Photo By Anna Marie G. Gonzales | Faith Cheong, human resources director for Navy Region Hawaii discusses plans with a...... read more read more
This month, we honor and pay tribute to the women – active and reserve, uniformed and civilian – who have served our Navy and our nation. There is no doubt, our Navy is full of trailblazing pioneers who paved the way for more than 134,000 women serving in our Navy today. These Sailors and spouses, mothers, daughters, and sisters, have served in every rank – from seaman to admiral, and in most every job, from naval aviators to explosive ordnance disposal technicians.
At Navy Region Hawaii, we’re spotlighting our own trailblazers. Each of them has a powerful drive for excellence – in both their personal and professional lives – and has played a pivotal role in public service.
Today we meet Faith Cheong, who is the lead in the Navy Region Hawaii Human Resources office.
Knowledge, skills and abilities are the qualities that Faith Cheong looks for in job candidates. As director of human resources at Navy Region Hawaii on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam her team scour resumes in search of qualified individuals for a host of positions ranging from first responder personnel to environmental specialists to information technology, financial, housing management, and business managers. Her team also provides employee and labor relations advisory services and support.
Faith’s own 38-year career in federal service are of humble beginnings and quite by chance.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Faith had a head for numbers. She loved math and had an interest in business in high school. She enrolled in accounting courses at Leeward Community College which unexpectedly led to her decision to enlist in the Air Force in San Diego.
“Joining the Air Force was coincidental and unexpected for me,” she recalled. “It all started when I went on a trip to California to visit a good friend and colleague of mine. She had an appointment to meet with an Air Force recruiter so she brought me along. While I was waiting for her in the lobby, one of the recruiters pulled me to his office and started giving me all this information and was showing me all the job positions. I was excited to see accounting on the list.”
“But he said there weren’t any jobs available in accounting at the time, and showed me a job that was available with military personnel,” she added. “I told him I prefer accounting, but the recruiter convinced me that when I come in to the military personnel career field I have six years to cross-train into finance field. So I thought about it and ended up signing up for the Air Force. What was supposed to be my friend signing up, ended up being me enlisting in the Air Force instead.
Faith began her career with the federal government as an active-duty Airman in 2005 in the military personnel career field where she held junior and senior enlisted positions ranging from installation level to major command.
Her tours of duty have taken her across the world including assignments at the consolidated base personnel office at Royal Air Force Bentwaters, United Kingdom; A1 directorate at Sembach Air Base, Germany; A1 directorate at Air Combat Command (ACC) at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia; and then to Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii in the A1 directorate of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) and superintendent of career enhancements for the Hickam Military Personnel Flight.
After 20 years of active-duty service, she became part of the Hickam civilian personnel office as a human resource technician. She later crossed over to the Navy human resources office (HRO) at Commander, Navy Region Hawaii (CNRH) in 2008 and worked her way to a specialized development position at both CNRH HRO and Pacific Fleet Command (PACFLT) when Hickam and Pearl Harbor became Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) in 2010, and through the Navy Human Resources Service Delivery restructure in 2013.
“In my years of service, I am most proud of the opportunity to serve with the culmination of an Air Force career in military personnel and then an opportunity again to serve with the Department of the Navy in civilian personnel at CNRH and JBPHH,” she said. “I remember everyone over these years that has had a hand in where I serve today and cannot thank each enough for their support and guidance along the way.”
Faith has held the position of human resource director of CNRH since 2019 and had to navigate keeping the region staffed and ready during times such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Red Hill crisis.
Faith has some advice for anyone looking to enter the field of human resources.
“Embrace human resources as a career and learn as much as you can. Experience various disciplines and the business operations side too,” she said. “Interact with HR colleagues to learn from each other for new or different methods to accomplish HR missions for the command and business.”
“Connect and provide management and customers with value-added options and the support advisory services they need from you,” she added. “Do your best. Don’t quit, rest. Remain flexible, agile, positive and fluid. Each day is a new day to pick up and persevere through your HR journey again.”
| Date Taken: | 03.28.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.28.2024 14:58 |
| Story ID: | 467280 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 110 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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