Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.

The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.

In the Australian Army, the rank of Staff Sergeant is slowly being phased out^{[citation needed]}. It was usually held by the Company Quartermaster Sergeant or the holders of other administrative roles. Staff sergeants are always addressed as "Staff Sergeant" or "Staff", never as "Sergeant" as it degrades their rank. "Chief" is another nickname, usually for those who hold the quartermaster's role. A staff sergeant ranks above Sergeant and below Warrant Officer Class 2. But the rank of Staff Sergeant is still being used by the Australian Army Cadets.

In the Israel Defense Forces, soldiers are promoted from Sergeant to Staff Sergeant (Samál rishón) after 28 months of service for combat soldiers, and 32 months of service for non-combat soldiers, if they performed their duties appropriately during this time. Soldiers who take a commander's course may become staff sergeants earlier (usually after 24 months of service, or one year from becoming a commander). The rank insignia is composed of three clear-blue stripes (as is the rank of sergeant) with an embroided fig leaf, a well-known Jewish biblical motif, in the center of the rank insignia. Staff sergeants get a symbolic pay raise.

Joshua Ward (1685–1761) was a London pharmacist and an experimental chemist. In 1736, Ward heated saltpeter and as it decomposed the sulfur was oxidized to SO₃, which combined with water to produce sulfuric acid. It was the first practical production of sulfuric acid on a large scale.

His full-length portrait by the sculptor Agostino Carlini (active 1725 - 53) is at the V & A Museum in London.

Barry Sadler (November 1, 1940 – November 5, 1989) was an American soldier, author and musician. Sadler served as a Green Beret medic with the rank of Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Most of his work has a military theme, and he billed himself as SSG Barry Sadler (although his label credits read SSgt Barry Sadler).

Sadler was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico, the second son of John Sadler and Bebe Littlefield of Phoenix, Arizona. His parents were both professional gamblers, and the family moved often. His parents divorced when Sadler was very young, and his father died not long after of a rare form of nervous system cancer at the age 36. His mother took her sons with her as she worked at temporary jobs in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. According to Sadler's autobiography, "I'm a Lucky One," his father developed a successful plumbing and electrical business in Carlsbad, NM. He also owned several farms in the area. He describes his mother as managing restaurants and bars, and at times games in casinos.

Salvatore Augustine Giunta (English pronunciation: /ˌsælvəˈtɔreɪ ˈdʒʊntə/; born January 21, 1985) is a former staff sergeant in the United States Army. He was the first living person to receive the United States Armed Forces' highest decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor, for actions that occurred after the Vietnam War. Giunta was cited for saving the lives of members of his squad on October 25, 2007 during the War in Afghanistan. He left the Army in June 2011 and is currently attending school in Colorado.

Born in Clinton, Iowa, on January 21, 1985, in a family of Italian descent, Giunta grew up in Cedar Rapids and Hiawatha. His parents, Steven, a medical equipment technician, and Rosemary, a preschool teacher, live in Hiawatha. He has two younger siblings, Mario and Katie. Giunta attended John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids. At age 17, while working in a Subway sandwich shop, he decided to enlist and joined the Army in November 2003.

Giunta and Jennifer Lynn Mueller, a native of Dubuque, were married in October 2009 after dating for several years. The couple are now parents of a daughter born on October 6, 2011.

David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC. Letterman recently surpassed friend and mentor Johnny Carson for having the longest late-night hosting career in the United States of America.

Letterman is also a television and film producer. His company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as its network follow-up The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was Everybody Loves Raymond, currently in syndication.

In 1996, David Letterman was ranked #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.

Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joseph Letterman (April 1915 – February 1973), was a florist of British descent; his mother Dorothy Letterman (née Hofert, now Dorothy Mengering), a Presbyterian church secretary of German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays.