firehawkordy 34 Posted August 2, 2011 Today I saw the names of several Shipmates on the Navy Chief Selectee List, that list is a two edge sword for me. On the one edge, the month after I put in my retirement papers I found that I had passed the Chief's exam on the first try but I will never know if I could have been a good Chief. On the flip side, the young Sailors that I trained over the years as a First or Second Class PO now wear the Fouled Anchor of a CPO. If there was ever a measure of a man's success, I think that this would be it, my young troops are now the backbone of the Navy. Congrats to all of this years new CPO's, may you all have at least one evil, mean, and nasty Bastard PO1 to keep you out of trouble and keep your troops in top form. Remember, a good Chief trusts his First and Second classes, gives his Third Class Petty Officers the chances and support they need to prove themselves and makes sure his E-3 and below are properly groomed for their Crows. A good Chief also knows when to leave shop discipline to the shop and never, ever, ask where something came from. Trust me, you don't want to know. BRAVO ZULU to you all Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+streakeagle 871 Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) I refused to take the Chief's test since the results simply didn't matter. My EAOS was well before results would be out and even if I could have made chief, I wasn't staying in. The command advancement staff tried to tell me to take the test OR ELSE. But I played my Ace: the Captain of our sub. He had already agreed to let me leave in peace rather than fight over a protocol that was utterly meaningless for the Navy or me. Of course, I got a NAM in the mail months later after it was meaningless. The only times a medal counts to me are: 1) when it is awarded in front of the people who knew whether or not you deserved it. 2) when you wear a full dress uniform and you can show off all of your chest candy. They didn't even send me the actual medal, just the piece of paper saying it was awarded to me. And they wondered why I was so unhappy with the Navy in general and with that command in particular. ... but I'm not bitter Everyone I ever served with who stayed in made Chief or Senior Chief. A scarce few made Master Chief. Most retired almost immediately after reaching 20 years as the stresses of submarine life and the current political-economic situation simply make Navy life to painful to want to stay for 30. I am proud to have served and even more proud of those I served with, but getting out at 8.0 years was simply the right choice for me. Congrats to all those who made Chief! I hope they get used to having their spines removed over the next 10 years Edited August 2, 2011 by streakeagle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ezlead 42 Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) Staff NCO's run the services,no matter what branch. They just let the officer's think that the officer's run the services. As a young 2nd/lt and 1st/lt,SNCO's taught me how to lead people and saved my a$$ many times. Bravo Zulu to all who have made it or could have! Edited August 2, 2011 by ezlead Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
