Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy is one-of-a-kind position, or billet, in the United States Navy, with appointees selected by the Chief of Naval Operations a four-year term that usually begin in the autumn of a Presidential election year. Despite the three stars on the insignia worn by the MCPON, the billet is still classified in the E-9 pay grade, the same as a “regular” Master Chief Petty Officer.
The large MCPON insignia (1 and 3/4 inches) is centered on the front of the Combination Cap, while the small (1 and 1/4 inches) insignia is placed on the wearer’s left side of the Garrison Cap, with the center of the device two inches from the cap’s bottom and an inch-and-a-half from the front crease. Unlike other Enlisted personnel’s cap insignia, there is no black version of the MCPON insignia because those are for wear with Marine Corps units.