Landlocked MEB sailors drop anchors

Photo By Cpl. Michael Curvin | Chief petty officer selectees stand in a row before their promotion ceremony. During a six-week training evolution, these sailors learned leadership techniques, added to their knowledge of naval heritage and participated in community service.  

AFGHANISTAN

09.16.2009

Story by Cpl. Michael Curvin 

2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade

Throughout a Sailor's career he or she will achieve a few milestones always remembered; among these cherished memories are boot camp graduation, first float and promotion to chief petty officer.

The Navy welcomed seven new chief petty officers to the ranks during a promotion ceremony here Sept. 16, the culmination of six weeks of voluntary leadership training. During the leadership training, the Sailors learned lessons steeped in Navy heritage, community service and self-discipline.

"To wear the anchor of a chief petty officer, you have to trust those you serve with," said Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon R. Dittlinger, the chairman of fiscal year 2010 chief petty officer selectees from Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan. "You have to be able to trust that no matter what, the chief standing beside you is your brother."

Chief petty officer selectee training develops trust among chief petty officers and their peers, helps the new petty officers identify and develop their leadership skills, and instills a strong sense of community service. In addition to their training activities, the selectees found a way to dedicate time to community service despite the deployed environment. The selectees collected more than 60 bags of trash and extended their assistance to Afghan civilians by collecting and sorting clothing from American care packages and donating them to an orphanage.

Egg-shaped rocks played a key role in a training activity designed to improve leadership skills and enhance basic administrative skills. In this activity, each selectee took charge of a dozen egg-shaped rocks representing future Sailors who would fall under the care of the soon-to-be chiefs. While these "sailors" were in the selectees' charge, they worked through scenarios such as leave requests, pay issues and supporting education programs for their egg-shaped rocks.

Many of their new duties, in addition to their military occupational specialties, will require complete trust from their Sailors because they are expected to know or get the information needed to resolve any matter, according to Dittlinger.

"Becoming a chief is when not just the Navy, but Congress says 'you are a leader,'" Dittlinger said. "They put us in the exact same uniform of our officers because they give us that much responsibility."

The CPO selectees' training involved teamwork-building activities with an underlying message of 'with power, comes burden.' During their final night as selectees, each Sailor was given a five-pound rock and several one-pound rocks. The brigade's chief petty officers, who oversaw the training, had written words for positive traits, such as honesty and loyalty, on the large rock. They had written negative characteristics on the smaller rocks. The selectees faced the unenviable task of awarding the rocks to their fellow selectees. Acknowledging the superior performance and/or positive characteristics of a fellow selectee guaranteed that Sailor a significantly heavier pack during the final march of the training. Acknowledging the inferior performance or lacking leadership skills of a fellow selectee lessened the weight of the pack but reflected poorly on the future chief overall.

Of course the selectees didn't want to give the biggest rock to another sailor, nor did they want to pass along the smaller rocks, due to their negative connotations. The exercise was designed to show the petty officers that when in a leadership position, not every decision will be easy, according to Dittlinger.

The rock exercise also helped highlight the role of the chiefs' mess, which consists of CPOs and higher. Throughout naval history, Sailors of like rank would convene at dinners and the event was called mess night. In its modern use, the chiefs' mess represents a support network for the senior enlisted ranks of the Navy. When a petty officer is promoted to the rank of chief petty officer, they are not alone. They can expect support from the mess and assistance in making these tough decisions, according to Dittlinger.

"If they ask for help, they'll get help," Dittlinger said. "It's learning to rely on the mess."

One of their final experiences involved a night march that built their confidence with the mess. In the dark of night, the CPO selectees donned sunglasses. With one arm extended, their outstretched hand on the back of the person in front of them, they marched, flanked on each side by the "mess" made up of the brigade's chief petty officers, who led the selectees through the training. Through soft sand and obstacles such as rebar and holes, the CPO selectees looked to the mess to guide them, much as they will in future endeavors.

The march included a historical element as the Sailors harkened back to the service members who endured the Bataan Death March during World War II. Throughout the march, the selectees paused in remembrance of the physical and mental suffering of the victims of Bataan. This event signaled the completion of the Sailors' training. They were ready to become "chiefs."

After completing the march, each selectee placed his or her seaman's cap in a coffin, symbolizing the completion of chief petty officer training and preparing to receive the Navy officer cover worn by commissioned officers and chief petty officers alike.

Each Sailor's mentor placed their new caps on the selectees head bearing the anchor of a chief petty officer on the front. A Sailor stood solemly and banged the ceremonial ship's bell indicating with each "ding," the first steps taken by the new chief petty officer. During their initial steps, both new and old chief petty officers salute each other as a sign of respect.

"I don't think you could quite describe the feeling when you've completed this," said Chief Petty Officer Edwin Brannan, a corpsman from MEB-Afghanistan. "It is indescribable."

Brannan spent three years in the Army and served in Mogadishu, Somalia before leaving the military in 1995 to attend college. When 9/11 occurred, he became a corpsman so he could help other military members. Since joining the Navy, he has deployed three times to Iraq and is currently on his second tour to Afghanistan.
Brannan expressed gratitude for the leadership and sailors he's served alongside throughout his time in the Navy.

"No one gets here by themselves," Brannan said. "That is more than apparent with the CPOs."

Six Sailors from MEB-Afghanistan were promoted to the rank of chief petty officer during a ceremony here Sept. 16. They are:

Chief Petty Officer Tyrone Allie
Chief Petty Officer Brian Boyd
Chief Petty Officer Edwin Brannan
Chief Petty Officer Venita Johnson
Chief Petty Officer Chad Libutti
Chief Petty Officer Derrick Stephens

• Date Taken: 09.16.2009
• Date Posted: 09.19.2009 13:09
• Story ID: 39011
• Location: AF