Shipmate

In the navies of English-speaking nations (and the United States Coast Guard), the term "shipmate" is used among sailors as a generic moniker.

It can be used with a range of connotations—most often as an expression of camaraderie, but also as a respectful way to address other crew members whose rank or naval rating is not clear.

In the U.S. Navy, recruits were indoctrinated with heavy use of the term upon beginning training at Recruit Training Command (or "boot camp"), where they used the term abundantly to refer to their peers in all but the least formal settings, in scenarios when referencing another person by name or title would be otherwise unnecessary.

It is not uncommon to hear an Admiral or Captain refer to his lowest subordinates as "shipmate" in order to express camaraderie.

Although the term is not commonly used outside maritime scenarios, it is often used by Navy veterans toward one another as a means to reminisce or bond about shared experience.