How did CPO 365 influence you as a leader and what would you change about the program?

After My Time Shipmate. They had already HYTd My Ass before this was a thing. In a 365 review I might have done better. I walked on water with about everyone except some of my SEAs. I was good, I was Cocky, I didn't Play Games. Militarily Speaking I was not "Politically Correct".

I had mixed feelings about CPO 365 when I was on active. I did 10 initiations and almost an eleventh before I punched. 365 was a fairly late-happening thing relative to my active service. It didn't really come into vogue until FY-12. I found the whole notion a bit patronizing because I perceived that somebody was directing chief petty officers to be chief petty officers 365 days a year. I didn't need to be told that; I lived it as an axiom since I put on anchors in '03. But I kind of get why that was put forth.

That said, I was still referring to the whole process as 'initiation' in selectees' charge books after what used to be called 'transition' (I think) got sundowned by Mike Stevens. We had a base CMDCM who had come from Seventh Fleet and he brought his C7F attitude with him. Needless to say, that season had something to be desired and I wrote a SCATHING after-action report when it was done. I was in Afghanistan the following season where we were pretty much left to our own devices and not being micromanaged by politicians more concerned with zero defects than they were with rocks and shoals. Strangely enough, that was probably one of the best seasons I'd experienced in years.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, the whole side-by-side thing once the list comes out is, to me, patronizing, self-defeating and acrimony-building. If you didn't get selected this year, well, better luck next year, study harder, work harder and good things will come. Even if you retire as a seasoned first class petty officer, that's still a very succesful career. One of these damn days, somebody's going to wake up to the notion that the everyone's-a-winner mentality is probably the most unhealthy mindset we can put people, much less senior staff NCOs, in. I hope it's sooner rather than later.

Initiated by choice, proud by tradition. Hopefully, nothing changes the tradition of making Chief. It was the best day of my life.