Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Amber Speer | 211119-N-CJ603-1309 NORFOLK (Nov. 19, 2021) – Chief Master-at-Arms Justin Shaffer,...... read more read more
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While some may argue that the strength of a ship is reliant on how many guns it has, how thick its hull is, or how fast it can go, there is one aspect of every U.S. Navy vessel that is notoriously referred to as the backbone.
Chief petty officer became an established rank of the United States Navy on April 1, 1893. Over half a century later, senior chief petty officer and master chief petty officer were added, completing what is now known as the Chief’s Mess.
Over time, the chief has become a symbol of pride across the Navy. Chiefs are in charge of upholding tradition and enforcing discipline in their junior and senior Sailors. They are expected to be experts of their rate with expansive knowledge on how a ship is supposed to run.
“Internally, it’s leadership,” Religious Program Specialist Chief Petty Officer (Sel) Joseph Jedding said. “You have to have those leadership skills to take care of your Sailors. Chiefs have to have this awareness, this self-realization of who they are, who they want to be, and the reflection of the Sailor that I would have looked up to as a junior Sailor.”
Jedding is one of 20 Sailors aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) to get selected for chief this year. After being picked up for chief, the first class petty officers take on the title of “chief select” as they push through the mentally and physically taxing training of chief season.
The chiefs are molded into Sailors that those junior to them can look up to and emulate. Over a month long period, they are put through various vigorous training evolutions designed to push them to their limits. They transform into the Sailors who respond, the ones who will never give in and give up the ship; the chiefs are those who have proven beyond a doubt that they are the very model of a United States Navy Sailor.
“What they bring to the table is heritage and tradition,” Jedding said. “What a chief is, and what makes them important, is that they maintain the traditions of the United States Navy. They’re there as the keepers of good order and discipline.”
While the history of the chiefs is important, chief is particularly a special title when considering the rank of E-7 to E-9 with the other branches of the military.
“Only in the Navy do we regard the rank of E-7 as especially significant,” Wasp Retail Services Specialist Chief Petty Officer (Sel) La Vida Boone said. “The rating and selection process is very serious.”
Due to a rigorous selection process, there is more comradery within the mess than that of other branches. Jedding reflects on his experience with the Marine Corps and how their senior enlisted interacted.
“I did ten years with the Marines,” Jedding said, “and it’s nothing like how the Navy’s Chief’s Mess conducts business. There is a fellowship that is both within the workplace and outside the workplace, like a professional and a personal unity.”
Even with the support of other chiefs, the weight of the job is a heavy one. Chiefs constantly deal with many difficulties during Chief Season and after the frocking ceremony, where the chief selects finally get pinned with the chief anchor. With so many stressors from their normal work life, chiefs have to be able to knock down barriers and find ways to overcome their struggles in order to push forward and be the best chief they can be.
Boone expressed that some of her challenges included reminding herself that it was possible for her to be chosen for chief, and she’s worthy of all the job entails even as she is pushed to learn and accept new ways and approaches to doing things around the work place. Boone said, “Becoming a chief feels like I’m adding to the history of a long line of professionals.”
While the Chiefs have only been around for a little over a century, the history of their successes is forever carried on by the strength of their successors. There are many important parts to a ship, but it’s the chiefs who are the backbone of the Navy.
| Date Taken: | 12.31.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.31.2021 20:27 |
| Story ID: | 412288 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 11,265 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, What it Means to be a Navy Chief, by PO2 Amber Speer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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