[300] CG: Petty Officer Second Class (PO2) Belt Buckle

Introducing project “Military Insignia 3D”, featuring top quality military heraldry designs. Here you will find customizable apparel, accessories, stationery, postage and gifts decorated with rank insignia of a Coast Guard Petty Officer, Second Class (PO2). Petty officer second class is the fifth enlisted rank in the 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. Petty officers serve a dual role as both technical experts and as leaders. 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. 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 petty officer second class may be generically referred to as PO2 when the sailor's rating is not known. 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". All Coast Guard petty officers wear red chevrons and red service stripes, until the rank of chief petty officer, where both chevrons and service stripes are gold.