Based on what's in one of my Snews stylebooks, I think the answer is it can be but isn't necessarily. The Navy has many specialties with their own hierarchies, and, for example, you could have a senior chief radioman, who would not be a chief petty officer but would be called the chief in a subsequent ref.<p>And just to confuse the issue, specialists beginning with 3rd class hold the parallel ratings of petty officers but are usually styled by their specialties.<p>But if you're not dealing with one of these specialties, then it's probably a good bet that they are synonymous.
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