Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Mike Stevens held a series of all-hands calls at Naval Station Norfolk and Naval Air Station Oceana Sept. 22. The pair discussed the status of the Navy and took questions from Sailors around the Hampton Roads area in several forums, from flag officers to junior officers and enlisted personnel. In his opening statements, Richardson highlighted four priorities that will guide him and the Navy day to day: safety and integrity, accountability and assessment, creativity and initiative and toughness and resilience. "Those are, I think, the four ingredients that will characterize us going forward, keep us strong, and keep us the toughest, most effective Navy in the world," said Richardson. CNO and MCPON also fielded a wide variety of questions from the audience, on personnel issues and the Navy's budget. Both leaders assured Sailors that regardless of the fiscal uncertainty, "people" would remain a top funding priority. "A consistent theme through all the budget churn that we've been going through in the past is that if we're going to cover down on one thing, it's going to be our commitment to our people," said Richardson. Richardson closed by discussing his relationship with the MCPON and how that could be modeled throughout the fleet. "Today you got a sense of how much I value my partnership with the MCPON," said Richardson. "And that is, I think, symbolic of the partnership that we're going to having going forward, and the partnership that we all have to strike as we become the most effective team possible." For more news from Chief of Naval Operations, visit www.navy.mil/.