Photo By Douglas Stutz | A handful of Sailors currently assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training...... read more read more
A handful of Sailors currently assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Bremerton, were informed of a name change quite unlike any other.
All five will now be known as ‘chief.’
The U.S. Navy’s senior enlisted ranks welcomed Chief Hospital Corpsman (selectee) Benjamin Chapin, Chief Hospital Corpsman (selectee) Thomas Cox, Chief Personnel Specialist (selectee) Chia Hu, Chief Hospital Corpsman (selectee) Julius Ramirez and Chief Yeoman (selectee) Zakeyia Vickers.
“We feel very fortunate. Those selected have worked hard, and have many pulling for them and pulling them up along the way. The final selection is always a difficult decision. Those not selected have not worked any less, and it’s a testament just to belong in the process. I call on the new selectees to continue to do the same and bring the next generation up to follow them,” said Capt. Patrick Fitzpatrick, NMRTC Bremerton commanding officer.
NMRTC Bremerton Command Master Chief Rob Stockton acknowledged the selection process is never easy.
“This is hard. The selection is based on a lifetime of service to people, the mission and the impact they have had making a difference. This process for some is a decade or more in making for their time to come,” Stockton said.
Addressing assembled, eligible first class petty officers from the command, Stockton commented that the first Sailor on his list was one he had known since 2016 when stationed on USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). “He’s a grinder and a man of few words. Loyal and dedicated,” stated Stockton on recognizing Hu.
Stockton noted that in the next selectee’s case, not being picked up for chief the previous year was a surprise. “His record stood out. Yet it wasn’t his time. You’ve got to keep going, keep developing, keep learning and leading. Which is what Cox did.”
Chapin was another, Stockton affirmed, who was on the radar. He had stepped into leadership roles, including adding a deployment to Expeditionary Medical Clinic Isa Air Base, Bahrain. He was the sole pharmacy technician supporting approximately 1,600 forward deployed joint service warfighters, and helped with the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command COVID-19 inoculation plan for the vaccination of service members and base employees across 14 tenant commands.
“Chapin also kept leading younger Sailors, learning, and growing professionally,” said Stockton.
There are also those who enter the Navy a little later than others. “With maturity and real-life experiences, taking on a lot more responsibility and helping to advance and support Sailors is what Vickers has done,” Stockton said.
Before announcing Ramirez, Stockton shared that those who know him personally realize he can get open with his feelings.
“I get emotional – can’t help it – every time I hear him say ‘the Sailor’s Creed’ out loud. I want to stand up and join in. That’s just an example of who Ramirez is and what he brings every day,” Stockton said.
The manner of promotion to the rank of chief in the Navy is a unique process compared to the other branches in the armed forces. In the Army, Air Force and the Marine Corps, an E-6 becomes E-7.
In the Navy, each eligible Sailor for chief is required to be selected by a ranking and selection board composed of master chiefs who actively choose the future leadership from the most capable Sailors, considering both their aptitude as technical experts and ability as leaders.
The formal initiation season – approximately seven weeks - for the five Navy chief petty officer selectees at NMRTC Bremerton started once as they were notified, as they all continue to work towards earning their formal title and new name of United States Navy chief.
| Date Taken: | 10.04.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.04.2021 18:03 |
| Story ID: | 406690 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 892 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Chief Selectees announced at NMRTC Bremerton, by Douglas Stutz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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