UNIFORM REGULATIONS - U.S. Coast Guard

COMDTINST M1020.6G
3.D. GRADE/RANK INSIGNIA
3.D.1. Commissioned and Chief Warrant Officers
Officer ranks are represented by shoulder boards, sleeve striping, metal or embroidered
shoulder and collar insignia. Shoulder boards show an officer’s grade and branch of
service and in the case of chief warrant officers their specialties. Hard and enhanced
shoulder boards are available in full or ¾ size to better fit the shoulders of the wearer.
Coast Guard flag officer shoulder boards consist of 1 ½ -inch gold lace on blue shoulder
boards. The gold lace is embroidered with a silver fouled anchor with a silver shield
superimposed on the shank. The fluke with the overlapped chain points to the front of
the wearer.
Wear hard shoulder boards on
Dinner Dress White Jacket
Dinner Dress White
Full Dress White
Reefer coat
Bridge coat
Wear enhanced shoulder boards on:
Light Blue Shirt (long and short sleeved)
Cardigan Sweater (except on Winter Dress Blue uniform)
Wooly-Pully Sweater (except on Winter Dress Blue uniform)
The placement of sleeve accouterments applies to both right and left sleeve for officers
and chief warrant officers. Officer sleeve striping for O-1 through O-6 consists of ½ and
¼ inch gold stripes, and 2 and ½ inch gold stripes for O-7 through O-10. Chief warrant
officer sleeve striping consists of a ½ inch gold stripe with blue breaks denoting the
individual’s grade. The stripes are placed on the sleeve parallel and 2 inches from the
cuff with each subsequent stripe placed ¼ inch apart moving up the arm. Gold shields
are sewn ¼ inch above the top most stripe, centered on the outside of the sleeve. The
gold shield is not used on the Dinner Dress White Jacket, Dinner Dress White, Full Dress
White, and Service Dress White uniforms. The CWO specialty insignia is not worn on
the sleeve of the Dinner Dress Blue Jacket Uniform or Formal Dress Uniforms.
For Chief warrant officers only, the right collar insignia denotes the individual’s grade,
and the specialty insignia is worn on the left collar as seen in Section 3.D.3.
During wartime or other emergency conditions, the senior officer present may require
subdued insignia for all personnel when the wearing of normal bright finish insignia
would be considered hazardous.
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