Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Aja Jackson | SAN DIEGO (Sept. 16, 2025) - Newly-pinned chief petty officer assigned to Naval Base...... read more read more
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SAN DIEGO (NNS) - Sailors assigned to Naval Base San Diego (NBSD) donned a pair of gold-fouled anchors for the first time to become the 132nd class of chief petty officers, Sept. 16, 2025.
“Chiefs are both technical experts and deck plate leaders and with the honor and respect they get, comes the challenges of leadership,” said Capt. Brian Bungay, commanding officer, NBSD. “They are the ones who are looked upon to make things happen in the Navy; they honor those who have gone before them and build a path for those who will follow.”
The pinning ceremony marked the culmination of six weeks of indoctrination and initiation into one of the most exclusive professional fellowships in the Navy, the Chiefs Mess. During the initiation, dubbed chief season, first class petty officers (E6) selected for chief are trained, mentored, and tested in leadership, core values, and an array of other professional and personal development areas before being accepted into the Chiefs Mess.
“The tone of the ship, and the tone of the service itself, must come directly from the chief petty officer,” said Command Master Chief Isreal Pedregon. “We have been and will continue to be victorious in wars and conflicts, because no other Navy in the world has 132 years of the chief petty officer setting the tone.”
The Navy’s newest CPOs include:
-Chief Personnel Specialist Inmar Alvarenga
-Chief Aviation Machinist's Mate Victoria Bautista-Macias
-Chief Culinary Specialist Philip Calalang
-Chief Hospital Corpsman Eduardo Cruz
-Chief Personnel Specialist Gloria Cruz
-Chief Yeoman Derrick Curtis
-Chief Musician Kelly daCosta
-Chief Personnel Specialist Ethan Elliot
-Chief Logistics Specialist Joseph Reboja
-Chief Personnel Specialist Wenting Yao
Chiefs are considered the backbone of senior enlisted leadership and advocates for the best interests of junior Sailors. The chief removes barriers and handles adversity to allow Sailors to do their jobs while demonstrating the humility to take a back seat when a good job is rewarded.
“These chiefs we present before you today are not the same people they were when selected six weeks ago,” said Pedregon. “They have been tried, they have been tested, and they stand before you, accepted into the greatest fellowship this world has ever seen.”
The CPO grade (E-7), traditionally unique to the Navy, was first mentioned during the Revolutionary War through the promotion of Chief Cook Jacob Wasbie in 1776, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command. The Chief was formally established through executive order by President Benjamin Harrison on April 1, 1893; starting a tradition that consisted of the senior, most experienced, rated sailor as the "chief,” who was designated by the commanding officer as the one in charge of his peers.
Established in 1922, NBSD is the largest West coast naval installation and principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, supporting more than 60 combatant and auxiliary surface ships and more than 250 shore commands.
Learn more about NBSD by following: https://www.facebook.com/NavalBaseSD/
| Date Taken: | 09.16.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.16.2025 19:37 |
| Story ID: | 548345 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 174 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Hail to the Chief: Naval Base San Diego welcomes newest Chiefs to the Mess, by LT Drew Verbis, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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