8
The Signature
ANCHORS
AN INSIDE LOOK AT CHIEF PET By ITC (Sel) Zachary James
ITC (Sel) Zachary James climbs ropes aboard the USS Constitution (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jerine Lee)
The USS Constitution played host to the Cheif Petty Officer Heritage Week (U.S. Navy Photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Elliott Fabrizio)
handling and combat, loading and firing aut NCTS Sicily powder-loaded muske “HUZZAH! Her sides are made of how to furl and unfurl Iron!” This exclamation of a crewman as line handling, clim aboard the USS Constitution during aloft. Each morning a her August 19, 1812 defeat of the gun team had the hon British Frigate, HMS Guerriere, led to the colors ceremony, her becoming known more commonly the firing of the Cons among Sailors as “Old Ironsides.” starboard cannon at c The oldest commissioned warship in each night we had the active service, the Constitution and her sleeping aboard the sh active duty crew of 58 Sailors continue were joined by Rear A to foster 221 years of naval heritage, Commander, Naval M service, and victory. During the 2019 Oceanography Comm Chief Petty Officer Select Heritage Chief Petty Officer), w Week, I truly came to understand the traditional dining-in e importance of Old Ironsides and what the successful week a she represents to my service and nation. dedication of mentors From August 19-23, 2019, LSC In addition to herita (Sel) Jimmy Johnson and I, along with value of the mentorsh over 90 other CPO selectees, had cannot be calculated. the unique opportunity of receiving Petty Officer of the N mentoring and heritage training aboard Smith sat down with e the Constitution. During our week, we expound on his succe were led by Chief, Senior Chief, and experiences as a CPO Master Chief Petty Officer mentors. of the common pitfall From the start, we recognized the drastic face and challenged u change in training dynamic from our the expectations of ou previous three weeks of selectee training roles. Twice each day at Sigonella, during which we were opportunity to sit with challenged mentally and physically to to learn from them an prepare us for the stressful nature of our feedback and advice. new professional responsibilities. This experiences and cont time, our training focused on learning the week will be draw from our elders and appreciating the attendance for the dec deep Navy heritage that binds us all. Selectees also parti For heritage training, selectees were community relations e immediately assigned to one of twelve Fletcher-class destroy “gun teams.” Throughout the week, each Young (DD-793). Th Cmdr. Hamish team toured every nook and cranny of Kirkland gives exits remar provided over 400 co of fighting command Old Ironsides, from her topoftoPatrol Squadron 9 deploye cleaning and repairin Navy her keel. We received(U.S. training onphoto pike courtesy of VP-9) engineering spaces w
