US Navy EN Engineman Rating Patch

The two small flags under the gear spell the rating in signal flags: Echo, blue over red, and November, a blue and white checkerboard. E and N, the same two letters stitched in white on either side. Engineman is the Navy rating for the sailors who run diesel engines, the power plant on some of the fleet's ships and on most of its small craft. They are snipes, the engineering hands who stand their watches below decks. The rate runs from fireman all the way to ENCM, Master Chief Engineman.

The rating goes back further than most sailors realize. Engineman first and second class were established in 1917 and disestablished in 1931. The Motor Machinist's Mate rating, re-established in 1942, carried the diesel and gasoline engine work through World War II, along with its diesel engine and gasoline engine mechanic specialties. In 1948 the Navy re-established Engineman at all pay grades from those Motor Machinist's Mate ratings. Beyond the main engines, an EN keeps controllable-pitch propeller systems, steering engines, refrigeration and air conditioning plants, air compressors, desalinization plants and small auxiliary boilers on line.

The patch is the classic Navy rating shape, wider than it is tall, with a navy blue merrowed edge. UNITED STATES NAVY arcs across a gold band at the top, and ENGINEMAN runs along the gold band at the bottom in navy letters. The center field is navy blue framed in white, with a tall white E and N on either side of a red gear. Under the gear fly the Echo and November flags, the letters spelled a second time in the language of the signal bridge. It measures 4.5 by 3.25 inches.

An Engineman's work is mostly unseen from the bridge. When the engines answer a bell, nobody topside is thinking about who changed the injectors or chased down a fuel leak on the midwatch. Most of the Navy's small craft run on diesels, so a large share of the boats in the fleet move because an EN keeps them moving. Engineman was also the Coast Guard's name for the rating it now calls Machinery Technician, so the title belongs to two sea services. From ENFR at the bottom to ENCM at the top, every step of the rate is learned on a running plant.

It fits a shadow box with a ship's plaque and the crow from a last set of blues, or the vest worn to a ship's reunion. It also makes a gift for a father or grandfather who still talks about the engine room. The patch has an iron-on backing and can also be sewn on. The snipe's rate, in two letters and two flags.