MCPON Meets Essex Sailors, Recognizes Acheivements

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES

05.21.2019

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Chandler Harrell 

USS Essex (LHD 2)

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Russell Smith visited Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) to speak with Sailors, discuss Navy-wide matters and recognize individual achievements.
Smith began his visit by meeting with Essex’s Sailors of the Year and Sailors of the Quarter. Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Crystal Ward is the ship’s Sailor of the Year and said she felt privileged to represent those she serves with.
“It was truly an honor to meet the MCPON,” said Ward. “I’m happy that I get to represent weapons department and all the hard work they did on deployment. I couldn’t have made it without them and being able to tell the MCPON what our Sailors are capable of was a great experience.”
He then met with the Essex Chief Petty Officers to discuss new leadership directives and reinforced how Chiefs are expected to conduct themselves.
“In some ways,” said Smith. “It’s a return to tradition and reinforcing the old motto of ‘ask the Chief.’ In other ways, we want to modernize the way a chief petty officer interacts with their Sailors. We do this with the intention of continuing to provide a healthy and productive work environment by maintaining open lines of communication.”
Smith later held an all hands call on the flight deck and fielded questions from Essex’s crew. He addressed topics such as tuition assistance, advancement exams, evaluations and current events. One of the focal points of this address was to encourage Sailors to build on their expertise.
“If you’re good at what you do, get better,” said Smith. “If you’re awesome at what you do, train the next person until they attain or exceed your level of knowledge. We need to be so good at our jobs that when a crisis occurs, performing our duties is second nature. We can focus on the mission at hand and keep the ship afloat.”
He encouraged Sailors to take the time during this period of decreased operations to brush up on their skills and learn the ship inside and out as it is being taken apart and put back together.
Essex is in a planned maintenance availability (PMA) period following its 2018-2019 deployment and is expected to be finished by winter.

• Date Taken: 05.21.2019
• Date Posted: 05.21.2019 16:05
• Story ID: 323309
• Location: SAN DIEGO, CA, US