Submarine Supply Corps insignia



The Submarine Supply Corps Insignia is a badge of the United States Navy which is awarded to members of the Navy Supply Corps who have qualified as Supply Officers on board U.S. submarines. The Submarine Supply Corps Insignia appears as the standard Submarine Warfare Insignia with the Supply Corps emblem centered in the middle of the badge.

Supply Corps officers, selecting to enter the submarine service, must complete an abbreviated amount of submarine qualification in order to obtain the Submarine Supply Corps Insignia. After graduation from Submarine Officers' Basic Course (SOBC) at the Naval Submarine School in Groton, Connecticut, the "Chop" must qualify in basic submarine operations, engineering fundamentals, damage control, and a limited number of shipboard watch station qualifications culminating in Diving Officer of the Watch. Not eligible for command, supply officers are not permitted to qualify as Officer of the Deck or Ship's Duty Officer. Supply officers must demonstrate a thorough knowledge, and proficiency of the Navy’s supply system in relationship to submarine deployments and extended operations.

Submarine Supply Corps Officers, are known as and referred to as "Chop" on Submarines due to the fact that their Supply Corps Insignia of an oak leaf with three acorns resembles a "pork chop".

Supply Corps officers are granted 15 months to qualify for the Submarine Supply Corps Insignia. At the end of which time if qualification has not been obtained, the Supply Corps officer must transfer from the submarine service to a different branch of the Navy. Without a doubt, qualification in Submarines as a Supply Corps Officer is the most rigorous warfare qualification program in the Navy Supply Corps. Additionally, assignment as a Submarine Supply Officer is regarded as one of the most challenging assignments in the Navy Supply Corps as the officer leads his own department from the outset, reports directly to the Commanding Officer, and has no senior Supply Corps Officers on board to whom he reports.