At the conclusion of a six-week-long training, Navy Recruiting District (NRD) San Antonio welcomed six new chief petty officers into the Chief’s Mess during a chief petty officer pinning ceremony held on the campus of the Incarnate Word, Sept. 14.

The ceremony began with welcoming remarks from NRD Command Master Chief Eric Mays.

“You were selected for chief petty officer because you have proven to your Sailors, to your leadership and to the Navy that you care for those Sailors under your charge and that you care for their families,” said Mays of Birmingham, Alabama. “You’re here today, about to enter our mess because you’ve proven to the chiefs that you are ready to walk among us with anchors on your collars.” 

Mays told the selectees to earn their Sailors’ faith and lead them well.

“Just as you trusted this Chief’s Mess to train you and make you ready to be the chiefs, your Sailors now look to you as the benchmark for success and the guardians of their well-being,” Mays said.  

After Mays' remarks, the chiefs-select marched their way into the auditorium singing "Anchors Aweigh" as their fellow Sailors and family watched in anticipation.

NRD Commanding Officer Jeffrey Reynolds presided over the ceremony.

“Today is a momentous occasion in the lives and careers of these Sailors,” said Reynolds. “There are enlisted Sailors in our Navy who are top performers and we set them apart by promoting them to chief petty officer.”

After the new chiefs were pinned by their family members and friends, the Chief Petty Officer Creed, which was read by Navy Career Counselor Isabel Guerrero, emphasized the added responsibility and higher expectations that come with the rank of chief petty officer.

At the ceremony’s conclusion, active-duty, retired and former chief petty officers “manned the rails” and saluted each new chief petty officer as they passed through side boys and were welcomed into the NRD Chief’s Mess.

Promoted to chief petty officer were Chief Boatswain’s Mate Titus Jones Jr. of Fort Worth, Texas; Chief Navy Counselor Marshall Baker of Santa Barbara, California; Chief Machinist’s Mate Jaewlaye Sherman of Monrovia, Liberia; Chief Navy Counselor Sambath Ham of Boston, Massachusetts; Chief Personnel Specialist Elbony Harris of Selma, Alabama; and Chief Yeoman Erica Saiz of El Paso, Texas.

The chief petty officer initiation consists of a six-week process to ensure Sailors are successful as the Navy continues to stay ahead of its competition.

The process, which is accomplished through intentional education, preparation and empowerment, began in August and culminated with the pinning ceremony where the selectees don their khakis uniforms, and they are pinned with their gold anchor insignias.

NRD San Antonio recruits in an area covering more than 144,000 square miles of Texas territory, spanning from Waco, west to Midland/Odessa, southwest toward El Paso, southeast along the Rio Grande Valley, and west of College Station.

The Navy’s recruiting force totals over 6,100 personnel in more than 1,000 recruiting stations around the globe. Their combined goal is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of the Navy.

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