From the moment a Sailor steps into Mass Communication Specialist (MC) 'A' school every student learns of MC1 Robert "Bobby" McRill.

Students learn of his integrity, dedication and bravery. His courage and tenacity, as proclaimed by his fellow Sailors, has made him the backbone of the MC rate and set a standard for which to strive. Today, on the 10-year anniversary of his death he has become part of the backbone of the United States Navy.

McRill was honorarily advanced to the rank of chief petty officer during a ceremony held at Naval Station Norfolk.

On July 6, 2007 McRill was killed in action while conducting combat operations in the vicinity of Baghdad, Iraq after 16 years of service.

"He left an impression on everyone that he met," said Chief Mass Communication Specialist Karen Cozza-Rybarczyk. "The commands where he was stationed gave him the opportunity to meet a lot of MCs. I don't think anyone ever walked away from meeting Bobby and forgot about him. So in that way, when he was killed it reverberated throughout the community."

Master Chief Mass Communication Specialist Jon McMillan and Master Chief Mass Communication Specialist Mike Lewis made a request to the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy to make MC1 McRill an honorary chief petty officer.

"He provided guidance; he provided mentorship, even to the chiefs," said Lewis. "Believe it or not, a huge portion of the MC Chiefs Mess that is here today was actually trained by Bobby McRill. So when you put the pieces together, in our minds, there was no way Bobby wasn't going to make chief petty officer. He was taken from us too early."

As part of the pinning ceremony, Chief Mass Communication Specialist Sam Shavers held a chief combination cover as each chief in attendance tacked an anchor to the cover; it was then presented to the family.

"Knowing Bobby and serving with him, it meant the world to me to be part of this ceremony, pay homage to him and honor his family for the sacrifice they made," said Chief Mass Communication Specialist Sam Shavers.

McRill's family was also presented a CPO charge book as part of the ceremony. Chiefs in the Norfolk area, as well as chiefs who knew McRill, signed the book with their own personal messages. CPO charge books consist of advice and messages to the incoming chief.

"I think for me, it's a little bit of a switch," said Rybarczyk. "I'm going to be putting in lessons I've learned from him; things that have stayed with me and that I've used as a chief.

Following the ceremony, attendees were invited to visit Chief Mass Communication Specialist Robert "Bobby" McRill's gravesite at the Peninsula Memorial Park in Newport News.

"I wish it hadn't taken us ten years to be able to honor him in this way," said Chief Mass Communication Specialist Dustin Withrow. "I'm glad that it has finally happened. It couldn't have gone to a more deserving person."

For more information on the history of Chief Robert "Bobby" McRill, please visit http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=30480 and http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=30696.

For more information on the MCC McRill excellence award, please visit http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=44388 and https://vimeo.com/42164330.


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

For more information on NPASE East visit http://www.navy.mil/local/npasehq/