Buffer is the colloquial title for the senior seaman sailor in a

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

navy ship. The formal title is chief boatswain's mate. This person is typically a

chief petty officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards. Canada "Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deux ...

petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superio ...

in frigates or destroyers, and in larger ships may be a

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mo ...

. In smaller ships, such as a patrol boat, the buffer may be a petty officer or leading rate. The buffer reports to the

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

deck officer The deck department is an organisational team on board naval and merchant ships. The department and its manning requirements, including the responsibilities of each rank are regulated within the STCW Convention, applicable only to the merchant f ...

, and has a wide-ranging roving commission to supervise seamanship evolutions (activities) and issue directions to seamen as required, and advise "part of ship" officers and petty officers on their activities. As such, directions and orders come with the 'line' authority of the deck officer. The buffer will supervise major ship activities, such as: berthing alongside and taking on equipment in harbour; anchoring, mooring and weighing; rigging for refuelling or stores transfer at sea; sending away and recovering a sea-boat. The

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latit ...

may occasionally call for advice from the buffer with the deck officer and executive officer in attendance, so that there is wide agreement and understanding between the senior seamanship staff. The equivalent position in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

would be that of a command master chief petty officer in the boatswain's mate rating.

References

External links

* {{cite news , first=Michael , last=Hardwick , title='Stone frigate' - HMAS Harman , url=http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Sea_Talk_2006-autumn.pdf , format=PDF , work=Sea Talk (Autumn 2006) , publisher=Royal Australian Navy , pages=13–19 , date=Autumn 2006 , accessdate=2008-09-07 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004040941/http://www.navy.gov.au/w/images/Sea_Talk_2006-autumn.pdf , archivedate=2008-10-04 Military ranks of Australia Military ranks of the Commonwealth Royal Navy appointments