USS Mount Whitney Holds Frocking Ceremony

Twenty-two Sailors aboard the amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) were advanced to the next pay grade of petty officer first, second, and third class during a frocking ceremony, May 23.

A frocked Sailor is authorized to wear the rate of the next higher pay grade. Following advancement, Sailors will receive pay for that rate depending on their official date of advancement, which happens in three increments throughout the fiscal year.

The first Sailor to receive an official frocking letter was Electronics Technician 1st Class Robert Hering, who had dedicated time to reading material in his bibliography leading up to the advancement exam.

“I studied at least two hours every week and was really excited that I finally put it on,” said Hering.

Exemplifying the dedication to studying was Information System Technician 2nd Class Lance Gregg who scored a perfect 80 on the exam. This means that he did not miss any of the questions that were included in the final calculations.

“I didn’t expect to get 80 out of 80 on the first advancement test I took,” said Gregg. “Even my chief was stunned and checked it a couple of times.”

Also advanced were two Sailors from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28 Det. 1 who received frocking letters from their Officer-in-Charge, LCDR Brian Evick.

Mount Whitney, homeported in Gaeta, Italy, is the U.S. 6th Fleet flagship and operates with a combined crew of U.S. Sailors and Military Sealift Command civil service mariners. The civil service mariners perform navigation, deck engineering and supply service operations while military personnel aboard support communications, weapons systems and security.

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Press Release, May 30, 2013; Image: US Navy