Petty officer second class (PO2) is a rank found in some navies and maritime organizations.

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Petty officer, 2nd class, (PO 2), is aNavalnon-commissioned member rank of theCanadian Forces. It is senior to the rank ofmaster sailor (formerly master seaman) and its equivalents, and junior topetty officer 1st-class and its equivalents. ItsArmy andAir Force equivalent issergeant (Sgt); together, Sgts and PO 2s make up the cadre ofsenior non-commissioned officers.

The rank insignia of the PO 2 is three gold chevrons, point down, surmounted by a gold maple leaf. A PO 2 is generally initially addressed as “Petty Officer <name>” or "PO <name>", and thereafter as "PO", although in correspondence the full rank or abbreviation is used before the member's name. The full appellation Petty Officer 2nd Class or PO 2 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. The corresponding NATO rank is OR-6—however, a PO 2 with less than 3 years seniority are considered OR-5

PO 2s generally mess and billet withchief petty officers and otherpetty officers, and their army and air-force equivalents,warrant officers andsergeant. Their mess on naval bases or installations is generally named the "Chiefs and POs Mess".

Petty officer second class
USN PO2 insignia: 12 years or more years (left) or less than 12 years (right) of service (A 12-consecutive-year period of good conduct is no longer a prerequisite for authorization to wear gold chevrons.)
USCG PO2 insignia
Cap and collar insignia US Navy PO2 and USCG PO2
Country	United States
Service branch	United States Navy  United States Coast Guard
Abbreviation	PO2
Rank group	Non-commissioned officer
Rank	Petty officer
NATOrank code	OR-5
Pay grade	E-5
Next higher rank	Petty officer first class
Next lower rank	Petty officer third class
Equivalent ranks	Sergeant(USA, USMC, USSF) Staff sergeant(USAF)

Petty officer second class is the fifth enlisted rank in theU.S. Navy^[1] (E-5) and theU.S. Coast Guard, just abovepetty officer third class and belowpetty officer first class, and is anon-commissioned officer. It is equivalent to the rank ofsergeant in theArmy andMarine Corps, and staff sergeant in theAir Force. It is the most commonly held rank in the United States Navy, with around 25% of active-duty Navy enlisted personnel and 20% of all active duty Navy personnel (includingcommissioned officers) holding that rank.^[2]

Promotion to petty officer second class is dependent on time in service, performance evaluations by superiors, and rate (technical specialty) examinations. Advancement to E-5 in the Navy is through a program known as the Billet Based Advancement System.^[3] Eligible E-4 sailors compete for a billet with the highest ranked sailors getting promoted first.

Petty Officers serve a dual role as both technical experts and as leaders.^[4] Unlike the sailors below them, there is no such thing as an "undesignated Petty Officer." Every Petty Officer has both a rate (rank) and rating (job, similar to anMOS in other branches). A Petty Officer's full title is a combination of the two.^[5] Thus, a Petty Officer Second Class, who has the rating of interior communications electrician would properly be called an Interior Communications Electrician, Second Class (IC2).

Each rating has an official abbreviation, such as GM for gunner's mate, BU for builder, or BM for boatswain's mate. When combined with the petty officer level, this gives the shorthand for the petty officer's rate, such as IT2 for "information systems technician second class".^[5] It is common practice to refer to the petty officer by this shorthand in all but the most formal correspondence (such as printing and inscription on awards). Unlike most rates, theAircrew survival equipmentman rate uses their former title ofparachute rigger for abbreviation and are still referred as PRs and parachute riggers in the military community after undergoing a rating name change in 1986.

In the U.S. Coast Guard, all petty officers at a rank below chief petty officer wear red chevrons and red service stripes, whereas chief petty officers wear both gold chevrons and gold service stripes. In the U.S. Navy, under regulations in effect since 2019, all petty officers wear red stripes and red chevrons until they reach 12 consecutive years of service, at which time they begin wearing gold stripes regardless of their specific rank or of any disciplinary history;^[6] before the 2019 change in regulations, gold stripes indicated 12 or more uninterrupted years of good conduct in service.

• 
  Petty officer second class
  (Belize Coast Guard)
• 
  Petty officer 2nd class
  (French:Maître de 2^e classe)
  (Royal Canadian Navy)^[7]
• 
  ፒቲ ኦፊሰር 2ኛ ክላስ
  Pītī ofīseri huletenya kilasi
  (Ethiopian Navy)
• 
  Petty officer second class
  (Ghana Navy)
• 
  Petty officer second class
  (Liberian National Coast Guard)^[8]
• 
  Petty officer second class
  (United States Navy)^[9]
• 
  Petty officer second class
  (United States Coast Guard)^[9]

• Petty officer
• U.S. Navy enlisted rate insignia
• Comparative military ranks
• Navy Rank/Rate Abbreviations

• Military ranks of the United States Navy
• Military ranks of the United States Coast Guard
• Enlisted ranks of the United States Armed Forces
• Marine occupations

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