HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAVY CHIEFS!

On April 1, 1893, the rate of U. S. Navy Chief Petty Officer was established, making us 117 years old today officially, although there have been Chiefs around as long as there has been a Navy.

I owe a great deal of thanks to the Chiefs who came before me and to the ones who taught me how to be a Sailor. Many of them were not the politically correct version that is so prevalent today in our Navy, however they were the difference makers. They truly were the backbone of our force. They smoked everywhere (before smoke pits), drank coffee that came in five pound Navy issued cans, never cleaned their mugs, were very found of beer, and always made sure their sailors were taken care of. Their counseling was tough and physical, but you knew they would just as soon take a bullet for you if need be. They could tell Officers to go to hell in a way that the Officers learned from it, and would always respect their Chiefs. They were always ready to deploy anywhere, anytime, and they lived by the creed. I could not wait to be one of those guys. I got to be one in 1993, made Senior in 98, and my Dad pinned on my Master Chief Anchors in 2003.

I feel compelled at this point to add a couple of paragraphs from the CPO creed, which has changed from the this one that I made Chief by, but the meaning remains the same.

"Always bear in mind that no other armed force has rate or rank equivalent to that of the United States Navy. Granted that all armed forces have two classes of service: enlisted and commissioned, however the United States Navy has the distinction of having four i.e. Enlisted, CHIEF PETTY OFFICER, Commissioned Warrant Officer and Commissioned Officer. This is why we in the United States Navy may maintain with pride our feelings of superiority once we have attained the position of E-7"

"These privileges, these responsibilities do not appear in print, they have no official standing, they cannot be referred to by name, number nor file. They exist because for over 200 years the CHIEFS before you have freely accepted responsibility beyond call of printed assignment, their actions and their performance, demanded the respect of their seniors as well as their juniors."

There is much more to the creed but to me these paragraph pretty much sums it for me. Once again Happy Birthday to all Navy CHIEFS past and present. Thank you and God Bless you.

Hoo Ya!