So You Want To Be A United States Navy Chief?

So You Want To Be A United States Navy Chief?

So You Want To Be A United States Navy Chief? It doesn’t seem unreasonable. Making the cut, making the grade, wearing the anchors and becoming the backbone of the United States Navy. Far from the easiest thing to accomplish and for those that do they become part of the largest brotherhood and sisterhood in the world.

A Navy Chief is almost a Mythical being. Like a sea going unicorn. You kind of see them but you don’t or that elusive mermaid that never shows her locks from beneath the froth and foam of the world’s ocerans. You know they are there. They exist but to claim to have seen one bears scrutiny. They command and in doing so they have dressed down Admirals and new recruits with Equal ease. They have a fundamental understanding of the Navy, its history, its role and it is very clear that when their connection to the backbone of the US Navy is alluded to. No one disagrees.

So what makes a US Navy Chief? They are not only experts at their rate and their chosen career path, but also in personnel management. Thye have to be. Junior Enlisted petty officers like 3rd, 2nd and 1st class petty officers know that they can go directly to their Chief for Sage advice and discussion. Junior Officers often hide or make themselves terribly small when in the presence of one of these beings. Naval Senior Officers depend on the Chief’s Mess for order and discipline. The CPO mess is a roundtable, a forum if you will, where reasoning, discussion, managements and experience come to light often with the single concept of what is best for the Navy.

A US Navy Chief wears an Anchor on their lapel and on their cover as the Symbol of his or her rank. That same fouled anchor is the symbol of the United States Navy. Since April 1st, 1893 it is reasoanble to comment that the spirit of the Navy, Its very traditions, ceremony its core values and its very honor are alive because its Chiefs keep it that way. The Chief is the anchor of the Navy. The core. Its foundation and its connection to history. Without the Chief’s a US Navy warship would be just a ship and without a soul. Its crew would just be doing a Job with no life or direction. Words commonly found stretched throughout the Navy like shipmate, brother or sister would have no meaning. The Goat Locker and the possession of decades of experience to draw from gives the Ship and its crew its collective Spirit and meaning.

To become a Navy Chief is almost impossible. It hangs out there with running a sub 4 minute mile, bench pressing 475 on a Red Bull or hitting a hole in one in your first outing playing golf. It is what those professionals in the USN strive for and it must be a goal that an enlisted service personnel never loses sight of. On average it will take a US Sailor 15 years to reach the rank of Chief Petty Officer (E-7). 17.5 Years to Reach Sr. Chief (E-8) and 21 Years to earn the Rank of Master Chief (E-9). Just to even be considered, one must possess a college degree, time as a Leading Petty Officer at Sea, aka an LPO, pass a very difficult test and go before a selection board. Now these days it requires successful completion of the CPO 365 program which helps identify future Chiefs and those not made of the metal it requires. Every military step of the way these people are judged, scrutinized and examined. If they are ever found wanting in any area, it’s the end of the Road and where often careers end.

So how many are there? The total quantity of Chiefs, Senior Chiefs and Master Chiefs on active duty at any given time is about 10% of the total Number of enlisted. Chiefs make up about 7% of the enlisted, Sr. Chiefs about 2% of the enlisted, Master Chiefs are less than one percent and are as scarce as the elusive unicorn previously mentioned. To put it in another way. You have better odds of meeting a NFL football player than you do a Navy Master Chief. So we ask you again. So You Want To Be A United States Navy Chief?

Chiefs and coins also go hand in hand and nothing is more important than pressing a Navy Chief challenge coin into one’s hand signifying the connection the Navy Chiefs have with one another!