The badge in the Royal Australian Navy is the fouled anchor over the word "Australia", worn on the shoulders, or the fouled anchor worn on the left sleeve, depending on what uniform is worn at the time. It is senior to able seaman but junior to petty officer. Leading seaman or leading hand, which it is also known as, is the equivalent of corporal in the Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian Army. Leading seamen are addressed as "leader", and informally known as "kellicks" from the which is the symbol of their rank.
Canada
In the Royal Canadian Navy, leading seaman is senior to the rank of able seaman, and junior to master seaman. Its Army and Air Force equivalent is corporal and it is part of the cadre of junior non-commissioned officers. Leading seamen are generally initially addressed as "Leading Seaman Smith", and thereafter as "Leading Seaman". The same rank title is used for female members. The slang term for the rank is "killick", as in the Royal Navy. The term is still used even though the old-style insignia of a fouled anchor is no longer used for this rank in the RCN. Leading seamen generally mess and billet with other seamen and their army and air force equivalents: privates, corporals, and master corporals. Their mess on naval bases or installations is generally named the "junior ranks mess".
"Leading seaman" is a naval enlisted rank of the Navy of the Russian Federation. It is senior to the lowest rank of "seaman". The rank was introduced to the Soviet Navy in 1946 and inherited by the Russian state in 1991. The former Soviet republics of Belarus and Ukraine maintain similar ranks with the same pronunciation but slightly different orthography - старшы матрос and старший матрос.
The rate of leading seaman, leading hand or leading rating in the Royal Navy is senior to able seaman and junior to petty officer. It is equivalent to corporal in the other services. The badge is the fouled anchor, worn on the upper left arm in formal uniform, white front or overalls and on the shoulder slides in working dress, although this has been updated to single hook in the chest centre. Specialists use the word "leading" before their speciality. A leading rating is often called a "killick", referring to the rank insignia of a fouled anchor.
In the United States Navy, the position of leading seaman is usually that of the seniormost seaman in the division. The rank equivalent of a leading seaman is a petty officer third class, although the leading seaman only has the authority of a PO3, not the rank. The leading seaman position is usually used when a PO3 or PO2 is not available.
