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CAMP LEJEUNE, NC- Personal. Professional. Mission. Those three words are the philosophy by which Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune’s new Command Master Chief lives his life.
Command Master Chief (CMDCM) Morais McDermott began shore duty at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune (NMCCL)/ Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Camp Lejeune in June 2020. Originally from Jamaica, McDermott moved to New York as a child and grew up in Queens.
“My mom was a single mom, and my little sister was getting ready to graduate from high school and go to college,” said McDermott. “I didn’t want to be a roadblock for her as my mom was already helping me with college, so I decided to join the Navy.”
McDermott enlisted in the Navy in September 1996 as an undesignated seaman, but was quickly working for the Boatswain’s Mates. McDermott is proud to wear the insignia of one of the oldest rates in the Navy.
“I enjoyed it, so I stuck with it,” explained McDermott. “All these special evolutions as far as rescue operations, that’s all the Boatswain’s Mates. When it comes time to pull into port and anchor the ship, that’s all the Boatswain’s Mates. They do all the cool, fun stuff.”
McDermott arrived at NMCCL from most recently serving as Command Master Chief (CMC) aboard USS Ramage, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. McDermott’s time with Ramage was nearly cut short when plans changed to move
McDermott to a cruiser after just a little over 18 months. McDermott chose to stay aboard Ramage, extending his tour of duty to complete deployment with the ship’s crew.
With nearly 24 years of Navy service behind him, a career he says he wouldn’t change for anything, McDermott brings his career as a Boatswain’s Mate to the decks of the medical center.
“I think in a lot of ways, all great Boatswain’s Mates have made exceptional Command Master Chiefs. It’s not just the technical piece, but the administrative piece,” McDermott said. “I have been able to make myself pretty administratively savvy enough to be able to deal with both the technical and administrative tasks. That goes a long way to doing this job.”
While McDermott has been in the CMC role at NMCCL just shy of a month, he applauds the Command for the direction in which NMCCL is moving. McDermott hopes to apply his own personal philosophy to help forward that direction — “personal, professional, mission.”
McDermott elaborated on his mantra. “I want Sailors to take care of themselves personally; that’s the mental aspect, the physical aspect, the financial aspect, the family aspect. I want them to also be professional. I want them to not just be professional and courteous to their shipmates, their seniors, and their subordinates; I want them to personally care about their professional growth.”
McDermott says, if Sailors fulfill personal and professional goals that will take care of the final goal which is “mission”— being ready to answer the nation’s call. McDermott knows his role as CMC means translating his philosophy for each Sailor assigned to NMCCL or one of its eight Branch Clinics. McDermott’s initial goal as CMC is to start visiting with Sailors at clinics farthest from the Command, one being an approximately 40 min drive from the medical center
“There are some Sailors who feel they don’t have a shot to stand out, and I think in a lot of ways it is because of how spread out the Command is,” explained McDermott. “I want to make sure they understand that no matter who you are or where you are, you always have a shot. We [the Command] are going to do everything that we possibly can to bridge that distance.”
McDermott holds a bachelor’s in business from Excelsior College. He is married with four children and is a lifelong fan of the New York Giants, the Knicks and the Yankees.
| Date Taken: | 07.22.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 07.22.2020 12:41 |
| Story ID: | 374354 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 392 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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