Smith spoke with Sailors, assigned to Navy Talent Acquisition Group Philadelphia, to address their concerns, thank them for their work, and answer questions focused on manning, advancement, and the overall health and wellness of individual Sailors and the force at large.

"The purpose of the visit was to speak to the recruiters and gain their feedback, as well as share a little bit about what's going on in the fleet," said Smith. "Which, I think, helps provide perspective as they talk to future Sailors about what the Navy is doing and what it has to offer, what we expect from our future Sailors, and hopefully give the recruiters what they need to attract the best talent in the nation."

Smith touched on the importance of visits such as this, and having one-on-one conversation with Sailors to gain better insight on their daily operations, and to receive feedback that can help improve Sailors’ quality of work and life balance.

"It's always insightful to hear what the struggle is at the deck plates and, I say it often and I'll say it again, recruiting is the hardest thing we do," said Smith. "With the COVID protocols that we've endured over the last couple of years, it's really hard to get out there and do the face-to-face interaction that helps us find future Sailors. And yet, our recruiters continued to deliver."

Representing the recruiting district’s leadership was Master Chief Navy Counselor Stephen Callaghan, chief recruiter at NTAG Philadelphia.

“It was a great honor to host MCPON at one of our recruiting stations here in Dover,” said Callaghan. “It’s vital for us to see naval leadership recognize recruiting efforts put forth by our Sailors to keep the Navy manned and ready. It is also important to have the opportunity to share our feedback on what works and what can be improved in the future.”

Callaghan also commented on the value of in-person conversations, similar to visits to the ships and major commands, but on a smaller scale, where each Sailor’s comment, idea or question may be heard.

“This visit provided a direct line for our Sailors to ask the questions they had,” added Callaghan. “MCPON shed some light on new changes that are being implemented in the Navy and the fleet in general. For example, the recent extension of the Navy's only boot camp training from eight weeks to 10. This information helps our recruiters better educate future Sailors and their families on what to expect and prepare for as they take this important step to serve.”

NTAG Philadelphia encompasses regions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia, providing recruiting services from more than 30 talent acquisition sites.

NRC consists of a command headquarters, three Navy Recruiting Regions, 26 NTAGs, and 64 Talent Acquisition Onboarding Centers (TAOCs) that serve more than 1,000 recruiting stations around the world. Their mission is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.

With more than 330,000 active duty sailors, 290 deployable ships, more than 3,700 aircraft and dozens of bases in the U.S. and across the globe, America's Navy is the largest, most powerful naval force in the world. The opportunities available in today's Navy are as boundless as the sea itself. To learn more about the opportunities in the Navy visit www.navy.com