Fleet master chief visits local bases

"I was initially invited down here to speak at a Sailor of the Year banquet and thought as long as I was here, I would visit our naval bases in this area. This gives me an opportunity to see some of the support services offered to our Sailors," said DiRosa. "We have been talking a lot about the culture of fitness lately and the support that our Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) facilities provide to our commands. So I specifically wanted to check out the fitness facilities and see what is being offered."

During her visit here, DiRosa's tour began with a breakfast at the Fouled Anchor Chief's Club with local command master chiefs. The next stop took her to Naval Hospital Jacksonville where DiRosa held an all-hands call to meet with hospital Sailors and talk about upcoming changes to Navy policies.

After a short tour of MWR facilities including the Fitness Source and base gym, DiRosa headed to the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center to conduct another all-hands call.

After a working lunch with another group of command master chiefs, DiRosa held another all-hands call at the VR-58 spaces in Hangar 1000. "I would like to highlight of some of the things that we are working on right now that you will see coming out soon like deployment cycles, ideas the MCPON is working on and a whole gamete of other issues," DiRosa told a group of several hundred Sailors at VR-58.

"The first topic I'd like to discuss is individual augmentees (IAs). With all the focus on this, you are probably wondering when your number is coming up. Right now, we have about 10,000 people who are filling IA requirements and half of those are Reservists. On any given day we have about 40,000 people deploying on maritime missions. So, the reality is that our primary mission is not necessarily the IA support, but it is and will always be maritime defense."

Fleet Master Chief of Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command FLTCM(SW/AW) Jackie DiRosa gives an all-hands call to NAS Jax Sailors during her visit here Feb. 27. DiRosa talked about the Navy's strengths and thanked the Sailors for their hard work and dedication.

Her next topic discussed the Chief of Naval Operation's (CNO) message regarding deployability and employability that was released last Friday. " This message deals with rotation requirements and what can be expected. We will try to stay committed to six-month deployment cycles.

We do have some carrier groups on extended deployments because of the recent surge requirements. In the future, any extension is going to require CNO's approval," continued DiRosa. "We will try to prevent those as much as possible but sometimes world events will dictate that change. I think we all understand that because we wear the uniform to serve. When you come home from deployment, you should have the equal amount of dwell time. But you need to remember that you are most ready because you have been out there and are trained. So if we do have a short surge requirement, you will go back on deployment. We did this during Hurricane Katrina. And we will continue to do this."

DiRosa also discussed her concern for those IAs currently deployed and their family members. "We need to make sure we don't lose contact with our shipmates on IA duty. We also need to ensure their families know we are concerned. That also includes those single Sailors. We need to make sure we maintain some kind of contact because there is someone who is worried about that individual. So, I want everyone who knows someone on IA duty to contact that person and let them know someone cares about them," she stated.

Advancement policies, mentoring and education were other topics DiRosa touched on. "We are currently looking at how we handle ranking boards and how we select our future leaders. We have a lot of changes coming down the pipes. Each one of you is a leader. We need to reach out and develop our junior people. My challenge is to you is to look and see who you are mentoring. Reach out and touch somebody. Develop our Navy because that's what leadership is all about," she continued.

"Another big issue is education. In the near future, we plan to shift the focus on education requirements. We want to reward education and are looking to possibly give advancement points based on the amount of education you have and create a culture where we value education in our organization. We are also looking at tuition assistance. There is discussion about raising the limit to $4,500 and eliminating credit caps." Her final comments regarded safety issues. "Our CNO is a little upset about the number of condolence letters he has had to write lately. We are looking at Sailor risk reductions regarding drunk driving and safety incidences. We need to be more proactive on this. You need to check on one another and help your shipmates out. It's up to you to prevent that unnecessary condolence letter," said DiRosa. "We need to keep one another in check. We're like brothers and sisters, we're a family. We are a Navy that cannot be matched by anyone. We are a winning team. So I ask that you get involved and keep one another in check."

DiRosa then introduced her assistant, 2006 Atlantic Fleet Sea Sailor of the Year MMC(SS/SW/AW/DV) Jordan Rosado who gave a motivational speech about his naval career. "I've been in the Navy eight years and never thought I'd be where I am today. Any one of you can accomplish what I have if you set your mind to it. Look out for your junior Sailors and be the best leader you can be," he said.

After their visit to NAS Jax, DiRosa and Rosado headed to NS Mayport and NSB Kings Bay, Ga. "When you come to visit a base, it's hard to go to just one place. There is so much in this area, we have so many assets here. I hope to see as much as I can on this trip," said DiRosa.