Chief Petty Officer Initiation abolished....

[Navy Chief]

I saw it coming years ago, but it finally happened: abolishment of CPO Initiation.

http://www.navytimes.com/article/20130107/CAREERS02/301070316/MCPON-orders-end-chief-8216-induction-

I thank God I served at a time when traditions mattered. NC

[Jagdflieger]

I'm with ya Navy Chief.

Over the years I saw several traditions fall by the wayside, much to the detriment of the esprit de corps of units and to the effectiveness of the force that the such events engendered. Dues paid at such events had positive returns for a career.

[Willy]

It's been years in coming and they started in trying to make it go away while I was still on active duty. Other than that I have no words for my disgust at what the Navy's become.

But one of my best times in the Navy was when I was welcomed into the CPO community during initiation. Hell, I was having fun!

[N2056]

I was in as the whole transition to a kinder gentler Navy got started. When I crossed the line it was "Game On", and I got the full meal deal. When I got to be on the good end of the fun there was not much fun to be had. I remember the rant I put on the back of the tee shirt I wore for the "festivities". It started out with "Politically correct Shellback? NOT!"
And it went downhill from there. I remember the XO liking it a lot and taking a picture of it. :icon_lol:

[TARPSBird]

Proudly initiated in 1981. Glad I served in the Navy (and retired) before the rise of the PC Police and pussy MCPON's.

[Willy]

Initiated in 1989 here.

[IanHenry]

Ha, sign up for the Royal Navy then! You know we has one or two Yanks on H.M.S Victory at Trafalgar, we can always find room for a couple more.



Ian. :icon_lol:

[Roadburner440]

I posted this months ago. Is certainly a shame. Seems like always every time I get close to a mile stone it gets ripped away. At least you guys had the luxury of serving before hand. In just the last 10 years alone it seems things have been turned on their heads.

[TeaSea]

There are a few traditions left....

Today I attended a retirement where the oldest serving LDO presented the "Silver Hawk" (big trophy held by the most senior time in service LDO keeps) to the next guy in line.

[PRB]

Like Willy, I made CPO in 1989. The rise of the influence of “PC” in the the military is more than just irritating. It's also dangerous. But. In the case of the CPO initiation, the Chief's community has only itself to blame. There once was (was) a serious purpose lurking behind the fun and antics, before 1960, best I can tell. It wasn't supposed to be simply “Wog Day on Steroids”. When the CPOs themselves forgot what the point was, it became just another frat house hazing party. So now it's abolished. In it's present form, that's no great loss. Perhaps there will be something good to rise out of this, like that Phoenix did... Maybe the CPO community will start to conduct it's own “underground” initiation ritual. With some of the silliness stripped away, perhaps tomorrow's CPOs will, in the process, re-discover, like an archaeologist uncovering King Tut's tomb, what the point was. Here's me in 1989, when I made CPO, and the pic I shot of the very same uniform a couple hours ago! :)

[crashaz]

I thank all of you guys... great of course to have such a military presence here. There is a lot of honor in this thread and I thank all of you for your service and always took notice when the CPOs had something to say. Having also met Jagd .... he is also in that timber no doubt.

Salute! :salute:

[Navy Chief]

I am in the process of shedding a few pounds; hopefully 15-20 by end of October. Why, you ask?

October 26, I will be married to my lovely fiancée, April. And I will be wearing CPO Service Dress (Choker Whites). I got rid of my original one years ago, and probably wouldn't fit anyway. I'll order a new uniform next month, but want to be more certain of it fitting properly!

NC

[Willy]

Hey Paul, when I made Chief I was wearing red stripes for a few years afterward. Darn broken service caught up with me and I had to get 12 continuous in before I could go gold stripes.

[PRB]

Willy, Rgr on the red/gold stripe thing. Now that I think about it, when I made chief, I was still wearing red stripes. That pic shows me just before I left the USN, after 12 years. Beyond that, heck, there were many better CPOs than me with lots of red stripes! :)

[Willy]

I found it amusing that it was always assumed that the reason I wore red stripes was that I'd got into trouble when it was just a case of doing 6, getting out for a few to see what civland was like and then coming back to go for the career. Personally I felt that that 3 years away from the Navy made me a much better sailor than if I had just stayed in. Between you, me and the bulkhead, if i'd have stayed at the 6 year mark, I'd probably wouldn't have lasted for the next 14.

[Navy Chief]

I found it amusing that it was always assumed that the reason I wore red stripes was that I'd got into trouble when it was just a case of doing 6, getting out for a few to see what civland was like and then coming back to go for the career. Personally I felt that that 3 years away from the Navy made me a much better sailor than if I had just stayed in.

I had 4 1/2 years of broken service! NC

[PRB]

Rgr that Willy, no argument here. And you did cool stuff. While my navy career was all about aviation, my passion for history has always been with the surface fleet. Serving on nuke carriers meant I couldn't wander down into the engineering spaces, since they were all secret and stuff, but I do have a couple of illegal photos of those spaces... hehe.

[FSX68]

I didn't make CPO when I retired and even though my check book knows it, in my heart I feel like I did. I did 24 years and was allowed to exceed HYT of 20 years as E6 so I got my 60%
retired pay. I came in BEFORE they had CPO boards and if I knew what I wanted to strike for, I might of made CPO before the boards started. I'm not sure but I heard that the good conduct
stars are now for 3 vice 4 years (a change) I had 6 gold hashmark = 24 years of undetected crime as they would say :icon_lol:

Back in the day an E-6 (1st class) could take the CPO exam Twice a years like the other exams and all you had to do was pass it. I passed no ACED every CPO test. Then I
know of some now retired CPO friends of mine who passed the test with one point and made it (I know that one point is all that it takes - I've heard that many a time)

My kid brother retired from the NAVY as a CPO (AMHC) and is at Jax, I saw some of his initiation pictrures (not pretty). Over in the PI I remember the CPO initiations that the nubies had to
eat baluts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_%28egg%29


el yucko........

But oh well life goes on and I did the best that I could and perhaps that was my destiny in life. I retired as a GS-7 in civil service - that's E-7.

[Willy]

Ah yes... the baluts. When I was going through the initiation madness the Chief who ran the CPO Mess was an old Philipino friend of mine who I'd been stationed with on and off with for years. When he found out I was on the list, the first thing he said to me was that if no one else did, I was getting balut. I took the attitude during the lead up and the initiation that they couldn't legally kill me and I was going to have as much fun with them as I could. So the baluts were just another thing as far as I was concerned. I like to think that during the whole process, that I gave as good as I got. I paid for it on initiation day though but it was worth it.

But damn those baluts were nasty....

[Panther_99FS]

I remember when I made E-7, Navy Chief friend of mine told me to get indoctrinated on his side of the house.....Unfortunately, that opportunity never presented itself to me because I would've have gladly done it.

That being said, I concur with all the Old Salt in this thread...getting way to PC these days....:isadizzy:

[Jagdflieger]

We'll be looking forward to seeing photos of you (in your Whites) and the Bride in October!

[Navy Chief]

We'll be looking forward to seeing photos of you (in your Whites) and the Bride in October!

Thanks! I promise to post some! NC

[CWOJackson]

I have to wonder how the USN/USCG will now mark the advancement to Chief.

Symbolic ceremonial neutering?

[rdaniell]

I have to wonder how the USN/USCG will now mark the advancement to Chief. Symbolic ceremonial neutering?

I doubt that will happen in today's "kinder and gentler" military. :icon_lol: It's been several years since this change but, the Air Force didn't want to make any airmen feel inadequate or second class so they changed the first 4 enlisted ranks. When I was in back in the 1960s, there was Airman Basic (E1), Airman Third Class (E2), Airman Second Class (E3), and Airman First Class (E4). Now it's: Airman Basic (E1), Airman (E2), Airman First Class (E3), and Senior Airman (E4). No more third and second class airman....:sheep:

RD

[Willy]

As far as I know the Navy still has 1st, 2nd and 3rd Class Petty Officers. But in today's PC enviroment, I wouldn't be surprised if that changed.

Although when I was a 3rd Class, it did seem like i was just a glorified Seaman.

[FSX68]

My first two years in the Canoe Club was as a TIn Can Sailor (black shoe) and I was in the 1st division - deck apes. Now we had a leading seaman who had some clout then (1963).
If you were a first class you were a "WHEEL". On a boat of 250 ~ souls about 10 or so were CPOs about the same for the Ossifers (Officers) rest were the backbone of the ship, where the rubber
met the road so to say. CPO's back then didn't get too chummy with the lower enlisted. I felt sorry for the Warrants, the CPO's didn't want anything to do with them; neither did the Officers.

My Dad was a Warrant (AVIONICS OFFICER). Back then they had W-1's (they wore crossed anchors pin on their combination hat, when they made W-2 they changed pins to crossed anchors
with buzzard above them.

[Panther_99FS]

As far as I know the Navy still has 1st, 2nd and 3rd Class Petty Officers. But in today's PC enviroment, I wouldn't be surprised if that changed.

Although when I was a 3rd Class, it did seem like i was just a glorified Seaman.

Willy in the USAF, our E-4s are not NCOs (NCOs start at E-5)...so I can understand why you said you felt like a glorified Seaman...

[Willy]

Panther, in my case it was more the command and the situation. Several of us who showed up there just out of "A" school who were supposed to be showing up as E-2s, arrived onboard as 3rd Classes thanks to a program the Navy had then called Accelerated Advancement. I made E-4 before I would have made E-2 because I got lucky enough to qualify for it and jumped on it. So here the command had all these junior petty officers that should have shown up as E-2s. We ended up still doing an E-2's job as there was no one else there to do it.

[SSI01]

I must have been in some sort of a "gap" between the two ranking systems - in my AF, the progression was Airman Basic (slicksleeve) - Airman (one stripe - mosquito) - Airman First Class (two stripes - dragonfly) - Sergeant (three stripes). I came in under the AECP (Airman Education and Commissioning Program) with my first year of college behind me. Objective was to start the program - complete the last three years on Uncle's dime - then fly or otherwise serve as an officer for four more years. In keeping with my usual excellent sense of timing, I was sitting in basic training at Lackland AFB when in Feb 1973 the Paris Peace Accords reached their final agreement, and the AECP was cancelled. I never made it above Sgt but still had fun. Learned a lot, too.

[Victory103]

Very sad, but this going on across the board in other branches (almost all traditions are changing or disappearing). Got to watch many peers pass over to the CPO side, and I never thought of it going away. I was prepared if I had to do it, but switched while an E-6 over to the green side. All those peers are now retired, E-7/8's, with a close friend finishing up his last cruise now and is done, just due to the fact of how the Navy has become today.