the Royal Navy and elsewhere evolved through the recognition of competence; Landsman, Ordinary seaman or Able seaman and through the appointment of authority as a petty officer.
Historically the term rate also applied to ships, denoting their combat strength by the number, and type, of guns.
The general structure now used in the majority of countries breaks down into four major groupings:
- Able Rate
- Leading Rate
- Petty Officer
- Chief Petty Officer
Read more about Naval Rating: United States Navy
Famous quotes containing the word naval:
“It is now time to stop and to ask ourselves the question which my last commanding officer, Admiral Hyman Rickover, asked me and every other young naval officer who serves or has served in an atomic submarine. For our Nation M for all of us M that question is, “Why not the best?””
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)