Quartermaster Quartermaster is one of two different military occupations . In land armies , especially US units , a quartermaster is either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops . The senior unit , post or base supply officer is customarily referred to as " the quartermaster " . Often the quartermaster serves as the S - 4 in US Army , US Marine Corps units and NATO units . In many navies , quartermaster is a non - commissioned officer ( petty officer ) rank for personnel responsible for their ship ' s navigation . In the US Navy , the quartermaster is responsible for the ship ' s navigation and maintenance of nautical chart s and maps . Aboard merchant ships , quartermasters are usually the Able Seamen assigned to bridge watch es . A naval quartermaster ' s main task is to steer the ship and apply the helm order s given by the Captain or watch officer s . Land armies . For land armies , the term was first coined in Germany as " Quartiermeister " and initially denoted a court official with the duty of preparing the monarch ' s sleeping quarters . In the 17th century , it started to be used in various militaries in the sense of organizing supplies . British Army . In the British Army , the Quartermaster ( QM ) is the officer in a battalion or regiment responsible for supply . By longstanding tradition , he or she is always commissioned from the ranks ( and is usually a former Regimental Sergeant Major ) and holds the rank of captain or major . Some units also have a Technical Quartermaster , who is in charge of technical stores . The Quartermaster is assisted by the Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant ( RQMS ) and a staff of storemen . The QM , RQMS and storemen are drawn from the regiment or corps in which they work , not from the Royal Logistic Corps , which is responsible for issuing and transporting supplies to them . Units which specialize in supply are known as " supply " units , not " quartermaster " units , and their personnel as " suppliers " . From at least the English Civil War period until 1813 , the Quartermaster was the senior NCO in a British cavalry troop ( in which context he had nothing to do with supply ) . In that year , the position was replaced by the new appointment of Troop Sergeant Major , with the cavalry adopting commissioned , regimental Quartermasters as described above . Canadian Army . From Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps Standing Orders : In recent years , the Quartermaster has been a specially trained officer of the Logistics Branch , though CFR ( Commissioned From Ranks ) officers have been known to accept regimental appointments such as quartermaster . Imperial Russian Army . The Quartermaster was responsible for intelligence operations in the Imperial Russian Army . United States Army . In the United States Army , the term is used to describe all supply personnel and units that are part of the Quartermaster Corps . Swiss Army . In the Swiss Army , a Quartermaster ( Qm ) is an Officer ( from 2 Lt . to Colonel ) in charge with the coordination of the " Kommissariatsdienst " ( accountancy , post - service , fuel resupply , " all sort of food " resupply and others ) of a Battalion , Regiment and Brigade / Division . His function is more a control and supervision function : a staff officer for the respective commander . The Qm has a direct subordinate at company level : it is the Company Quartermaster Sergeant ( QMS - the English definition for international engagement and also a new grade insignia = see " Gradstrukturen der Armee XXI _ revidiert " since 2001 on Swiss army ranks ) . The Company quartermaster sergeant is known since the 18th Century as Fourier or Einheits - Fourier and has the rank equivalent of a Senior Non - Commissioned - Officer like the Company Sergeant Major ( since 2001 Company Chief Sergeant Major , CMS ) and they are ranked ( for better understanding in NATO - ranks even Switzerland , as a neutral State is not part of NATO ) OR - 7 in the Senior NCO ' s category ( in German : Höhere Unteroffiziere ) . For technical questions , the QMS is subordinated to the Qm officer ( Qm 2 Lt , Qm 1 lt or Qm Captain incorporated in the Staff of a Battalion / Group ) . The tasks of resupply are assigned at company level to the two SNCO ' s ( CSM and QMS ) . The QMS is the material executor of the Qm tasks at company level and for the command chain together with the CSM , directly subordinated to the Company Commander ( Captain ) as Staff NCO ' s . The " Fourier " is also the substitute of the Chief Sergeant Major ( Hauptfeldweibel ) , if considering the Command Platoon by itself . Israel Defense Forces . In the IDF , the battalion Quartermaster is also the commander of the battalions support company , known as the battalion headquarters company . In the standing army he is usually a Captain , but the role is a Major ' s role . In the reserve army he is usually a Major . While most of the staff officers are directly under the command of the battalion commander , the Quartermaster has a lieutenant , a logistics officer and a junior ordnance officer ( the battalion ' s ordnance platoon commander ) under his direct command . He is in charge of all logistics issues in the battalion and also in charge of the battalion ' s headquarter ' s day - to - day life . He is commissioned as an officer by the Ramatkal ( the army ' s general chief of staff ) , and as a logistic officer by Kalar ( the army ' s general logistic officer ) . In large camps and higher headquarters ( brigade , division and corps HQ ) , apart from the staff officer in charge of logistics , there is also a role defined mostly as " camp commander , " who is in charge of the HQ logistic issues , ceremonies and parades and discipline . These duties differ slightly in the Air Force and Navy . The ranks of IDF Quartermasters vary from Sergeant Major to CWO , depending on the size of the camp . However , most soldiers refer to him as " Rasar " ( the Hebrew acronym for the rank of 2WO ) without regarding his actual rank . Quartermasters are identified ( in all IDF branches ) by wearing a blue - white aiguillette on their left shoulder . Navies . Royal Navy . In the Royal Navy and Commonwealth navies ( Royal Canadian Navy , Royal Australian Navy , Royal New Zealand Navy , South African Navy ) , the quartermaster is the seaman who is functioning as the helmsman . In harbour , the quartermaster is the senior member of the gangway staff and is responsible for supervising the boatswain ' s mate and the security of the brow . Belgian Navy . In Belgium , the naval ranks of quartermaster , chief quartermaster , and first chief quartermaster are used ( in French : " quartier - maître , quartier - maître - chef , premier quartier - maître - chef " ) French Navy . In the French Navy , Quartermaster ( " Quartier - maître " ) is a junior rank equivalent to a French Army Corporal . The French rank has nothing to do with supplies . This rank is also used by many other navies based on the French Navy . Norwegian Navy . In the Norwegian navy , quartermaster is a rank equal to an army sergeant . United States . US Navy . The quartermaster is the enlisted member in charge of the watch - to - watch navigation and the maintenance , correction , and preparation of nautical charts and navigation publications . He is also responsible for navigational instruments and clocks and the training of ship ' s lookouts and helmsmen . He performs these duties under the control of the ship ' s navigator or other officer if there was no officer navigator . In the modern navy , a quartermaster is a petty officer who specializes in navigation . The rating abbreviation is QM . The symbol used for the rating and worn on uniforms is a . On US Navy submarines , the job of a quartermaster is done by a qualified navigation electronics technician ( NAV - ET ) . Along with the job of a Navy surface QM , NAV - ET ' s are also responsible for electronic systems that deal with navigation , internal communications , atmosphere monitoring , ship ' s entertainment systems , re - circulatory air systems ( ventilation ) and remote valve indication or manipulation . After 2004 , the US Navy disestablished the Signalman rating ( SM ) who were responsible for visual communications and incorporated many of the personnel and their responsibilities in the QM rating . The US Navy rating dealing with supply and logistics is Logistics Specialist ( LS ) which would be equivalent to the Army quartermaster . US Coast Guard . The structure of ranks and job specialties of the United States Coast Guard is similar to the that of the United States Navy . The Coast Guard used a Quartermaster rating until the summer of 2003 , when the rating was merged into the Boatswain ' s Mate rating . The Coast Guard ' s Quartermasters had the same duties as the Navy ' s , with the exception that — at some point after World War II — the Coast Guard folded the duties of its Signalman rating into the Quartermaster rating . Also , in recent decades , Quartermaster was one of the only two Coast Guard enlisted men permitted to hold command of a small boat station ( command otherwise being reserved for officers ) , with the other enlisted man ' s " command rating " being the Boatswain ' s Mate . Pirate quartermasters . Through a historical oddity , pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy elevated the rank of quartermaster to much higher powers and responsibilities than it had aboard any merchant or naval vessel . Pirate quartermasters ( quarter deck masters ) , like pirate captains , were usually elected by their crews . It was the quartermaster ' s responsibility to lead the pirate boarding party when coming aboard another ship . This was usually done from the quarter deck which was the place where two ships touched during the boarding attack . The quartermaster ranked higher than any officer aboard the ship except the captain himself , and could veto the captain ' s decisions whenever the ship was not chasing a prize or engaged in battle . The quartermaster also was chiefly responsible for discipline , assessing punishments for crewmen who transgressed the articles . Several quartermasters , notably Calico Jack Rackham , became captains after the previous captain was killed or deposed . Although a minority of pirate scholars dismiss the accepted version of the pirate quartermaster ' s importance , it is well supported by the extant secondary sources such as Charles Johnson , Cordingly and Botting , and overwhelmingly borne out by the primary sources , including Ringrose , Dampier , Snelgrave , Trott , and George Roberts . Long John Silver from the novel " Treasure Island " was ship ' s quartermaster under the notorious Captain Flint . He was said to have been the only man whom Flint ever feared . Scouting . A Scout quartermaster within the Scout movement is responsible for maintaining all the normal camping supplies in a Scout troop . This may include , but is not limited to , camping supplies , tents , " chuck boxes " ( containers holding food and cooking supplies ) , stoves , camp fuel ( propane , Naphtha , etc . ) , tarps , camping trailers , dining flys , etc . The Quartermaster Award is also the highest rank in the Sea Scouts , BSA , an older youth ( 13 - 21 ) co - ed program . A Quartermaster ( Kwartiermeester ) is in the Netherlands the assistant patrol leader of a Sea Scout patrol ( Bak ) , in Flanders it is the patrol leader of a Sea Scout patrol ( Kwartier ) .