A curious Ensign once asked this question of his Master Chief and got the following explanation.
"You see, sir, you wear that gold bar because as an Ensign you're valuable to us, but still malleable. We're trying to shape you into the kind of officer you should become, so we give you gold bars. As you get more experience as a J.G., you become less malleable, so your bars then become silver. And as a lieutenant, you're twice as valuable, so we give you two silver bars."
The Ensign thought this through and then inquired as to meaning behind the higher rank insignia.
"Well," the Master Chief said, "Captains soar high over their troops, so we give them a silver eagle. And by the time you become an admiral, you're up there amongst the stars, so that insignia becomes obvious."
The Ensign thought this was a good explanation, but noted that the Master Chief had left out the middle two ranks. Why did O-4s and O-5s wear their insignia?
"That's the most ancient tradition of them all," the Master Chief said. "You see, as soon as Adam and Eve ate from the tree in the garden of Eden, they discovered they were naked. And from that moment forward, humans have always covered their pricks with leaves . . ."
(AW Smilies in effect . . . 
)
, and if so, how'd this catch onto the entire military?
