In what year did specialty or rating marks become official?

In what year did specialty or rating marks become official?

• A. 1866
• B. 1885
• C. 1841
• D. 1893

Answer: (A)

Specialty or rating marks become official when a service formally standardizes the insignia that denote a sailor’s trade. That official standardization lets everyone recognize a person’s specialty across the fleet and ties it to pay and advancement. In this tradition, the Navy codified and standardized its rating marks in 1866, after the Civil War, giving formal status to the badges worn on uniforms. Before that, there weren’t universal, regulated insignia for specialties, or they were not uniformly enforced. The other dates don’t represent the moment when the official system was established.

Specialty or rating marks become official when a service formally standardizes the insignia that denote a sailor’s trade. That official standardization lets everyone recognize a person’s specialty across the fleet and ties it to pay and advancement. In this tradition, the Navy codified and standardized its rating marks in 1866, after the Civil War, giving formal status to the badges worn on uniforms. Before that, there weren’t universal, regulated insignia for specialties, or they were not uniformly enforced. The other dates don’t represent the moment when the official system was established.