Forty-two Sailors from Pensacola-area commands donned their chief petty officer anchors during pinning ceremonies at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Sept. 16.

The pinning ceremony concluded CPO 365 Phase II training, which began when the CPO selectees were announced. Families, friends and shipmates joined the selectees as they officially put on the coveted gold fouled anchors of a chief petty officer.

"During the course of the last several weeks, our chief selects have received a tremendous amount of training," said Chief Information Systems Technician Brian Hamel, master of ceremonies for the Navy Information Operations Command Pensacola and Information Warfare Training Command Corry Station pinning ceremony. "Over the course of six weeks they have been tested, and we are here today to lay testament to their success and finalize their completion of CPO 365 Phase II into a most exclusive fellowship: the chief petty officer mess."

For Chief Cryptologic Technician (Networks) Ben Shady, the ceremony was a reminder of the hard work it takes for a Sailor to reach this level of achievement.

"It's been a fun ride," said Shady. "It's been 11 years since I joined to get to this point. It doesn't matter where you start, it's how you finish."

Retired Force Master Chief of the Naval Reserve Chris Glennon, who spoke at the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training's ceremony, remarked on how these young men and women are the subject matter experts, particularly for those involved in the training mission.

"They have been instructors. They know the platforms. They know the weapons systems," said Glennon. "Now they need to embrace the ability to lead; to take care of other problems; to be in a leadership role. They are expected to step up and be more well-rounded and deal with whatever the problem is."

After all the newly-appointed chiefs were pinned at the IWTC Corry Station and NIOC Pensacola ceremony, the entire Chiefs Mess led the audience in singing "Anchors Aweigh" before joining their family and friends for a reception.

"Being a chief petty officer is like no other feeling in the world," said Chief Cryptologic Technician (Technical) Jeremy Wilson. "All the emotions [at the ceremony] are real, and it's definitely well-deserved."

Chief Hospital Corpsman Ophael Myrtil, Naval Hospital Pensacola's newest chief petty officer, received his CPO anchors in an individual ceremony held on site.

Center for Information Warfare Training delivers trained information warfare professionals to the Navy and joint services, enabling optimal performance of information warfare across the full spectrum of military operations.

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