JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston on Joint Base Charleston - Weapons Station, has been executing a full court press on Chief Petty Officer 365 training. The program, began under the direction of the previous Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, Rick West, is designed to prepare and train first class petty officers for their future roles and to maintain continuous development once selected to the rank of chief petty officer.
To implement the program, each of the Brig's chief petty officers are assigned a team of two first class petty officers. The chiefs meet and mentor their team at weekly training sessions to demonstrate and evaluate a myriad of topics from the chief petty officer's perspective to include: leadership, general military knowledge, naval heritage and physical fitness. Chief Petty Officer 365 command formal training sessions take place twice a month, however, Sailors often spend considerably more time preparing individually and as a team in order to adequately complete assignments which will be evaluated by the chiefs. The results are Sailors who are better prepared to meet more challenging leadership roles, both at present and future duty assignments.
"At first I thought this was leadership training our departmental chiefs should be conducting every day, but after evaluating the program's effectiveness I'm confident this deckplate leadership and training is bettering our Sailors and increasing their aptitude for advancement exams," said Commander Patrick Boyce, NCBC executive officer.
And the program is paying dividends. Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston had two Sailors selected to chief petty officer during the 2012 selection board. And, during the recent Sailor of the Year competition, Petty Officer 1st Class Andre Thercy, NCBC's 2012 Sailor for the Year, went on to be chosen as Navy Personnel Command's Sailor of the Year, hopefully a stepping stone to advancement to chief petty officer.
"The competition for Sailor of the Year was extremely tough and the other finalists were outstanding Sailors," Thercy said. "I credit my success to NCBC's chief's mess and the training provided to me during CPO 365. Now, I can use my experience to enhance my leadership skills, strengthen my commitment and provide additional mentorship to those junior Sailors whose goal is to become Sailors of the Year and chief petty officers."