Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy: In his words

11.19.2008

Courtesy Story

Navy Region Mid-Atlantic

By Petty Officer 1st Class Tim Comerford
Navy Region Mid-Atlantic

As William Shakespeare wrote in Twelfth Night "Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them." Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Joe R. Campa, Jr. achieved greatness — he built it with tireless work and a strong sense of Naval heritage.

He wasn't always sure he wanted to join the Navy but he knew he would be in the military.

"My father had served in the army during the Korean war and my uncle was a Marine during Vietnam. I think the seed was planted with those two pushing me towards military service," Campa said. "I thought about both of those branches of service until I met a Navy recruiter."

The recruiter changed Campa's perspective and his life.

"The Navy recruiter had such a passion for going to sea and for serving our nation that it made me want to be part of this organization," Campa said. "I don't remember the programs he talked about — but I remember the stories he told about being on board a ship, the places that he had visited and how much he missed being in the fleet. The way he spoke about those things told me that this organization was something special."

Campa, like many Sailors at the time, came into the Navy having never finished high school.

"I don't think at first that it had that much impact on me," Campa said. "I didn't start out as a hospital corpsman; I started out as a deck seaman. The first six or seven months I was in learning as much as I could about the Navy and the ship. But I knew in the back of my mind that if I wanted to do more, I would have to take that step and finish [my degree]."

Campa then went on to get his GED and started taking college courses.

"Throughout my career when the opportunity presented itself, I would take a class," Campa said. "At first it was just to improve my leadership — writing classes, public speaking — those abilities that would compliment my ability as a leader and as a corpsman. I came to a point where I had taken several of these classes and I thought of shaping them into a degree." The MCPON received his Bachelor's of Science degree from Excelsior years later, while attending the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy (all services send senior enlisted to one another's leadership schools).

The MCPON took his willingness to learn farther, going to the Naval War College. He graduated with a Masters of Science and Strategic Studies. "It is a very challenging program," Campa said of the year-long in-residence course of study.

The MCPON's first mentor is tied closely with his vision of what a leader should be — deckplate leadership.

"My first chief had a big impact on me; I still look at what he did," Campa said. "When he spoke, he spoke with such credibility because he had such a strong knowledge of his ship, his rate and the people that he led, that inspired me to want to do well for him. He planted some seeds — but I have been fortunate throughout my career to have good, strong, deckplate leaders -— those that kept their focus on the people and measured their success through them. That is what I tried to bring back with deckplate leadership. That kind of leadership is traditional of the Chief's Mess and critical to our people and our Navy."

He added, that he does not get excited when meeting someone, famous or not, but there was one exception to the rule, MCPON Delbert D. Black.

"I was getting ready to go to my first command master chief tour and I was stationed in Great Lakes. The region master chief, Chief of Naval Operations directed Master Chief Duffy Merril, invited my wife and I to have dinner at his home. When we got there he had a surprise for us, the first MCPON and his wife, Ima, were both there. I had read stories about him throughout my career. To listen to him talk about our Navy and the events that helped shape it was inspiring. I realized that what he was telling me was not just about things he saw, he was passing down a little bit of our Navy's history from one generation of chief to the next. He walked me out to my car, shook my hand and told me not to forget who raised me in the navy and who I worked for. It was one of the most memorable evenings of my career."

Campa feels every Sailor should have a sense of the history of the Navy.

"Every Sailor should know where he comes from," Campa said. "They need to have a grasp of the organization they belong to. I don't believe any leader can be effective if you don't understand who you are, what you do and where that came from."

And while he agrees that chiefs should be knowledgeable, the MCPON doesn't think that degrees are the answer to whether a chief is suitable to be promoted.

"Some people felt very strongly about chiefs having degrees in order to advance," Campa said. "In a time of war and looking at who would be disadvantaged — our seagoing rates and those rates that we use the most on the ground — it wasn't feasible to do that."

The new chief's evaluation still measures professional growth and education, Campa explained. The measurement is not just college education, but different kinds of education and training which makes the determination fair.

The new evaluation is something Campa thinks was long overdue.

"We developed the CPO mission, vision and guiding principles shortly after I became MCPON. It goes to the heart of the services a chief should always provide, no matter what job title. Guiding principles serve as the foundation to who [the chiefs] are. You never stop being the chief. I felt there was a better way to align what we are evaluating our CPOs on and what is expected of them as chiefs."

Campa believes being the first Hispanic Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy is a classic example of the Navy's diversity.

"No matter what your background, what you look like, what the color of your skin is, the opportunities that you have in the Navy and how far you can go in this organization are based on your abilities," Campa said. "I don't think there is a person in the Navy today that feels that they have to sacrifice their culture or heritage to be part of this organization."

Whether a Sailor knows it or not, they are role models for someone.

"Being a Hispanic MCPON, or even being a Hispanic Chief or first class petty officer there are some folks that are going to share your heritage," Campa said. "Whether you realize it or not, those that share your heritage will look to you as a role model. With that comes the responsibility to give back to that community. You do that by sharing the understanding of their culture."

Throughout his 27 years of service the MCPON has seen a great many changes. The largest change he thinks is the Homeport Ashore Program.

"It's probably the biggest quality of life initiative since I have been in the Navy," Campa said. "We are taking those Sailors off the ship and giving them a room in the barracks when they are not out at sea. It is a huge cultural shift. There were a lot of folk in the Navy that didn't believe we should do this, they felt if living on ship was good enough for them, it should be good enough for new Sailors. But it was the right thing to do, it was critical. This has nothing to do with coddling a Sailor. If you look at what an E-4 and below Sailor on ship receives as a living space and the amount of privacy they have, then look at what our counterparts in the other services have, there is a huge difference. This just brings us back on par with the rest of the services.

While Campa sees improving the quality of life will help retention he believes that the best retention tools are inside of us all.

"Give your Sailors a sense of accomplishment, Campa said. "We see it happening all over the fleet. Good leadership sets their Sailors up for success and takes a genuine interest in the growth and development of their Sailors. There isn't anything that a well-led Sailor will not do for our Navy and our country."

Campa knows whoever will be taking over as MCPON will have their own style.
"They are going to have to do it their way," Campa said." I think we have a lot of great candidates out there as long as they keep the Sailors and their families as the focus, I think they will do fine."

Campa is humble when asked what he wants to be remembered for.

"If there is anything I want to be remembered for, it is being remembered as a good chief." Campa said. "That is one of the highest compliments a chief can attain."

• Date Taken: 11.19.2008
• Date Posted: 11.19.2008 12:15
• Story ID: 26535