Photo By Senior Chief Petty Officer Ryan Wilber | Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick West administers the oath of enlistment to...... read more read more
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick West visited the Sailors and Marines deployed to Camp Leatherneck in southern Afghanistan on Thursday to conduct a town hall meeting and visit with the troops.
The Seabees attached to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74 experienced some rare opportunities during the visit. MCPON West administered the oath of enlistment to one Seabee, signed the Chief Selects' charge books and even stopped by the Camp Natasha Barber Shop to get a haircut.
The visit to the Seabee camp began with an office call with Cdr. Bruce Nevel, NMCB-74 commanding officer, who explained the mission of the battalion at Camp Leatherneck and described the ongoing projects. Following the office call was the re-enlistment of Builder 2nd Class Steven Leguillow, attached to NMCB-74's Charlie Company, at which MCPON West administered the oath of enlistment.
"It was one of those things where it didn't feel like it was real. I wanted to pinch myself. I didn't think I would ever get a chance to meet the MCPON and there he was for me, to reenlist me," said Leguillow.
Immediately following the reenlistment, MCPON West held a town hall meeting with the service members attached to Camp Leatherneck. The MCPON addressed doubts relating to the caliber of today's servicemen and women, and spoke concerning the state of joint operations.
MCPON West answers "no way," to the question posed in the papers: Are you worried about the caliber of Sailors or Marines in today's Navy? "You guys are rock solid. You are ready to go, you have eyes on target and know what needs to happen. Our challenge as leaders is to stay ahead of you," said West.
West praised the troops and the current military for their outstanding job at working in a joint capacity, but also encouraged each branch to maintain their identity.
"We've talked about joint operations for many years, but we've seen it at its finest over the past few. Now we are expanding and we are doing it well. The Navy and Marine Corps have always worked together, worked next to each other and when we go out to do something, we get the job done," said West.
Mandatory warfare qualifications and the status of individual augment assignments in the Navy seemed to be the most pressing concerns of the troops as MCPON West opened the floor for questions.
According to West, there are currently 13 to 14 thousand Sailors imbedded and on the ground in the 5th fleet area of responsibility, and IAs will be continued.
"As a Navy we will have IAs probably for many, many years," said West.
The plan for warfare qualifications to be mandatory is to be fully implemented by the end of the year, according to West, and not only for E-5 and above, but for every Sailor entering the Navy.
"When I look on a uniform and see someone with a warfare qualification on their chest, I know they are able to step up at the right time to save ship, shipmate, and self," said West. He then went on to say, "I would also like to make it mandatory when going up for Perform to Serve." "Right now Surface and Air Warfare are only mandatory for E-5 and above, I want it for every Sailor that walks into the Navy, and it's not about how it looks on your chest or advancement points. It's about being able to do the right thing at the right time."
Before concluding the town hall meeting, MCPON West encouraged troops to take college classes, but also reminded them that they have a job to do, and rather trying to be full time students to take a class each semester to "naturally" arrive at a degree by the time of retirement. He also thanked the Navy and Marine Corps service men and women for the world changing work they are doing in Afghanistan.
"Thank you for your service, to our Navy and to our Marine Corps. You are absolutely making a difference every single day," said West.
After having lunch with the troops, West sat down to sign the charge books of the Chief Selects present, a rare honor for fortunate Chief Selects.
"It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. To have the top enlisted sign our charge books was a huge event," said Chief Select Construction Mechanic Brian Boyd, attached to NMCB-74, Alfa Company.
Before his departure, MCPON West stopped by the Camp Natasha Barber Shop to get his hair cut, and Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Ruben Cepeda was on duty for the impromptu visit.
"The only part I was a bit nervous about was whether I would do a good job or not, because I am still new at cutting hair," said Cepeda.
At the end of the day, all the troops at Camp Leatherneck were excited to have spent some time with MCPON West and appreciative of the fact that he made the visit.
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 09.16.2009 11:20 |
| Story ID: | 38846 |
| Location: | HELMAND PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 277 |
| Downloads: | 218 |
This work, MCPON Visits Camp Leatherneck, Conducts Town Hall Meeting, by SCPO Ryan Wilber, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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