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Three Sailors were advanced to the rank of chief petty officer (CPO) during a promotion ceremony aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Howard (DDG 83), Sept. 16.
During the ceremony, Chief Operations Specialist Charles Caskey, from Shreveport, Louisiana, Chief Machinist's Mate Fernandez Gonzales, from Mission, Texas, and Chief Information Systems Technician Melvyn Salinas, from Lynwood, California, were frocked to the rank of chief petty officer.
“This ceremony is the culmination of years of your hard work and your proven sustained superior performance,” said Howard’s Command Master Chief Robert Battle to the new CPOs during his ceremony speech. “I want you to truly never forget this day, and never forget whom you owe; the Sailors that you now lead as the chief. You owe them your very best.”
The pinning was the final step of a six-week training period that presents the selectees with different challenges to help improve their leadership and other skills to better prepare them for their new responsibilities as chief petty officers.
“These last six weeks have been eye opening and completely changed my perception on leadership,” said Caskey. “The chief initiation taught me how to become a part of the Mess and how to lead from the front as a group. It has been a rough road and I’ve worked my entire career for this moment and I truly owe it to my junior Sailors. It is because of them that I am where I am right now.”
During the ceremony, Cmdr. Ryan Billington, commanding officer of Howard, spoke about the achievement of Howard’s newest CPOs.
“Your relentless drive, mastery of your rating, professionalism, humility and leadership ability is what earned you the privilege and responsibility of becoming a chief petty officer,” said Billington. “I am incredibly proud that the chief petty officer mess will be receiving three of the finest Sailors that the Navy has to offer.”
Howard is deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations designed to reassure allies and partners, and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region.
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| Date Taken: | 09.16.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 09.18.2017 06:49 |
| Story ID: | 248628 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Hometown: | LYNWOOD, CA, US |
| Hometown: | MISSION, TX, US |
| Hometown: | SHREVEPORT, LA, US |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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