JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- When Air Force Tech. Sgt. Paul “Chip” White enrolled into the all-Navy Chief Petty Officer Phase 2 Program at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, he had no idea he would join the ranks of a brotherhood.
White, the network implementation manager at the Defense Information Systems Agency, Pacific, was the only Airman selected to participate in the Navy's rigorous initiation, a program designed to build leadership and instill confidence, humility and accountability to newly selected Sailors to the rank of chief petty officer.
“This was an opportunity for me to see how the Navy operates, and to be able to effectively interact with Sailors by knowing a little more about their culture and how they operate from a senior non-commissioned officer level,” said White.
The program is set in a professional education and training environment, and challenges team and individual toughness, evaluates performance, and cultivates a culture of humility, trust and loyalty. Candidates are challenged for 43 days (weekends included) with team building, physical training, and various leadership scenarios aimed at strengthening leadership.
White, who works in a joint environment and interacts with Navy personnel on a daily basis, says he learned important traits of being a leader that will contribute to his career as a senior NCO, when he pins on the rank of Master Sgt. early next year.
“I learned a lot about being able to lean on people and building a rapport,” White said. “I learned that it’s important to not just stay inside your box. The way the chiefs operate and interact is pretty special to see.”
Chief Master Sgt. Christopher Gradel, the senior enlisted leader at the DISAPAC, says he chose White for the opportunity based on his stellar performance in his day-to-day duties as well as his outstanding potential as a soon-to-be senior NCO.
“I work in a joint environment and value how the Navy prepares their sailors to transition to E7,” said Gradel. “I made phone calls and talked to the folks running this and made sure my Airman was going to participate for the experience, not the EPR bullet. [I asked that they] made this just as challenging on him as the Navy selects.”
White was also one of three candidates hand-selected for the Legacy Academy aboard the USS Missouri, a six-day course woven into the overall CPO training. At the culmination, the Sailors surprised their sole Airman teammate by singing the Air Force song, a surprise White says solidified his brotherhood with his Navy counterparts.
“It was pretty cool that they rallied around the Air Force guy, and truly accepted me into their family.”
Senior Chief Petty Officer Khalid Muqaddim, the Navy senior enlisted leader at DISAPAC, served as White’s sponsor and mentor throughout his training process.
“It’s been special to see how the Sailors have taken him in,” Muqaddim said. “They’re looking at him and saying, ‘He’s one of us.’”
Muqaddim says that the joint command they work in allows Air Force communication specialists to work hand-in-hand with the Navy, and was good preparation for what he experienced throughout training.
“We’re used to working with each other, but I feel like he is teaching us just as much as he says we teach him,” said Muqaddim.
White says that the experience will contribute to his future success as an Air Force leader.
“The way they prepare their Sailors for the next level of leadership is pretty incredible,” he said. “If anyone has the opportunity to do anything like this they should absolutely take it. I’ve grown a lot in the past six weeks.”
The training concluded Sept. 15, when White received his honorary Navy CPO anchor aboard the USS Missouri, an experience he says opened his eyes to military processes as a whole.
“I got to peel back the curtain on the Navy,” White said. “We’re all so focused on our own service cultures, so it’s cool to step back and have them willing to accept you into the training process. It’s pretty special.”