THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 26, 1994 TAG: 9410260480
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Jack Dorsey
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
This is a call to all chief petty officers, active duty, reserve and retired.
If you haven't heard by now, there will be perhaps the largest gathering of CPOs ever at the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base next week when the Navy commissions the Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship Chief (MCM-14) into service.
The CPO community has extended an open-ended invitation to all active-duty and retired chiefs to attend the ceremonies.
At least 1,000 chiefs, in dress blues, have already confirmed they will be at the 10 a.m. ceremony, to be held at the Quaywall on Nov. 5 at Little Creek.
(Be in your seats by 9:30, please.)
Possibly, says Senior Chief Mike Wade, one of the dozens of people working to put together the festivities, there may be thousands more.
``We could have 10,000,'' he said. ``We just don't know. We don't know how many chiefs there are in the world. We planned one reception for 500 and now we're expecting 2,000.''
Calls for attendance have been circulated throughout military publications, in command bulletins, on electronic computer networks, including e-mail accounts, and by word of mouth.
More than 5,000 invitations have been sent out by the ship's first commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Timothy Garrold. The invite could draw thousands more.
The more the better, say the chiefs in Norfolk.
This is, after all, only the second time in the Navy's history that a ship has been named in honor of chief petty officers. The first was USS Chief (AM-14), which was retired in 1972 after service in World War II and Korea. It was transferred to the Mexican navy, where it remains in service today as the Jesus Gonzalez Ortega (G-15).
In an ironic twist, it turns out that the son of a former commanding officer of the first Chief, who now is a commander himself, stationed in Bahrain, has located the original log book of the ship and has donated it to the new Chief.
Although the latest Chief eventually will be based at Ingleside, Texas, it is being brought to Hampton Roads for commissioning because of the large Navy presence here and because it's a chance to show her off. This is the last of the 14-ship Avenger class scheduled to be built, each at a cost of about $121 million.
The 225-foot ships are rugged, with fiberglass and wood hulls, four diesel engines and two shafts and carry a crew of about 80. They are designed to locate and destroy mines that cannot be countered by conventional mine sweeping techniques.
The Chief debuts Thursday about 10 a.m. with its arrival at Little Creek.
``It's the most powerful ship in the world,'' boasts Wade, who takes a little liberty with its might, but not with the importance of the namesake ship's caliber of men and women.
The ship's sponsor is Sue Bushey of Norfolk, wife of retired Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Duane Bushey.
Duane Bushey and retired Master Chief of the Navy Bob Walker head the ship's commissioning committee.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Boorda, a former CPO, will be the featured speaker.
Since there are no federal funds for ship commissionings, the CPOs have raised thousands of dollars themselves, mainly from chiefs.
``We've got a map of the world on the wall showing where money has come from and there's a pin in every part of the world,'' Wade said.
KEYWORDS: COMMISSIONING CHIEF, U.S.S. MINESWEEPER by CNB