Petty Officer Second Class Petty Officer Second Class is the fifth enlisted rank in the U . S . Navy and U . S . Coast Guard , just above Petty Officer Third Class and below Petty Officer First Class , and is a non - commissioned officer . Similar to Petty Officer Third Class , advancement to Petty Officer Second Class is dependent on time in service , performance evaluations by superiors , and rate ( technical specialty ) examinations . The advancement cycle is currently every 6 months . Only a certain number of billet s ( job openings for this rank ) open up biannually and all petty officers third class compete . The top scorers are chosen for advancement , but only in sufficient quantities to fill the billet s available . Petty Officers serve a dual role as both technical experts and as leaders . 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 an MOS in other branches ) . A petty officer ' s full title is a combination of the two . Thus , a Petty Officer Second Class , who has the rating of Interior Communications Electrician would properly be called an Interior Communications Electrician Second Class . The term petty officer is , then , only used in abstract , the general sense , when referring to a group of petty officers of different ratings , or when the petty officer ' s rating is unknown . Often , the petty officer is just referred to by the short hand designation , without using the surname . Thus EM2 Reyes would just be called EM2 . A Second Class Petty Officer may be generically referred to as PO2 when the sailor ' s rating is not known , although some prefer to be called simply " Petty Officer ( Martinez ) . " 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 short - hand for the petty officer ' s rank , such as IT2 for Information Systems Technician Second Class . It is common practice to refer to the petty officer by this short hand in all but the most formal correspondence ( such as printing and inscription on awards ) Currently , in order for a PO2 to be promoted to PO1 , the candidate must test out and pass a board of his peers to earn one of three enlisted warfare badges , < Enlisted Surface Warfare > , < Enlisted Air Warfare > or < Enlisted Subsurface Warfare > . These three badges can be undertaken by all enlisted persons depending on their billets at that time . Moreover , there are many NCO ' s that are authorized to wear three badges , but may only wear two due to uniform constrictions . The rating insignia for a Petty Officer Second Class is a perched eagle above two chevrons . On more formal uniforms the symbol for the petty officer ' s rating will be placed between the eagle and the chevrons . On white uniforms , the eagle , rating , and chevrons will be dark blue ( effectively black ) thus leading to the eagle , and by extension the entire badge , being most commonly referred to as a " crow . " On navy blue , the eagle and rating are white , and the chevrons are red . Working uniforms and metal rank devices have the rating symbol omitted . Among enlisted sailors , 12 consecutive years of good conduct ( categorized as no convictions by Non - Judicial Punishment or Courts - Martial ) entitles the sailor to wear a good conduct variation of their rank insignia : The normally red chevrons under the specialty mark and perched eagle are worn as gold and the eagle is worn as silver . However , the High Year Tenure initiative mandates that a Petty Officer Second Class may only have 14 years of service . If a PO2 fails to make Petty Officer First Class within that time , the Petty Officer is involuntarily separated for not meeting advancement requirements . However , this may be waived in the event the sailor holds critical training , NEC ' s or clearances . All U . S . Coast Guard Petty Officers wear red chevrons and red service stripes , until the rank of Chief Petty Officers , where both chevrons and service stripes are gold .