Boatswain's mate (United States Navy)

Boatswain's Mate
Rating insignia
Issued by	United States Navy
Type	Enlisted rating
Abbreviation	BM
Specialty	Deck

The United States Navy occupational rating of boatswain's mate (abbreviated as BM) is a designation given by the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) to enlisted members who were rated or "striking" for the rating as a deck seaman. The colloquial form of address for a boatswain's mate is "Boats".

The rating of Boatswain's Mate dates from the American Revolutionary War and is one of the oldest U.S. Navy ratings in continuous existence from 1775 to present. For a period of three months at the end of 2016, the rating (along with all ratings in the Navy) was scheduled for elimination, but the proposed change was unpopular with both sailors and Navy veterans and was reversed in December of that year.^[1]