Personnel aboard the USS Carl Vinson Friday marked the 123rd birthday of the Navy chief petty officer rank.
The Vinson’s 70 chiefs began their day with a cake-cutting ceremony, followed by a group photo on the flight deck.
“What’s most important about the job of a chief petty officer is taking care of sailors, plain and simple,” said Marty Barnholtz, the Vinson’s command master chief. “It’s our responsibility to provide the proper tools and training to do their jobs and advance in their ranking, so they may someday advance to the rank of chief petty officer, at which time they may then do the same thing for their sailors.”
The rank of chief petty officer was created on April 1, 1893, to distinguish senior enlisted leaders and bridge the gap between officer and enlisted ranks.
“As an enlisted sailor, my goal was always to be ‘the chief’ and to be the go-to source of knowledge and guidance,” said Michael Delanis, master chief operations specialist. “As a chief petty officer, I am the deckplate leader charged with training the leaders of tomorrow and instilling institutional expertise.”
Over the past year on board the Vinson, 34 sailors advanced to the rank of chief petty officer, while six were promoted to senior chief and three earned the rank of master chief petty officer, U.S. Navy officials said.
The Vinson is preparing for future sea operations.
—City News Service
