United States Navy staff corps

In the United States Navy, commissioned officers are either line officers or staff corps officers. Staff corps officers are specialists in career fields that are professions unto themselves, such as physicians, lawyers, civil engineers, chaplains, and supply specialists. For example, a physician can advance to become the commanding officer (CO) of a hospital, the medical hospital on a hospital ship or large warship, or a medical school; or the Chief of the Medical Corps or of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. A supply officer can become the CO of a supply depot or a school, or the head of the Naval Supply Systems Command, etc.

The eight staff corps fall under different organizations throughout the Navy. The four medicine-related corps (Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Nurse Corps, and Medical Service Corps) all fall under the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED).^[1] The Civil Engineer Corps and Supply Corps fall under two of the Navy's systems commands, respectively Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command and Naval Supply Systems Command.^[2][3] The Judge Advocate General's Corps and Chaplain Corps are directly under the Navy Secretariat.^[4][5]

Staff Corps officers wear their specialty insignia on the sleeve of the dress blue uniforms and on their shoulder boards, in place of the star worn by line officers. On winter blue and khaki working uniforms, the specialty insignia is a collar device worn on the left collar, while the rank device is worn on the right.^[6]