Seaman

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This article is about the military rank. For civilian and generic usage, see Sailor. For other uses, see Seaman (disambiguation)

Common military ranks
Navies¹	Armies²	Air Forces³
Admiral of the Fleet	Field Marshal	Marshal of the Air Force
Admiral	General	Air Chief Marshal
Vice Admiral	Lt. General	Air Marshal
Rear Admiral	Major General	Air Vice-Marshal
Commodore	Brigadier	Air Commodore
Captain	Colonel	Group Captain
Commander	Lt. Colonel	Wing Commander
Lt. Commander	Major	Squadron Leader
Lieutenant	Captain	Flight Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Flying Officer
Warrant Officer	Sergeant Major	Warrant Officer
Petty Officer	Sergeant	Sergeant
Leading Rate	Corporal	Corporal
Seaman	Private	Aircraftman
¹ in the English-speaking world ² also some Air Forces ³ In many Commonwealth countries

Seaman as a rate refers to the one of the lowest rates in a Navy.

In Commonwealth context it refers to the lowest rank in the Navy, followed by Able Seaman and Leading Seaman, and followed by the Petty Officer ranks.

In United States context it refers to the lowest three enlisted rates of the U.S. Navy, followed by the Petty Officer ranks. It is the equivalent of the private in the U.S. Army.

[edit] United States

Constructionman
variation

Fireman
variation

Airman
variation

Seaman
insignia

Seaman is the third lowest enlisted rate in the U.S. Navy and other navies. For the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard the rate is just above Seaman Apprentice and below Petty Officer Third Class; this rate was formerly known as Seaman First Class.

The actual title for an E-3 in the U.S. Navy varies based on the community to which the sailor belongs. Likewise, the color of their group rate marks also depends on their community.

Those in the general deck and administrative community are Seamen. They wear White stripes on navy blue uniforms, and navy blue (black) stripes on white uniforms.
Hospital Corpsmen are Hospitalmen. They are the only rate in this community. They wear White stripes on navy blue uniforms, and navy blue stripes on white uniforms.
Those in the engineering and hull community are called Firemen and wear red stripes on both navy blue and white uniforms.
Those in the aviation community are called Airmen and wear green stripes on both navy blue and white uniforms.
Seabees are called Constructionmen and wear light blue stripes on both navy blue and white uniforms.

No stripes are worn on the working uniforms - coveralls or utilities.

In October 2005, the Dental Technician rating was merged with the Hospital Corpsman rating, eliminating the Dentalman title. Those who once held the rank of Dentalman have instead become Hospitalmen.

Sailors who have completed the requirements to be assigned a rating and have been accepted by the Bureau of Naval Personnel as holding that rating (a process called "striking") are called Designated Strikers, and are called by their full rate and rating in formal communications (ie, Machinist's Mate Fireman, as opposed to simply Fireman), though the rating is often left off in informal communication. Those who have not officially been assigned to a rating are officially referred to as "Undesignated" or "Non-rates."

As with the Navy, the actual title for a E-3 in the United States Coast Guard varies based on their community. However, the smaller size of the Coast Guard limits E-3s to only three options: Seaman (white stripes), Fireman (red stripes), and Airman (green stripes).

v • d • e U.S. military enlisted ranks
	E-1	E-2	E-3	E-4	E-5	E-6	E-7	E-8	E-9	Senior Enlisted Advisor
Air Force:	AB	Amn	A1C	SrA	SSgt	TSgt	MSgt	SMSgt	CMSgt - CCM	CMSAF
Army:	PV1	PV2	PFC	SPC - CPL	SGT	SSG	SFC	MSG - 1SG	SGM - CSM	SMA
Marine Corps:	Pvt	PFC	LCpl	Cpl	Sgt	SSgt	GySgt	MSgt - 1stSgt	MGySgt - SgtMaj	SgtMajMarCor
Navy:	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO - CMDCM - FORCM - FLTCM	MCPON
Coast Guard:	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO - CMCPO	MCPOCG