NETC Force Master Chief Visits Center for Personal and Professional Development

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- Naval Education and Training Command's (NETC) new force master chief visited the Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) May 10, as part of a familiarization tour.

Force Master Chief (AW/SW) April Beldo, who became NETC's force master chief April 26, toured CPPD as part of a three-day visit to Hampton Roads-area learning centers and sites reporting to NETC. During the tour, she was briefed by CPPD Command Master Chief Kenneth Schmidt and CPPD staff members, who discussed CPPD's wide range of products and services that touch every Sailor in multiple ways throughout his or her career.

"CPPD's products and services equip Sailors to think critically, act responsibly, and lead proactively to meet ever changing global challenges," Schmidt said. "We're a relatively small command with a big commitment to developing Sailors strong in moral courage who epitomize Navy core values, and who also embody equal opportunity and personal and professional accountability. We work hard to provide Sailors with the tools to lead with courage, respect and trust, and to mentor leaders in the fleet now, and in the future to do the same."

"CPPD is helping to set Sailors up for success," Beldo said during her visit. "Despite the budget constraints we're all under, CPPD is finding a way to make sure that the training you're providing the fleet is the best that it can be."

Beldo's 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 VOLED's Virtual Education Center (VEC), which provides virtual education assistance and counseling to Sailors and veterans.

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.

Beldo said that leadership training isn't a one-time event but is continual throughout Sailors' careers.

"Especially we in leadership roles need to make sure we are knowledgeable of what our Sailors are being trained on and that we can continue to build on the foundation the CPPD training has set," she said. "I remember petty officer indoctrination; that starts right here at CPPD. We talk about a stair step of leadership training, from PO3 indoc to the Senior Enlisted Academy, and the Command Master Chief/Chief of the Boat courses. I've had the opportunity to participate in every one of those courses throughout my career. I can honestly say that if it weren't for the leadership skills I've learned throughout the career I've had, which CPPD has been a part of, I probably wouldn't be here today."

In addition to CPPD's personal and professional development products, Beldo was briefed on the VOLED program's focus of providing 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. The VOLED brief included a visit to the VEC, which is a state-of-the-art call center offering Sailors help with establishing education plans, authenticating transcripts and posting degrees in Sailors' service records, Sailor and Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART) processing, and answering general inquiries. It also processes Tuition Assistance requests and offers video counseling services.

Referring to her own participation in Navy voluntary education, Beldo said, "Tuition assistance has been my best friend, and I'm still using it. It's really helped me out in my career."

Even with a 29-year career full of successes through personal and professional development, Beldo isn't finished yet.

"I'm glad to have the opportunity to serve Sailors, and I look forward to continuing to do that as the NETC force master chief," she said.

Beldo is NETC's first female and African-American force master chief - which is not a "first" for her career. Her previous assignment was USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), where she served as the first female African-American command master chief on board a nuclear aircraft carrier.

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.

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.
CPPD: Where Mind Meets Mission

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/.