How to Make Chief: Expectations of a First Class Petty Officer

MCPON(SW/FMF) Joe R. Campa Jr. recently addressed the active-duty chief petty officer selection board and outlined his expectations of first class petty officers being considered for selection to chief. “You are the gatekeepers to our [CPO] community,” Campa told the selection board. “What you do in the next several weeks will impact our [chief’s] mess and our Navy for years to come.”

First-line leadership, rating expertise, professionalism, communication, loyalty and heritage are all mentioned in the CPO precepts, the governing document each selection board uses as they deliberate and select Sailors whose records appear in front of a board. “Those expectations are the things we expect our first classes to be doing. We expect them to generate deckplate results. The most important factor I want you to consider is leadership – what they’re doing for those they lead. No one should be wearing an anchor on their collar if they can’t lead Sailors,” Campa said. Language taken straight from the guidance, “Expectations of the First Class Petty Officer,” has been inserted into the selection board’s precepts.

Those Sailors who live up to them have the best chance of putting on anchors Sept. 16. Campa introduced the Expectations in December 2007, and reinforced a number of characteristics effective first class petty officers have always demonstrated. Just seven months later, those expectations have been formally recognized as the most significant indicators of a candidate’s potential to lead as a chief. Campa followed a similar formula after he introduced the Chief Petty Officer’s Mission, Vision and Guiding Principles.

Within a year of their creation, they were inserted into senior and master chief selection board precepts. “It’s one thing to talk about what we expect from our leaders, it’s a whole other matter to drive performance based on those expectations. That’s what we do when we place the Guiding Principles or the Expectations into precepts. “We’re telling our Sailors that if they want to be advanced, the success of those they lead is what the board is going to look at,” said Campa. The results of the MCPON’s message will be felt by the entire fleet when CPO results are released later this summer.