How do you address a Navy Chief Petty Officer?

Answer 1

It depends on the situation (formal or informal meeting), but generally you address a Chief Petty Officer (CPO) as "Chief", along with their last name. Examples of address would be, "Chief Jones", "Senior Chief Youngren", or "Master Chief Conner", depending upon the person's actual rank.

NEVER EVER, address a Chief Petty Officer as "Sir", unless you want a world of hurt thrown at you. Few things are as insulting to a Chief or a Senior Enlisted Petty Officer (myself included) as being called "Sir". The term "Sir" is reserved for Warrant and Commissioned Officers. It is a well known fact that Chiefs, along with the other Enlisted ranks, are the backbone of the Navy. Enlisted personnel do the physical labor, a.k.a. the grunt work, so referring to them as "Sir" implies you think that those persons are officers, and do not do hard work for a living. I guarantee you that you will be reminded of that fact if you ever call a Chief, "Sir".

Answer 2

The proper way to address any officer is "Sir" or "Ma'am", or by officer title (Captain, Commander, Lieutenant, etc., depending on if it's a male or female officer, or by simple eye contact to acknowledge respect.

All active duty enlisted men or women, regardless of rank, salutes any officer, regardless of rank, first and holds that salute until acknowledged.

Answer 3

It depends on the rank (Chief and above, or First-Third Class).

If it's a personal letter going to someone on a ship/submarine/shore station, you'd address it using the Petty Officer's Rate/Rank/Warfare Specialty (if any). For example, using my old Rate/Rank, it'd be STS1/SS Ken Harris (no, that's not my real name). After that, you'd add the ship name/hull number, and FPO address.

For formal correspondence, it's essentially the same, but you want to add full name rather than an informal one (e.g., Kenneth rather than Ken).