USA: CNO, MCPON Host Worldwide All Hands Call and Reenlistment

The Chief of Naval Operations and the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy hosted a worldwide all hands call and reenlistment at the Washington Navy Yard Oct. 11.

Adm. Jonathan Greenert and MCPON Mike Stevens answered questions during the broadcast which was held at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy. The broadcast was timed intentionally to coincide with the week of the Navy’s birthday during which many are taking time to honor the service’s 237 year heritage of putting Warfighting First, one of Greenert’s three tenets.

Following the reenlistment, the CNO discussed the Navy’s ongoing celebration of its heritage with the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. He believes that conflict provided enduring lessons that have influenced the fleet of today. Among them are the importance of well-built and resilient ships, confident and professional crews, and bold and accountable leaders.

During the broadcast, Greenert and Stevens took questions from those gathered at the museum, from around the fleet via e-mail, and from those tuned in to a live chat on the Internet. Popular topics for questions included uniforms, deployment tempo, and manning initiatives. One Sailor asked the CNO’s perspective regarding the current 2.0 carrier requirement in the 5th Fleet.

“The good news is the hard work of the Sailors out there getting it done is clearly recognized all the way to the White house. Our country needs us and we are ready to respond. We are good through March. The CSG (Carrier Strike Group) and the ships that have responded up to date have been in their deployment or sustainment phase. For deployments past March we’ll look very closely on where those ships stand in their training and maintenance cycles. The Optemp of ships and individual Sailors will be significant factors as we look at this,” said Greenert.

Chief Petty Officer Andrew Young from Navy Information Operations Command, Maryland, asked about 15-year retirements.

“I want that tool in the tool bag to balance the force as necessary, but I don’t think we need it right now. We went from 35 to 7 over-manned ratings as a result of recent force shaping efforts. No we don’t plan to use the 15-year retirement option, but I will ask Congress for authority for it as a force shaping tool if we need it. Right now I like the way things are laid out,” Greenert explained.

Stevens answered several questions regarding uniforms, specifically new enlisted dress white uniforms and the Navy Working Uniform type 1.

“We’ve done a lot of good work with this new uniform (dress whites). In October of 2015 we will begin to issue them to new recruits at Great Lakes. Then in October 2018 the uniforms will start to be populated throughout the fleet under the current plan,” Stevens explained. “We have no plan to discontinue NWU type 1 uniform. We understand these are not perfect uniforms in all situations, but the plan is to continue to wear the NWU and become experts in where and how we wear it.”

The event concluded with a traditional cake cutting recognizing the Navy’s birthday on Oct. 13, with newly reenlisted Sailors helping CNO and MCPON cut the cake while the Navy Band performed.

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Naval Today Staff, October 12, 2012; Image: US Navy