Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Caroline Lui | YOKOSUKA, Japan (Feb. 12, 2025) - Command Master Chief Julio Hernandez, a U.S. Fleet...... read more read more
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YOKOSUKA, Japan (Feb. 14, 2025) – Commander, Task Force (CTF) 70 brought the U.S. Fleet Forces Chief Petty Officer Training Team (FCPOTT) across the Pacific to meet with officers, chief petty officers, and first class petty officers serving in the forward-deployed naval forces Japan (FDNF-J) for a series of leadership seminars at the Fleet Theater onboard Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Feb. 11-14.
Nearly 400 Sailors assigned to CTF 70, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG 86) participated in the training.
FCPOTT’s visit to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations was a departure from their usual area of operations on the East Coast.
“I greatly appreciate the FCPOTT making the time to come out here,” said Command Master Chief Jeremy Douglas, CTF 70’s command master chief. “The experience and expertise of our people represent an asymmetric warfighting advantage, and the Sailors here in Yokosuka and Iwakuni are at the tip of the spear. This training team event sharpens our edge by making our people more agile problem-solvers in this unique and challenging forward-deployed environment.”
Command Master Chief Missy Ferguson and Command Master Chief Julio Hernandez, both post-tour command master chiefs, instructed the course. Hernandez said that although many may compare the seminar to Enlisted Leader Development (ELD), a Navy-wide personal and professional development program, ELD’s focus is on the individual, while FCPOTT’s focus is on the team.
“We will focus on all of the Sailors at one command,” said Hernandez. “We talk about challenges at that command, and how to overcome challenges at that command.”
Ferguson said that during the course, she asks Sailors to first think critically about strengths and areas of improvement within their mess or wardroom. When the training is done, she then asks them to think about solutions to the problems they have identified, rather than directing them in how to solve them.
“Every command has its own problems. This group here is pretty unique in the fact that they just (forward-deployed) here, so they have unique problems that most FDNF does not have,” said Ferguson, referring to the participants from George Washington.
George Washington returned to Yokosuka in November 2024, after spending nearly nine years homeported in the United States.
“The operational dynamic creates a bond between Sailors and that is what we really want, for them to trust each other, for them to work together better as a team – for them to be friends and enjoy coming to work with each other,” said Hernandez. “Everybody’s going to have problems, things aren’t always going to go well, but when these people enjoy what they do and enjoy one another, they’re going to be OK.”
Lt. Samuel Little, George Washington’s reactor electrical plant 1 division officer, found value in the course’s focus on bringing crews together.
“We usually don’t get to see everybody,” said Little. “I had the chance to interact with people outside of the department, so it’s good to see where everybody else’s head is at.”
After Yokosuka, the team was scheduled to travel to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, where they were on tap to spend three days with Sailors from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 before returning to the United States.
“We are a more effective warfighting force as a result of the work going on in these workshops, and I very much look forward to having this training team back in Japan to engage with more of our Sailors,” said Douglas. “This was a great opportunity to invest in our warfighters here in 7th Fleet.”
Task Force 70 controls the preponderance of forward-deployed air and surface maneuver and striking forces in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations, overseeing Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 51 and the expeditionary Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 131, as well as the ships and aircraft operating under Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5, including the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62), the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG 86) and CVW-5.
U.S. 7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
| Date Taken: | 02.14.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.19.2025 19:56 |
| Story ID: | 491071 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 87 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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