A quarterly newsletter for graduates of the Senior Enlisted Academy |
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Student Essay: Does Boot Camp Motivate?
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From the President First All-Service Leadership We are pleased to announce to the senior enlisted community of all services, that the 1st Annual, All-Service Leadership Symposium will be held at the Naval War College, Newport, RI. The focus for this conference will be Diversity Leadership in the Next Millennium. Scheduled for March 25-26, 1999, the symposium will include distinguished speakers and leaders from the military, government, academia, and industry. Details about the daily program and activities will be broadcast via our website at www.seaaa.org and in future newsletters. Invitations will be coordinated for each service through their respective senior enlisted academies and distributed to SEAAA alumni directly from our organization. If you want to get on our list for tickets, please let us know early, since there are limited seats available. If you decide to participate, please do so with the intent of showing up. When the full slate of speakers is announced, tickets will be in strong demand. As you can see, we are rapidly expanding our role in supporting enlisted leadership educational opportunities and SEAAA wants to be part of continuing professional development. This is an chance for senior enlisteds to get focused exposure on important issues that relate directly to their jobs. Because our community has such a strong influence on the younger members within their respective services, the power of this knowledge can be transmitted throughout the military. You can help us to get to our goal of establishing this and future symposiums by taking the time to renew your membership and contacting those around you to get on board. I hope to see you there! Peter H M Todd
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The Goat Locker Web |
By SKCS(SW) Doug Haase Recently, while surfing the internet, I came across one of the best sites I have seen yet. The site is called The Goat Locker. It's operated by MMCM(SS) Greg Peterson, USN (Ret). Greg's web pages are a tribute to his highly successful Naval career, the Navy, and to all Chief Petty Officers. The web site is located at URL http://home.earthlink.net/~mmcmss. The site not only tells you a little about Greg's career, it links to several sites including MCPON, CPO homepages throughout the WWW, the SEA, and the SEAAA. He has several great pages of Navy clipart, the CPO Creed, Navy Creed, retired CPO Creed, history of the CPO, history of the charge book, Navy terms and trivia, active duty and reserve CPO selectee listings, a CPO Chat Room, and much, much more. His guest book offers you an opportunity to list your name and rate, your past duty stations or a message. I highly encourage everyone to visit his web site and take a look around. Greg's site is jammed packed with exciting things each of us can appreciate. Forward your email to mmcmss@earthlink.net and he welcomes your comments. Well done master chief and keep up the good work!
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Class 80 Graduates |
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From the Director |
From the Director On page 4 of this newsletter is an essay from a member of class 79. In a class project, students had to write essays about leadership. I think you will find them interesting reading. I want your feedback because at least one class per year will be tasked with similar writing. We started the curriculum review process on 9 Feb, with a working group composed of fleet representatives. The group agreed that our curriculum should support those things senior enlisted do in the fleet today. With that in mind, we will gradually shift our focus to a more hands on approach and institute situations that senior folks will face daily. This decision did not come about lightly. We relied on feedback from former students and from those in the fleet doing the job right now. They wanted a more dynamic course. In short, we intend to be hard hitting and timely in our delivery and subjects. On 27 Feb, Master Chief Dan Cash and I briefed an Executive Review Board, comprised of Fleet/Force Master Chiefs. The results of that briefing were very encouraging. We have the support of the fleet as well as the MCPON. Our next step is to brief the Executive Steering Committee, made up of CNO and CNET. Once they approve we can move ahead with our rewrite. We expect this to take about a year to complete the whole package. However, there are those topics we can start working on now. So, over the next year or so we will see change taking place. We feet the changes will meet the needs of the fleet and help senior folks do their jobs better and more efficiently. To keep up with the changes, visit our web site. If you see something you would like to comment on, please feel free to call or e-mail me. Your ideas are welcome.
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Gift of Knowledge |
As we mature in our lives, our sense of recognizing that what we leave behind that can make a difference in other lives is much more important. SEAAA is now working to support the CPO Scholarship Fund and build upon the foundation of funds established by the initial gift from the USS CHIEF commissioning funds. Our goal is to greatly expand the funds to allow us to give more scholarships as well as more substantial sums in the future. Your donation will go to help dependents advance their education. As we all know, the cost of college is growing much faster than the rate of inflation. Even if it's just a small amount, if many contribute, the impact on the fund will be significant. Retired members that are working in the civilian world may find that the companies they work for will match contributions. Active duty members should consider passing on any remaining funds left over from the CPO initiations. The renewal form included as part of this newsletter includes a space for indicating your donations. All contributions are tax deductable.
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Deadline for Scholarships |
Deadline for Scholarships May 1st Time is running out for applicants to get their scholarship requests in for this year's selection cycle. The scholarship program is open to all chief petty officers' (active, reserve, retired, or deceased) dependents that are not on active duty. The applicant must be entering their first year of college in the Fall of 1998. Applicants can apply for one of the five categories:
1) Active - East of Great Lakes, IL (including Great Lakes) SEAAA
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Student Essay: Does Boot Camp Motivate? |
Does Boot Camp Motivate? Motivation is the key to success. With it, anything is possible. I believe boot camp is, and has been, the key instrument to instill motivation and discipline into our young Sailors. Not long ago, I found myself contemplating whether this was merely words or a statement of fact? I recalled my own experience in boot camp, back in 1978. I wondered if the scuttlebutt among senior enlisted was the same back then as it is today. At my last sea command, I would often hear my shipmates complain about the quality of Sailors entering our ranks. Mention generation X in the chiefs' mess, and you were bound to evoke a passionate discussion. They have no enthusiasm or motivation, an old salt from engineering declared. I don't understand why they just won't do as they're told, piped the Bos'n. They lack the discipline we received in boot camp, shot the Gunner. The conversation would then turn to how boot camp had gone soft and its failure to produce motivated Sailors. Admittedly in the past, I asked myself if these criticisms were true. Do Sailors enter the fleet with little motivation to excel or to try their best? Are they ready to take a chance and put their neck on the line? Recently, as a student at the Senior Enlisted Academy, I traveled to RTC Great Lakes to observe the training process firsthand. This experience afforded me the opportunity to judge for myself whether my shipmates' perceptions were correct. Is the recruit training process broken and the Navy's future with it? Flying from NETC Newport aboard a C-9, I soon found myself on a bus nearing my destination with deep emotions stirred and a flood of memories awakened. Recalling my experiences as a recruit at Great Lakes, I pondered the question, How prepared was I, to do my best, to take a chance, and put my neck on the line? Nearly twenty years ago, as I approached entering the naval service with apprehension, my father gave me the following advice: "Keep your mouth shut, stay low, don't volunteer, and you'll do fine." I never realized how much his counsel affected me until I stood at the main gate of RTC Great Lakes, recalling my first night of liberty on the evening of graduation. As I crossed the Quarterdeck after returning from the beach, a company commander barked at me to square my cover away. Quickly I reached up and pulled the brim down while replying heartily, "Yes, sir!" His voice then bellowed, "What is your company, Sailor?" With diminished enthusiasm, I looked at him and replied, "Yours, sir!" With that he peered more closely at me for a moment, then ordered me to my rack. As I climbed the ladder, I thought about my father's advice, about staying low, and smiled, knowing I had achieved my goal; I survived boot camp. As I began my journey back to boot camp last week, I wondered, what advice fathers gave to their sons and daughters on entering the naval service now. Five days later, I had experienced, once again, reveille at 0300, rectangular shaped eggs with a green hue, marching and running in formation, and yes, singing cadence with pride. I found myself sharing my experiences with these young Sailors and exchanging ideas and dreams. From a distance, I watched the recruits perform as a team, rallying and cheering each other on as they executed Battle Stations. Also, I witnessed their frustration and fear as one of their shipmates was carried from the confidence course in a stretcher. I answered their eager questions such as, "What was my best liberty port?" Or, "Would they have a chance of getting stationed aboard a destroyer?" Most of all, however, I saw a spark of pride and determination in their eyes to do their best as they marched in review for the last time at graduation. As we ponder the issues of downsizing and doing more with less, we are all challenged to do our best. Joe Morgan, the Hall-of-Fame second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds, once said, "You got to want to be the guy with the bat in your hands when the game is on the line." Having said this, I contemplated the opinions of my fellow chiefs and their pride in this great Navy; and whether my father's advice was sound. It is my opinion that our young Sailors now leaving boot camp understand they will have a chance to bat and the team is counting on them to swing away. Shipmates, whether they strike out or hit a home run is up to you, and with it, the future of the Navy. AVCM(AWSW) Wasjlewocz is currently attached to HS-7. |
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