'' Stabsbootsmann '' (StBtsm or SB) is the second highest

Non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

(NCO) rank in the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

. It is grouped as OR8 in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, equivalent to

First Sergeant First sergeant is typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank, used in many countries. Singapore First sergeant is a Specialist (Singapore), specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First sergeants are the most senior of the junior spe ...

Master Sergeant A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Israel Defense Forces The (abbreviated "", master sergeant) is a non-commissioned officer () rank in the Israel Defense Force ...

, or

Senior Chief Petty Officer Senior Chief Petty Officer ''(SCPO)'' is an enlisted rank in the navies of some countries. United States U.S. Coast Guardsenior chiefpetty officercollar device U.S. Coast Guardsenior chiefpetty officerinsignia Senior chiefpetty officer ...

in the US Armed forces, and to Warrant Officer Class 2 in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. In navy context NCOs of this rank were formally addressed as ''Herr/ Frau Stabsbootsmann'' also informally / short ''Staber''.

History

In 1938, grades were introduced by the ''German Kriegsmarine'' depending on the particular career as follows:Mallmann Showell, p. 227 *Boatswain (de: Bootsmann): ''Stabsoberbootsmann'' (Staff senior boatswain) *Steersman (de: Steuermann): ''Stabsobersteuermann'' (Staff senior steersman) *Engineman (de: Maschinist): ''Stabsobermaschinist'' (Staff senior engineman) These grades were equivalent to the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

ranks ''Stabsfeldwebel'' and ''Stabswachmeister'', or the Waffen-SS grade Stabsscharführer. Grades ''Stabsfeldwebel'' and ''Stabswachmeister'' have been used in the GDR

National People's Army The National People's Army (, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (DDR) from 1956 until 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) and the (Bord ...

until 1990 as well. The equivalent in the

Volksmarine The (VM, ; ) was the Navy, naval force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence ...

was Stabsmeister. The sequence of ranks (top-down approach) in that particular group is as follows:
''

Unteroffiziere mit Portepee , also Portepeeunteroffizier(e) (), is the designation for German senior non-commissioned officers in the armed forces of Germany. The title derives from the French ''porte-épée'' ("sword bearer"), as senior enlisted men would historically ca ...

''
*OR-9: Oberstabsbootsmann / Oberstabsfeldwebel *OR-8: Stabsbootsmann /

Stabsfeldwebel ''Stabsfeldwebel '' (StFw or SF; ) is the second highest Non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. It is grouped as OR-8 in NATO, equivalent to a First Sergeant in the United States Army, and to Warrant Office ...

*OR-7: Hauptbootsmann /

Hauptfeldwebel In the German Wehrmacht, Hauptfeldwebel (, short: HptFw; address: ''Herr Hauptfeldwebel'') was not a rank but a position title, assignment or appointment, equivalent to the Commonwealth company sergeant major or U.S. company-level first serg ...

*OR-6a: Oberbootsmann /

Oberfeldwebel (; OFw or OF) is the fourth highest non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. History The rank was introduced first by the German Reichswehr in 1920. Preferable most experienced Protégée-NCO of the old ...

*OR-6b: Bootsmann / Feldwebel

Equivalent in other NATO countries

– Premier-maître chef/ Eerste meesterchef * Flag of Canada

–

Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class Chief petty officer, 2nd class, CPO2, is a Naval non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces. 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 Ar ...