Senior Enlisted Leaders Attend Training Symposium

From U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- Senior enlisted leaders from around the Pacific Fleet gathered at U.S. Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) headquarters in Pearl Harbor for the annual Senior Enlisted Leadership Training Symposium (SELTS), March 19 to 21.

The symposium allowed senior enlisted leaders to train, discuss and combine their knowledge and experience to improve the readiness and effectiveness of Sailors and fleet operations.

Deputy Commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, Rear Adm. Robert Girrier spoke with senior enlisted leaders during the symposium to discuss leadership and ethics and receive their feedback about better communication with the fleet.

"Leadership and getting it right is an enduring task," Girrier said. "Getting together to compare notes and reflect on this responsibility is something we are all charged with, so these leadership training symposiums are opportunities to do just that," he said. "We discuss the issues at hand, where we are making ground and where we need to work hard and focus on, these are great opportunities to compare notes, and chart our way ahead."

U.S. Pacific Fleet Master Chief Marco Ramirez stressed the importance of gathering senior enlisted leaders to discuss Navy concerns and address Sailors' needs to improve warfighting readiness.

"We want to bring them together to learn about the headquarters, our mission, and have better communication with each other," Ramirez said. "It gives me the chance to come together with my operational, type command and regional command master chiefs and get on the same page to deliver the same message."

Retired Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Jim Herdt talked with senior leaders and commended the evolution of the Navy and the positive affect it has on the molding of today's Sailor.

"I want them to know how good they are, how much better they are than people that served before them and how much better the people that follow them will be," said Herdt. "I hope that if I tell them something I failed at, that they will learn from that lesson and not do the same thing I did."

Force Master Chief Brannon Knox of Commander Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, said he appreciated the opportunity to attend the symposium and talk with his senior leaders and peers.

"Anytime you can get together and put all the leadership in one room and share ideas by bouncing them off each other will create a great return on investment," Knox said.

Knox also noted that many of the things he learned, like importance of partnerships and the relationship with other nations in the area are lessons, he will be able to take back to the Sailors in his force.

U.S. 7th Fleet Command Master Chief Crispian Addington was impressed by how the symposium gave him a different outlook on the Pacific Fleet area of responsibility (AOR).

"It's giving me a picture of the theater from the PACFLT perspective which enables me to better work with all the different Navy components in the AOR, but primarily it gives me that focus of what the staff at PACFLT wants, what they need us to do and what messages they need us to take forward," Addington said. "This will help improve the communication piece. This lets me take the CNO's (Chief of Naval Operations) direction, PACFLT's direction, and 7th Fleet's direction, directly to our Sailors in the fleet. It allows them to know why we are doing what we are doing, that's the biggest piece."

The three-day symposium also offered team-building exercises and discussions about future plans, manning, CPO 365 training and the Chief Petty Officer Legacy Academy.