Chief petty officer, 2nd class, {{sc} CPO2, is a Naval

non-commissioned member A non-commissioned member (NCM), in the Canadian Armed Forces, is defined in the Queen's Regulations and Orders as: "... any person, other than an officer, who is enrolled in, or who pursuant to law is attached or seconded otherwise than as an offi ...

rank of the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Ai ...

. It is senior to the rank of petty officer 1st-class and its equivalents, and junior to chief petty officer 1st-class and its equivalents. Its

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

equivalent is master warrant officer (MWO), and is part of the cadre of

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 ...

s. The

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in ...

form is ''premier maître de 2me classe'' ''(pm 2)''.

Insignia

The rank insignia of the CPO2 is a crown within a wreath of laurel, worn on both forearms of the Service Dress tunic and on slip-ons on both shoulders of other uniforms. They wear the same cap insignia as petty officers: a foul anchor surrounded by a wreath of laurel, surmounted by a crown.

Forms of address

CPO2s are generally initially addressed as "Chief Petty Officer Bloggins" or "Chief Bloggins", and thereafter as "Chief", although in correspondence the full rank or abbreviation is used before the member's name. The full appellation "Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class" in speech is generally used only when the "second class" distinction must be made, such as to distinguish between members with similar names but differing ranks, or on promotion parades. CPO2s are ''never'' addressed as "Sir" or "Ma'am", regardless of the protocol for their Army and Air Force equivalents; in Naval tradition, the titles "Sir" and "Ma'am" are reserved for officers.

Appointments

Due to the unified nature of the CF, it is not unheard-of for CPO2s — especially those of the so-called "

purple trades {{unreferenced, date=June 2010 In the Canadian Armed Forces, the purple trades are occupations and careers that are not strongly linked to one of the three major 'environments' or 'elements': sea, land, or air. Purple trades include – but are ...

", such as logistics or military police — to find themselves filling the appointment of Squadron or Company Sergeant-Major in what are otherwise considered "hard" army units (such as Service Battalions).

Messes and quarters

CPO2s generally mess and billet with

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 ...

s and other

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 ...

s, and their Army and Air Force equivalents,

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 ...

s and Sergeants. Their mess on naval bases or installations are generally named the "Chiefs and POs Mess".

Insignia

Forms of address

Appointments

Messes and quarters

See also