MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson visited with Sailors assigned to Navy Recruiting District (NRD) San Francisco, May 28-29.
The visit came in conjunction with Richardson’s visit to the greater bay area.
On Memorial Day, in a small ceremony at the Golden Gate National Cemetery chapel, he took the time to recognize NRD San Francisco Sailors for outstanding performance in staff support and recruiting mission areas. Then, Richardson reenlisted several Sailors in front of their shipmates and families.
“When the CNO spoke to us, I really liked that he recognized the challenges we have here in recruiting,” said Navy Counselor 1st Class Lloyd Belcher. “He definitely had an understanding for everything that was going on and empathized with us.”
Following the reenlistments Richardson conducted a short meet and greet with families and Sailors, then led a small ceremony at the gravesides of Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy Chester Nimitz, Admiral Raymond Spruance and Vice Admiral Charles Lockwood, all of whom are buried in the same section of the cemetery.
The day concluded with a formal Memorial Day ceremony, with Richardson as the key note speaker, recognizing all services and the sacrifices of those who served and lost their lives. Richardson, discussed humility, selfless service, and the ultimate sacrifice made by some of the 144,000 buried at the cemetery.
Sailors from NRD San Francisco attended a reception at Apple headquarters followed by a speech and Q-and-A session with Richardson, May 29. Richardson discussed the purpose of the Navy, which is to protect the sea lanes of communication, strategic choke points and ensure the unhindered transfer of commerce.
“I really like the way the CNO communicated our mission in terms that were relatable to the people at Apple,” said Chief Machinist’s Mate Mario Quiroz. “He even opened my eyes to some things we are doing out at sea that I didn’t know were happening.”
During the Q-and-A session, the focus changed from the Navy to organizational leadership. Richardson discussed the importance of mentorship and his belief that advocacy is taking mentorship one step further.
Advocacy is searching for jobs that your protégé may be interested in and then calling the hiring manager to promote your protégé to the next level or responsibility, said Richardson.
He went on to say that advocacy is not just providing guidance and mentorship, but it involves taking an active role in the promotion and well-being of a protégé. Furthermore, he challenged the audience with thinking about how diverse their mentorship and protégé groups were and if everyone looked like you then he challenged them to reach out to others who can provide new perspectives.
Richardson wrapped up his visit of Silicon Valley at Stanford University’s Hoover Institute where he was accompanied by NRD San Francisco’s senior leadership and Department of Defense Fellows. Richardson offered his broad view of how the Maritime Domain fits into the current National Security Strategy.
Although this visit to the bay area was brief, Richardson maximized his time with a densely packed, highly informative, schedule.
For more information on NRD San Francisco, visit www.cnrc.navy.mil/pages-nrd/sanfrancisco/default.html