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CPPD Briefs Training Command's Prospective Chief Operating Officer
Story Number: NNS120905-22
9/5/2012

By Susan Henson, Center for Personal and Professional Development Public Affairs

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- Naval Education and Training Command's (NETC) prospective chief operating officer (COO) visited the Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) and Virtual Education Center (VEC) in Virginia Beach, Va., for a familiarization tour Aug. 31.

Rear Adm. (select) Cynthia Thebaud, who is slated to assume duties from Rear Adm. Clifford Sharpe as COO, toured CPPD and other area commands reporting to NETC. The COO oversees the operation of learning centers and training support centers within the training domain with a continual focus on production management.

CPPD Commanding Officer Capt. John Newcomer hosted Thebaud during the orientation tour.

"We're very happy to welcome Rear Admiral (select) Thebaud to CPPD and talk with her about the talented people here who are totally committed to helping Sailors reach their personal and professional goals," he said.

During the tour, Thebaud visited CPPD's directorates to get a better understanding of the command's commitment to developing Sailors strong in moral courage who exemplify Navy core values, and embody equal opportunity and personal and professional accountability.

The tour included stops at the training directorate, which creates, maintains and has oversight for personal and professional course curricula; the voluntary education (VOLED) directorate, which is responsible for the Navy's VOLED program; and the VEC, which provides virtual education assistance and counseling to Sailors.

Thebaud said during her visit to the VEC, "It's great to see how things come together. I was just talking with a Sailor the other day about why [he] joined the Navy, and education was the reason."

CPPD is responsible for providing a wide range of personal and professional development courses and materials, including general military training, Navy instructor training, alcohol and drug awareness program training, suicide prevention, Bearings classes, and Personal Responsibility and Values Education and Training (PREVENT) classes. CPPD's leadership training is delivered multiple times throughout a Sailor's career via command-delivered enlisted leadership training material and officer leadership courses in a schoolhouse setting.

The Navy's VOLED program provides Sailors with the ability to earn college degrees through programs such as tuition assistance, the Navy College Program for Afloat College Education (NCPACE), and the Navy College Program Distance Learning Partnership. CPPD also manages the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP), which offers Sailors the opportunity to earn civilian apprenticeship certifications.

"CPPD's products and services are seen by some as non-critical 'soft skills,' but we're slowly showing people that our mission is of great importance to the fleet in maintaining readiness and meeting mission," said Newcomer. "Sailors with critical thinking skills who can assess risk and make sound decisions are able to lead and perform well in all sorts of situations, whether at work or off duty. We really are the Learning Center 'Where Mind Meets Mission.'"

For more information about the Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD), visit: https://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/cppd/. For more news from the Center for Personal and Professional Development, visit: www.navy.mil/local/voledpao/. Like CPPD on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Center-for-Personal-and-Professional-Development/100056459206. Follow us on Twitter @CENPERSPROFDEV.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Center for Personal and Professional Development, visit www.navy.mil/local/voledpao/.