CPPD Conducts Change of Command

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- The Center for Personal and Professional Development held a change of command ceremony March 28 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va.

Capt. John Newcomer relieved Capt. Chuck Hollingsworth. Newcomer previously served as deputy director of the Test Division at Naval Air Systems Command Lakehurst, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Hollingsworth, joined CPPD as deputy commander in September of 2008 and became commanding officer (CO) in July of 2010.

CPPD is the Navy's learning center of excellence that equips Sailors to think critically, act responsibly, and lead proactively through its training courses and the Navy's voluntary education program. It provides 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. It also coordinates production of the annual Naval Leader Planning Guide, and administers the Navy's Voluntary Education program.

Rear Adm. Donald Quinn, commander of Naval Education and Training Command (NETC), served as guest speaker at the change of command. He said Hollingsworth's impact will live on.

"While Capt. Hollingsworth is moving onto another challenge, his impact lives on in the thousands of Sailors whose lives and development he has touched as CO of the Center for Personal and Professional Development. At the same time, we welcome Capt. John Newcomer, an accomplished leader in his own right, with nearly 35 years of service as both an officer and an enlisted Sailor. As is so often the case in the Navy, one superstar leaves and another steps right in to keep us moving forward."

NETC Chief Operating Officer Rear Adm. Clifford Sharpe, who introduced Quinn, said, "Chuck Hollingsworth was the right officer at the right time ... and was on point for the difficult issues of the day. Chuck describes it as his tour in the land of 'soft skills.' It is exactly those soft skills we need to talk about that present challenges," he said. "The Navy, from its most senior civilian leadership to the seaman recruit on the strike group or the amphibious group that departed in the past few days, to every Sailor and airman and to every man and woman yet to be recruited, are all better for Chuck's leadership at this command."

Hollingsworth told the CPPD staff that the day was all about them and the importance of what they do. During his remarks, he described the importance of a compass in being able to chart a course and use it to reach a desired destination.

"CPPD, you are the keepers of the compass," he said. "You are providing the men and women of our Navy the tools to lead with courage, respect and trust. You are teaching Sailors to assess risk to make better decisions, both personally and professionally. You ensure the delivery of world-class training to the fleet through the development of inspired, confident instructors. And you provide the avenues to make informed decisions to pursue life-long educational and credentialing goals."

Newcomer said in his remarks how honored he is to serve as commanding officer of CPPD. "I'm very excited to be here," he said, "to be part of a team that significantly contributes across a broad spectrum of leadership in developing our most important assets -- the men and women who have volunteered to stand tall in the face of true adversity here and abroad."

During the ceremony, Hollingsworth was awarded a Legion of Merit medal for his performance at CPPD in the past 3.5 years. During this time, CPPD led NETC's 15 learning centers by being awarded the Learning Center Training Excellence "T" Award for 2010, demonstrating enterprise-wide success and impacting more than 500,000 Sailors that resulted in 16,000 certificates, licenses and advanced degrees, and delivering 47 courses of instruction. CPPD also designed, delivered and implemented training for the Navy-wide "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal, Bystander Intervention, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, and the Leadership Core Continuum.

Hollingsworth also led the stand up of the Navy's Virtual Education Center (VEC) at NAS Oceana Dam Neck Annex, which resulted in an annual savings of $6.5 million per year. A state-of-the-art call center, it offers Sailors help with establishing education plans, authenticating transcripts and posting of degrees in Sailors' service records, Sailor and Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART) processing, and answering general inquiries. The VEC centralized tuition assistance processes through a web-based application, authenticated Sailor college degrees for Navy Personnel Command, and handled an average of 32,000 education-related contacts with Sailors per month. The Navy College Offices and VEC processed nearly 430,000 official and unofficial SMART requests in Fiscal Years 2010-11 respectively in support of active and retired personnel.

Newcomer said he looks forward to leading the CPPD team's mission to develop the Navy's workforce by providing education and training opportunities that build personal, professional and leadership competencies in support of mission readiness. "I am excited to face the challenge of executing strategic initiatives in such a dynamic environment and with the support of this amazing staff," he said, and then added, "We will succeed."

Newcomer's Navy career began with his enlistment in December of 1977. Upon graduation from Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill., he began technical training in February of 1978 at the Aviation Boatswains Mate Fuels School in Lakehurst, N.J. Subsequent assignments included USS Coral Sea (CVA 43), Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev., and USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). It was during this tour he advanced to chief petty officer. Newcomer's tour as Shipboard Aircraft Fire Fighting instructor, Fleet Training Center, San Diego, Calif., was his last enlisted tour. He then was commissioned an ensign in October of 1989 through the Limited Duty Officer program. His officer assignments included Naval Sea Systems Command staff in Washington, D.C., as military liaison in fluid systems engineering; Naval Air Forces Pacific Fleet as aviation fuels maintenance officer; Program Executive Office, Aircraft Carriers, Flight and Hangar Deck Systems Manager at the Washington Navy Yard; executive and then commanding officer of Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit Jacksonville, Fla.; and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) as the "Gun Boss" Weapons Department head.

In addressing the CPPD staff for the last time as commanding officer, Hollingsworth said, "It has been my profound honor to serve with you the past three years. As I move on to a different, more narrowly focused mission, I do so with an unshakeable confidence that the personal and professional development of our Navy is in good hands."

For more information about the Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD), visit https://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/cppd/.

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