Technically, rank only applies to officers, and reflects their level of authority and pay. Among enlisted personnel, everyone has a rate and a rating. Rate is the enlisted equivalent of rank…the level of authority & pay (petty officer 1st class, chief petty officer, etc.). Rating is the particular job or skill set (yeoman, gunner’s mate, quartermaster, etc.).
To confuse things further, the lowest three rates, E1, E2, E3 do not have formal ratings, but only four general fields. For the maritime fields an E1 is a seaman recruit, an E2 is a seaman apprentice, an E3 is a seaman. For mechanical people it is Fireman recruit, etc.; For Aircraft types, Airman; For Seabees, Constructionman. Most of these have “striker” ratings which indicates the particular specialty they are working toward.
The petty officers (E4, P.O. 3rd class; E5, P.O. 2nd class; E6 P.O. 1st class) all have their specialty rating (yeoman, gunner’s mate, quartermaster, etc.). Some may also have special designations such as trainer, liason, and so forth.
Confused yet? in the realm of senior enlisted (E7, chief petty officer; E8, senior chief P.O., E9, master Chief P.O.) the ratings get combined again. Basically the navy figures that by the time one reaches senior status he or she is capable of taking on supervision of several similar areas. For example, in the Seabees (the navy’s construction sector) the seven ratings that apply to Seabees are combined into three more general fields; planning & engineering, heavy equipment & mechanical, and building trades.
We will not here get into the various divisions among officer ranks, nor the warrent officers who happily occupy a kind of no-man’s land, neither fish nor fowl. I should also add that this is pretty much how thing were when I was a Seabee some 30 years ago. Things have probably changed somewhat since then.
SS