Courtesy Photo | 180827-N-XX082-0006 GREAT LAKES, Ill. (August 27,2018) Cryptologic Technician...... read more read more
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SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Two Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) chief selectees participated in Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Back to Boot Camp Heritage Legacy Training, Aug. 26-31.
Recruit Training Command (RTC), located in Great Lakes, Illinois, hosted FY-19 CPO selectees and their sponsors from around the fleet. They experienced leadership and heritage training that is central to the foundation of training provided to the fleet from RTC and essential to understanding the Chief Petty Officers Creed outlined in Laying the Keel 1.0.
Cryptologic Technician (Networks) 1st Class Brandon Janice of Information Warfare Training Command Corry Station and Cryptologic Technician (Collection) 1st Class Tyler Stull of CIWT Detachment Goodfellow, Texas had the opportunity to return to their Navy roots and rediscover the challenging and rewarding experience of completing basic training. As these Sailors prepare to take on the role of the chief, they take with them a reminder of their own humble beginnings and a renewed sense of professionalism and attention to detail.
Stull provided his perspective on returning to boot camp and the lessons he took away from the experience below.
“I don’t know what anyone else was expecting, but I don’t think any of us expected the full recruit treatment beginning at the USO center at the airport. A recruit division commander (RDC) walked into the USO and asked everyone to hold up their cellphones. We were instructed to turn them off, stick them in our pockets and not to speak unless spoken to for the remainder of the night. I believe it wasn’t quite 5 p.m. yet.
We arrived at RTC at the same place we began our service many years ago: The Golden Thirteen. Named for the first thirteen African American men commissioned as officers and warrant officers, it is the first stop for all recruits as they begin their careers as United States Sailors. Here we changed into our uniforms, received a brief orientation, and were joined by the remainder of the chief selectees who would be with us on this weeklong journey.
Thirty Sailors set out into the darkness on an unknown path. We had faith in those who led us, as well as those who walked beside us. A few miles later, we arrived at what was to be our new home for the foreseeable future. We were given forty-five minutes to shower, unpack, make our racks and stand by in PT (physical training) gear. Forty minutes later, almost everyone was ready, but we were so focused on ourselves that not one person thought to check up on our three female counterparts across the hall. Two minutes later, they walked in with different PT shirts than the rest of us. This was our first slip, definitely not our last, but we learned quickly.
That night during mentorship training, we spoke about the first of the Navy Core Attributes: integrity. A few selectees and our CPO mentors talked about stories from our past, both positive and negative, where integrity played a key role. The open and direct dialogue reminded us how our individual integrity represents the CPO Mess integrity as a whole. Just before lights out, we were given time to speak to the CPO mentors individually for more advice and guidance. I believe this was one of the best times for breaking down walls of fear and gaining individual advice.
At zero four-thirty (4:30 am), reveille came all too early the next morning. Together with the RTC chief selectees, we conducted a 4.5-mile run encompassing all of RTC Great Lakes. How could we lead our own Sailors through PT if we could not complete PT ourselves? By 7 a.m., we were back in our barracks eating bag sandwich breakfasts and preparing for personnel and uniform inspections.
Later that day, we toured the National Museum of the American Sailor, which included a walking tour of historic RTC. Next we were sat before a panel of four retired master chiefs from the Chicago area; more than 100 years of combined experience sat in those four chairs. They made it a point to try to get everyone in the room understand how each individual brings something unique to the Mess. Everyone’s experience is different and can help build the Mess as a whole. We were sad to see the panel end, but had our minds filled with things to think about on the march back.
Upon returning, we began training on dynamic material inspections, which is a fancy way of saying bunk and locker drills. We were shown how developing a keen sense of attention to detail in even the small things can result in habits that save lives at sea. Afterwards, we sat down for our mentorship training and discussed the second Navy Core Attribute: accountability. This training session went a lot like the last in the way it was taught, and left us realizing that we were now accountable to so many more people than just ourselves. We will now be accountable to our junior Sailors, our peers and the senior Sailors to whom we mentor and answer.
The next day, we honored local veterans who were currently in hospice care. We awarded them special pins for their military service and then served them food and beverages as we sang Anchors Aweigh. We left with our hearts filled, but hungry for more.
Returning to RTC, we headed straight to the USS Chief to conduct firefighter training. Here, we were refreshed on basic firefighting skills and pushed into team work. This evening, our mentorship training went over the third Navy Core Attribute: initiative. We walked away from this training knowing as a chief, it is not just your initiative that matters, but the initiative of the Sailors that you lead.
The next morning, we were surprised an hour before the scheduled reveille with a morning PT session. Later that day, we refreshed our basic seamanship and line-handling skills aboard the USS Marlinspike. After relearning our line-handling, we returned to our barracks, ate lunch and prepared ourselves for battle stations. We were given a quick dinner and lengthy safety brief and then we departed for the USS Trayer, a state-of-the-art simulator that all recruits must complete before graduation.
From 1800-0600 (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.), we went through a robust new training system that none of us had been through before. Battle Stations is intensely more relevant to today’s Navy than the Battle Stations that I completed 13 years ago.
At 0600, we had completed the simulation and then departed for CPO Pride Day in downtown Chicago. We arrived at the Navy Pier with hundreds of other CPOs and selectees. We formed up based on uniforms into two groups and began our four-hour march that would take us roughly 8-10 miles around Chicago and end at Soldier Field. The bus rides to and from Chicago, instead of being filled with sleep, they were filled with requests for guidance and advice from the attending chiefs.
Our final day was our simplest day. We woke up, put on our dress whites, and marched down to the Ceremony Hall to witness the most recent RTC graduation. We were honored to sit directly behind the RTC commanding officer and had the best seats in the house for the Pass-in-Review ceremony. Upon graduation, the only things left to do were to pack, prepare for the bus back to the airport and take a few more moments to receive advice and guidance.
In the end, I walked away from this experience with knowledge and determination to not only be true to who I am, but to also represent the Chiefs Mess in the best way I can. Six days of pressure to push past limitations I didn’t know I even had taught me that through teamwork and resiliency, amazing things can be accomplished. This experience has deepened my understanding of the importance of brotherhood and sisterhood within the Mess.
It was nostalgic to witness the younger versions of myself in the recruits we passed by each day. I got to reflect and think about how far I have come over the past 13 years. I started out all alone and only having to take care of and worry about myself, to having a family, and having people depend on me for their livelihoods in and out of the office. The two most common words of advice I received this week were to ‘know and take care of your Sailors’ and to ‘take care of your family’ because they were there before the Navy, and they will be there afterward.
I was also able to reflect on my future when serving the veterans in hospice. To be able to honor and thank them with the action of serving and singing our company song made me understand the strength of the brotherhood and sisterhood I will hopefully soon one day enter. When I’m beyond my years and have little time left, I hope that the Chiefs Mess will still be there for me the way we were there for those veterans.
When I looked up at the panel of retired master chiefs, I saw the possibilities of where I could be one day, of the levels I could reach. When I looked around the room, I saw the various paths I could take to arrive in one of those four chairs. Throughout my naval career, I have received support, guidance and belief in my potential by my fellow Sailors. I have not made it to where I am alone. This experience has reminded me to not forget the camaraderie involved to be successful. I appreciate the opportunity and support I was given to attend this year’s Back to Boot Camp Heritage Legacy Training. I have gained more than I could imagine so far in my season as a selectee, the opportunity to learn from dozens of Chiefs and to receive advice from all of them within a handful of days, has proven to be an invaluable experience that has made a lasting impression.
My favorite piece of advice that I left with was, ‘Do today what others won’t, so you can do tomorrow what others can’t,’ told to me by Chief Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) Joshua Voyles. To me it says that we need to always be trying to grow so that we can lead and train those around us so that they may grow with us.”
The Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) delivers trained information warfare professionals to the Navy and joint services, enabling optimal performance of information warfare across the full spectrum of military operations.
For more news from Center for Information Warfare Training enterprise, visit www.navy.mil/local/cid/, www.netc.navy.mil/centers/ciwt/, www.facebook.com/NavyCIWT, or www.twitter.com/NavyCIWT.
| Date Taken: | 08.31.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 09.06.2018 16:50 |
| Story ID: | 291681 |
| Location: | SAN ANGELO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 223 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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