Deployed on a destroyer when the Chief Petty Officer selection list was announced. Our ship had eight Chief selectees that year.

There is a period of about a month between the CPO select message and the formal “pinning” of the new Chiefs. During that time, the selectees undergo intense training (formerly called Chief’s Initiation) by the current Chiefs in the ship’s Chief’s Mess. There are also some hijinx that are inflicted by the CPO selectees.

About a week into the Initiation process, the door to the Chief Petty Officer’s Mess mysteriously disappeared one night. The Command Master Chief assembled the CPO selectees and sternly questioned them as to the door’s whereabouts, but they all shrugged and claimed no knowledge of this incident.

Days passed. Searches were conducted, tempers flared, mandates were voiced – but alas, the door did not reappear. Damage Control smoke curtains had to be rigged on the doorway to the Mess to afford some privacy…and the CMC seethed about it constantly.

On Day 4 of this crisis, I walked out on the foc’sle where my Gunnersmates were performing cell-hatch maintenance on the Vertical Launching System (VLS). The supervisor for this event was a GMC selectee. After exchanging greetings, I went with my hunch and said:
- “It’s under this VLS launcher, isn’t it”
Without any hesitation or emotion, GMC(sel) replied in his deadpan voice:
- “No sir. It’s under Aft VLS.”

And so the door remained under Aft VLS until Day 7, when the Captain called the CPO selectees into his cabin and calmly said – “enough”. The selectees then returned the door to its rightful place and all was well again.

But it was hysterical!

- Brian S.