Nearly 80 first class petty officers assigned to detachments of Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT) worldwide were notified of their selection for advancement to the rank of chief petty officer (CPO) Aug. 7.

The 77 CNATT domain CPO selectees, the majority of whom are assigned to Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC), are scheduled to participate in a six-week professional education and training environment designed to foster continuous improvement of themselves and their team. This year’s initiation process began with the release of the Aug. 7 announcement message and concludes Sept. 14 with a CPO pinning ceremony.

CNATT Command Master Chief Todd Strebin said the training is designed to foster teamwork, resilience and hone leadership skills for the development of these newly selected deckplate leaders.

"These Sailors are already accomplished in their respective rates,” said Strebin. “They're already proven leaders, and our responsibility is to ensure that over the next six weeks these CPO selectees are instilled with the priorities, values and ideals that, as Sailors and chief petty officers, they will embody and ultimately perform at the highest level an enlisted service member can."

Strebin said Pensacola-area CNATT CPO selectees from NATTC and Naval Aviation Schools Command will participate in the CPO transition process with other selectees from commands throughout the area.

"Being selected to chief petty officer is never about the individual - it's about the Sailors they will continue to mentor and lead," said Strebin. "There are chief petty officer selects around the world who are training together, learning together and growing as Sailors together. Pensacola-area CNATT chief selectees will be working with their fellow selectees from other commands onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola and outlying areas to further forge the team they will embrace in the future, out in the fleet."

The initiation process is a time-honored Chiefs mess tradition to accept new CPOs into the mess. It is designed to instill the values, beliefs and expectations required of a chief to contribute effectively and succeed within the CPO mess by functioning as a team and leading the Navy forward.

CNATT provides single-site management for Navy and Marine Corps aviation technical training, and is designed to advance and sustain naval aviation warfighting capabilities at an affordable cost under Naval Education and Training Command.

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