LEMOORE, Calif. (Aug. 26, 2015) Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Mike Stevens visited Sailors, chiefs, and command leadership, assigned to the master jet base, Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore as part of his two-week trip to Navy Region Southwest.

MCPON started his visit with a series of all-hands calls at the base theatre where he spoke about the importance of face-to-face communication.

"As a chief petty officer, as a Sailor, it's important to see your people and speak with them in order to know what's going in their lives," said Stevens. "And that's why I'm here, to have a conversation with you, hear your concerns and recommendations."

MCPON fielded questions ranging from changes to the Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) program to potential changes to dual-military Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) pay.

Regarding changes to the PFA, Stevens said, "It's not about lowering standards: it's about ensuring total-Sailor fitness 365 days a year." He continued, "It's about establishing a culture of fitness, ensuring Sailors are physically and mentally, fit so we can always be mission ready."

MCPON also queried the crowd of approximately 600 Sailors to get an understanding of how many of them would be affected by the proposed cuts to dual-military BAH.

"This show of hands helps me to understand how much these changes could impact the fleet," said Stevens. "I want you to know that myself and the other senior enlisted leaders want to take an in depth look at this before any changes are approved."

After the call, MCPON met with a group of nearly 50 chief petty officer (CPO) selectees to talk about leadership development.

"The level of training that you will receive over the next few weeks is at a level never seen before in the history of our mess," said Stevens. "CPO 365 is a process that allows for year-round leadership development and mentorship in order to help prepare you to lead at the next higher level."

Chief Aviation Maintenance Administrationman (Sel.) Kasey Prather, from Talari California, assigned to Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Pacific, said. "It was pretty awesome to have MCPON come out here to speak with us. To be there as a selectee and have the MCPON pass on some knowledge is truly incredible."

Before wrapping up his visit, MCPON toured the base hospital where he visited with Naval doctors and hospital corpsman.

"MCPON's a great guy, he's very personable and seems to really care about his Sailors," said Hospital Corpsman Kevin Rayford, from Huntington Beach, California. "When senior people come out to these areas it really lets us know that they care about us and are thinking about our well-being."

For more information on the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy visit www.navy.mil/local/mcpon.