Courtesy Photo | Master Chief Seabee Denise N. Demontagnac poses for a photo, Nov. 6, 2019.... read more read more
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NEWPORT, R.I. – A New York City native from the Jamaica neighborhood in Queens trains the Navy’s future leaders as the lead Recruit Division Commander (RDC) at Officer Training Command in Newport, Rhode Island (OTCN).
Master Chief Seabee Denise N. Demontagnac applies interpersonal and leadership skills gained from 26 years of enlisted service, graduating from the Navy’s Senior Enlisted Academy, and completing a Master of Business Administration degree from Excelsior College in Albany, New York as she trains newly indoctrinated civilians and prior service Sailors into becoming commissioned Naval officers.
“The division officer and chief petty officer relationship is very important,” said Demontagnac. “Being part of this command allows you to mold that dynamic early on for new officer accessions and reinforce that relationship in the fleet. The RDC makes a huge impact on students. We witness the progress first-hand from early stages of training through graduation.”
Two RDCs are assigned to every incoming Officer Candidate School class. Each class typically begins with 100 Officer Candidates. They are responsible for transforming them into Naval Officers over the course of 13 weeks.
“I was presented this opportunity to see this side of the Navy I haven’t seen,” added Demontagnac, elaborating that her previous experience consisted primarily of expeditionary ground operations. “Motivating a Sailor to be the best leader is universal, no matter your community.”
Demontagnac previously served as the Alfa-5 company leading chief petty officer with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 in Port Hueneme, Calif.
In addition to her primary duties, Demontagnac leads the student pool division, consisting of new graduates waiting for orders to their next assignment and those exiting the program. Some of the collateral duties include process management of orders, designator selection, medical appointments for job qualifications, and pay and personnel issues.
“The end goals for motivation are the same but how we approach to deliver that message is dynamic because everyone is different,” said Demontagnac. “The ages vary and we all come from different backgrounds. …Some are preparing for the fleet and some are going home. Whether it’s preparing to get back into the civilian life such as going back to school for their graduate degrees, getting a job, taking care of family back home; I help them navigate through life.”
While Demontagnac serves at OTCN, her children, Paul Jr., Denise and Demetrius, live in Maryland.
“When I came into the Navy in the early 1990s, there weren’t many peer/mentor females in the Seabee community or Navy,” said Command Master Chief Raquel Jeffers, the command master chief of Naval Construction Training Center in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Mentorship is vital, Jeffers emphasized.
“Your mentors guide you where you need to go. I had the pleasure of being [Denise’s] mentor, as she became a new chief petty officer and later as a senior chief petty officer during our assignment together at Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74,” said Jeffers. “She gives 100 percent, all the time… it’s amazing to watch her continued dedication to taking care of Sailors.”
OTCN offers four officer training programs at Naval Station Newport, including Officer Candidate School, Officer Development School, the Limited Duty Officer and Chief Warrant Officer Academy, and the Naval Science Institute. OTCN morally, mentally and physically develops these future leaders of character and competence - imbuing them with the highest ideals of honor, courage and commitment in order to serve as professional naval officers worthy of special trust and confidence.
For more information about OTCN, visit https://www.netc.navy.mil/NSTC/OTCN.
| Date Taken: | 04.09.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 04.09.2021 12:34 |
| Story ID: | 393459 |
| Location: | NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, US |
| Hometown: | JAMAICA/QUEENS/NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 1,319 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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