Generations of Service Showcased at NAVSTA Rota Pinning Ceremony

Courtesy Photo | Tech. Sgt. Brandon King, 521st Air Mobility Operations Group unit deployment manager, poses for a photo with his parents after the 2025 Naval Station Rota, Spain Chief Petty Officer Training and Initiation Season, Sept. 16, 2025, at NAVSTA Rota. (Courtesy Photo)  

NAVAL STATION ROTA, SPAIN

01.13.2026

Courtesy Story

521st Air Mobility Operations Wing

Some of the individuals who were recognized at the annual Naval Station Rota Chief Petty Officer Pinning Ceremony looked a little different, with gold anchors and a khaki cap crowning an otherwise blue uniform. On Sept. 16, 2025, three of the twenty CPOs recognized during the 2025 NAVSTA Rota CPO Training and Initiation Seasons were Airmen from the 521st Air Mobility Operations Group and 725th Air Mobility Squadron.

For more than a decade, newly selected U.S. Air Force Master Sergeants have been nominated by local Air Force leadership to participate alongside their U.S. Navy partners. Each member goes through an extensive vetting process by their leadership and the Airmen who were previously accepted into the Chief’s Mess.

“We want to make sure our folks are participating for the right reasons,” said Chief Master Sgt. Jeffery Ritenour, 725th AMS senior enlisted leader. “This isn’t about being a part of a cool kids club; this is a serious test of commitment and dedication that connects us more closely to the base.”

For Master Sgt. Select Brandon King of the 521st AMOG, his reason for participating in Season is personal. His father, Chief Petty Officer Christopher King, was an aviation structural mechanic in the Navy before retiring in 2010.

“I grew up around my dad and his Chief friends and got to see how tightly knit the Chief’s Mess was,” said King. “If my dad wasn’t there to help me with something I knew I could go to one of his buddies.”

With the help of Brandon’s fellow Air Force sponsors, Chris surprised Brandon by flying out to Rota to surprise him during Final Night. The biggest surprise came during the Pinning Ceremony when he showed up in uniform, buying a new pair of Khakis and shaving his long beard for the event. On stage, after pinning anchors onto the blue uniform, Chris took off the cap he was wearing and placed it onto his son’s head.

“I didn’t even know he was going to show up in his Khakis, and then being covered with the same hat that he was wearing meant the world to me,” continued King.

In addition to the personal pride that comes from finishing Chief’s Season, these Airmen help deepen the connections between NAVSTA Rota and the 521st AMOG and 725th AMS, bolstering their ability to enable Rapid Global Mobility for Air Force missions transiting Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia.

“It is an honor to continue to be invited to participate in CPO Season,’ said Lt. Col. Bradlee Seehawer, 725th AMS commander. There are only a handful of bases around the world where our Airmen get this kind of opportunity, and it is a visible testament to the excellent partnership we have with NAVSTA Rota.”

• Date Taken: 01.13.2026
• Date Posted: 01.13.2026 10:43
• Story ID: 556134
• Location: NAVAL STATION ROTA, ES