During the Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Pinning Ceremonies held Navy-wide every September, a fairly recent phenomenon has changed this once tradition-bound event. While wearing the uniform of their particular branch of service, soldiers, airmen, and Marines are standing in ranks with CPO Selectees anxiously waiting for their sponsors to place the distinctive Navy CPO khaki combination hats on their heads, while their family attach the CPO foul anchors to their collars. [1]
In the past quarter-century, a significant number of other service members have voluntarily subjected themselves to the rigors of the CPO initiation season.[2] To fully appreciate why this is occurring requires a brief review of CPO history, its evolution, and how the responsibilities and privileges enjoyed by Navy chiefs, are unlike those granted enlisted personnel in any other branch.
After President Benjamin Harrison signed an executive order in March 1893, Secretary of the Navy (SecNav) B. F. Tracy issued General Order #409, thereby establishing the rate (rank) of chief petty officer.[3] Although historic in terms of the Navy’s enlisted structure, the newly created pay grade was not seen as a newsworthy event. In fact, neither the 1893 nor the 1894 SecNav report to Congress mentioned the creation of the new rate. How a largely unnoticed policy change evolved into the exclusive fellowship of today’s CPO mess can be traced in two distinctly naval traditions.[4]
The first was a modification to the 1900 Navy Regulations that formally authorized separate messing for chief petty officers on board all Navy ships. Today, all but the smallest naval vessel has a Chiefs Mess, commonly referred to as the Goat Locker. According to the Navy Memorial’s Delbert D. Black National Chief’s Mess, “The Chief’s Mess holds great symbolic meaning for everyone in the United States Navy from the newest recruit to the Chief of Naval Operations.” [5] Indeed, so esteemed is a shipboard CPO mess, even the commanding officer would not presume to enter without first knocking and requesting permission.
The second is a unique quirk about Navy uniforms that hides in plain sight. With only minor modifications, a recent graduate of Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps basic training wears the same uniform as the senior officer of that service. On the other hand, the Navy, and only the Navy, has two distinct uniforms—one for commissioned officers and another for enlisted personnel. Navy officers wear a double-breasted navy-blue suit coat with six gold-colored buttons, while enlisted personnel wear the Cracker Jack style uniform.
At first glance, this may not seem particularly noteworthy. However, what makes this difference so profound is that newly advanced chiefs immediately don the same uniforms as a commissioned officer; only their rank insignia and where it is worn differ. The shift into officer-style uniforms, coupled with separate messing, was carefully considered by the naval and civilian leadership and intended to affirm the trust and regard conferred on the Navy’s most senior enlisted personnel.
In conjunction with the historic traditions creating the Navy’s senior enlisted rates, a single paragraph in the Chief Petty Officer Creed can be pointed to as the genesis for the remarkable level of esteem granted all Navy CPOs:
Your responsibilities and privileges do not appear in print. They have no official standing; they cannot be referred to by name, number, nor file. They have existed for over 127 years because Chiefs before you have freely accepted responsibility beyond the call of printed assignment. Their actions and their performance demanded the respect of their seniors as well as their juniors.
Originally instituted in the early 70s, over the past half-century, the CPO Creed has become a living document and has been updated many times to reflect the ever-changing demographics of the modern Navy. Centrally displayed in every CPO Mess afloat and ashore, it is read with solemnity at every CPO pinning ceremony, usually by the command master chief (CMC) or the senior master chief present.
In his April 1957 Proceedings article, “The Role of the Chief Petty Officer in the Modern Navy,” Navy Chief Personnelman Don A. Kelso wrote, “The high place of the chief petty officer in the peacetime Navy between the World Wars was not a myth then nor should it be one today. In the working and disciplinary hierarchy of the Navy, the CPOs position has not lost one iota of its significance.”[6]
Within the Navy, chief petty officers are considered the linchpin between officers and enlisted personnel. Historically celebrated for their technical expertise, as well as administrative abilities, their intricate knowledge of a ship’s daily operations, and the network to coordinate with various departments via the mess, has cemented their role. In his remarks at the 2018 Navy CPO Birthday celebration, Maser Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Russell Smith repeated the adage, “Officers run the Navy, but Chiefs make the Navy run.”
Ironically, today’s CPO community has a reputation of genuine humility. The character trait is considered so important to the Navy’s success; humility is referenced in the opening lines of the CPO Creed:
During the course of initiation, you have been caused to humbly accept challenge and face adversity. You must face each challenge and adversity with the same dignity and good grace you have already demonstrated.
In his December 2014 “Letter to the Mess” MCPON Mike Stevens defined the chief petty officer rate by stating, “A Chief Petty Officer is a quiet, humble, servant leader. We have the responsibility to establish and maintain the conditions that provide all of our people the opportunity to be successful and accomplish whatever mission we have been given. And we do this while treating one another with dignity and respect.” Stevens went on to quote the British writer and lay theologian, C. S. Lewis. “Being humble is thinking less of yourself and thinking more about others.” His final sentence reflects the essence of his vision for a humble leader, “Being mindful that the more senior you become, the more people you serve.”
The CPO legacy of humble deckplate leadership, technical expertise, and its world-wide network, are what attracts E-7s from other branches. However, gaining approval to participate is not easy, nor is it guaranteed. Those seeking admission must first be nominated by a genuine CPO.[7] Further, because of the significant investment of time, they must have permission from their parent chain of command, and the concurrence of the local CPO mess senior enlisted leader (SEL). Final approval rests with the respective fleet or force master chief.
That record numbers of senior NCOs formally request permission to go through CPO initiation is indisputable. According to MCPON Rick West, the genesis of the trend can be traced the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Requests from other service Staff Non-Commissioned Officers [E-7>] began to increase dramatically during the Gulf War when Navy individual augmentees (IAs) began serving with Army/Marine Corps units in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers and Marines suddenly had a front-row seat to observe firsthand the effectiveness of the Navy’s CPO mess. Many wanted to better understand the CPO brand of leadership by participating in Initiation.”
Feelings among rank-and-file CPOs regarding other service members participating in the secretive six-week initiation are mixed. In a social media poll of nearly 42,000 active-duty, reserve, retired, and former chief petty officers, 25.1 percent approved of accepting other service members into the mess with the stipulation they participated in all training evolutions and not just Final Night. Meanwhile, 21.7 percent disapproved of the practice citing, “if they wanted to be chiefs, they should have joined the Navy.”
There is even disagreement among the most senior master chief petty officers. “I’m all for the cross-pollination that results from other service members going through CPO Initiation,” said MCPON West.
Fleet Master Chief Scott Benning had a slightly different perspective. “It must be understood that while these men and women have been accepted as Chiefs, they’ve not gone through the exhaustive screening process that occurs during the annual Chief Petty Officer Selection Boards. My criterion for approval was whether the individual seeks to understand and acquire CPO-style leadership skills, or are they simply looking for another certificate on the wall.”
“If I’m in Japan with a sailor whose wife is in extremis INCONUS, I know and I can pick up the phone to contact any nearby CPO and that individual will drop everything to lend a hand,” said CMDCM Scott Nagle, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. Tenth Fleet. “That network affords a real safety net for our sailors and dramatically increases the CMDCM’s ability to advocate on behalf of sailors.”
Naval District Washington Command Master Chief Michael “Mike” Carbone said, “To be clear, the individuals from the Army, Airforce, and Marine Corps who are initiated into the Mess, are considered Chief Petty Officers in every sense except the uniform; they have our respect, our trust, and our acceptance.” [8]
Those in favor articulated some pretty convincing arguments for continuing the practice. CUCM Eric Bailey writes, “Being a Chief is about action, not a [particular] branch. Regardless your branch, if you are initiated, and you are dedicated to the Mess, I see no difference.”
“That someone understands the gravity of the season, should be humbling to us as a Mess. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” offered AZC (AW) Patrick J. Spilker, a CPO since 2020.
“The leadership training is a significant benefit, but the bond and inter-service collaboration go beyond the season,” wrote NDC (SS) Julius McManus, USN (Ret).
Far and away, the most powerful arguments for the practice of accepting members of other services into the Navy chiefs’ mess come from those soldiers, airmen, and Marines who have gone through the process and today wear their anchors proudly, if hidden, on their uniforms every day.
At the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, pinning ceremony in 2020, Superintendent Vice Admiral Sean Buck recognized Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Anthony Baudanza as the first Marine in academy history to be pinned as a chief. Selected as an assistant Marine officer instructor in 2018, Baudanza expressed that at the start of the 2021 season he was concerned that going through the CPO initiation would be perceived as a betrayal of the Marine Corps strict code of loyalty. His commanding officer, Major James Wuestman, offered a different perspective that altered Baudanza’s thinking by saying, “You’re not a traitor; you’re a trailblazer.”
“After hearing that,” said Baudanza, “I never looked back.”
When Air Force Master Sergeant Jake Gerold, then attached to Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Joint Staff (J-2) sought permission to join the DIA’s Navy Element CPO Association, the enlisted leader asked him why he wanted to participate in the CPO initiation. “I didn’t need to think about what motivated me, it was to learn first-hand, ‘The Magic of the Mess’ and the chief petty officer community’s ability to, ‘make stuffhappen.’” [9]
Senior Master Sergeant Emily Mandarich was initiated in 2016 while attached to the 70th Intelligence Surveillance Recon (ISR) Wing at Fort Meade. Hesitating when asked about her motivation, she said, “At leadership training, the first sergeant said, ‘The reason the Navy doesn’t have first sergeants is they train their chiefs right.’ That to me was, ooh, there must be something to this [CPO thing].”
The arguments for the continuation of the inclusion of other service members in CPO initiations may not completely outweigh those against. However, it is clear those against seem to imply that keeping the CPO cultural legacy exclusive to the Navy may be shortsighted. Which begs the question: Is there a benefit to creating a SNCO organization in the sister services with the same level of autonomy and trust afforded to the members of the Navy’s CPO Mess?
According to Fleet Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, the value of the CPO community can be illustrated in this oft-repeated anecdote:
After exchanging a wink with a Navy CPO during a post-World War II celebration in Los Angeles, California, a civilian guest asked the legendary admiral how the two men knew each other. Halsey said, “You civilians don’t understand. You go down to Long Beach and you see those battleships sitting there, and you think that they float on water, don’t you?”
The guest replied, “Yes, sir, I guess I do.”
To which Admiral Halsey stated, “You are wrong. They are carried to sea on the backs of those Chief Petty Officers.”[10]
Admiral Halsey’s sentiment regarding CPOs is not unique among senior naval officers by any stretch. A Boolean internet search that includes the keywords, “(remarks) AND (chief petty officer)” will generate 1.25 million results, span the past seventy decades, and include comments from Presidents, Fleet Admirals, Chiefs of Naval Operations, and senior officers from every component of the U.S. Military. Clearly, the CPO mess has proven its meddle and is worthy of emulation.
Emulation by the other branches will certainly require a collaborative effort that begins with every Senior Enlisted Advisor. Those individuals would need to embrace the ideals of the CPO Mess and the Initiation process, then modify them to meet the needs of their specific branch.
A good first step would be to expand the existing curriculums of all senior enlisted academies to include a module that explores how and why the CPO community has evolved into one of the most effective senior non-commissioned officer organizations in history.
And finally, chief petty officers will need to embrace the idea that sharing their legacy is in the best interest of the warfighters sworn to defend the nation.
Endnotes
[1] A Navy CPO Selectee is a First-Class Petty Officer (E-6) who has been selected for advancement to Chief (E-7) but has yet to be fully accepted into the CPO Mess. At the beginning of the annual CPO Season, selectees are assigned a primary and secondary sponsor who are responsible to assist selectees with the transition process
[2] CPO Initiation Season normally runs for six weeks beginning the day the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) announces Navy wide E-7 advancements, culminating at the pinning ceremony on/about September 16th.
[3] On March 13, 1893, the Navy Department informed the fleet, via U.S. Navy Regulation Circular No. 1, that the Navy’s regulations will contain the classification of “Chief Petty Officer” effective April 1, 1893, thereby officially establishing the rank of Navy Chief Petty Officer. https://www.navycs.com/charts/1893-navy-pay-chart.html.
[4] The CPO Creed states in part, “. . . you have joined an exclusive fellowship . . .” and “. . . “ask the Chief” is a household phrase in and out of the Navy”. https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/communities/chief-petty-officers/united-states-navy-chief-petty-officer-creed.html
[5] https://www.navymemorial.org/delbert-d-black-national-chiefs-mess
[6] https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1957/april/role-chief-petty-officer-modern-navy
[7] During the Season, active duty, reserve, retired, and veteran CPOs, who have been initiated into the CPO Mess are referred to as a Genuine Chief.
[8] The U.S. Coast Guard holds their own CPO Initiations which are conducted twice annually and involve the same type of high-intensity training as the Navy.
[9] Original word replaced for the sake of decorum,
[10] “Navy Chief Petty Officers: 124 Years of Deckplate Leadership.” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, 3 Apr. 2017, https://www.pacom.mil/Media/Speeches-Testimony/Article/1139420/navy-chief-petty-officers-124-years-of-deckplate-leadership/
