Until the late 1960s, enlisted members of the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) wore rating badges to denote their rate (or rank) and specialty.
A World War II-era U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey rating badge for enlisted members. The back is marked “S. Mars,” which may be the name of the person who embroidered the badge or of the person who was intended to wear it. (Image credit: NOAA Heritage)
This example of a USC&GS rating badge, which denotes both the wearer’s specialty and their rank, likely dates from World War II and was hand-made. A chief boatswain would have worn this particular badge. The gold rating badge and service stripes were reserved for those who had served for ten years or longer.
The silver eagle, with a U.S. shield on its breast, perched on a half globe symbolizes the USC&GS. The three chevrons and one "rocker" (the arch at the top) denote the rate of chief petty officer, while the gold anchor symbolizes his specialty, boatswain's mate.
In the photo above, the chief boatswain has his rating badge, with red chevrons, on the left sleeve. In 1948, the rating badges were all worn on the left shoulder. Before this time the deck force men wore their rating badges on the right side, while others wore them on the left.
The USC&GS stopped using these rating badges in the last years of the service. Beginning in the late 1960s, the ship's crews no longer had to wear uniforms or get military haircuts, as they were determined to be civilian merchant mariners who were not subject to military discipline.
