An Interview

with the

Master Chief

Petty Officer

of the

Those 12 action items as outlined in my first SITREP message (ALCGENL 051/98) were a result of some supportive involvement by my Senior Enlisted Advisory Team, or SEAT, which consists of the two area and reserve forces command master chiefs, along with a number of other senior enlisted members, including a civilian and an auxiliarist. This group serves as my team of consultants to help me focus on the important issues and needs of our service. To be quite honest with you, I am amazed that through the efforts and support of all of the gold badge command master chiefs, folks here at CGHQ, we’ve been able to just about touch or accomplish something on every single action item. Through the initiative of the Enlisted Career Development Program, efforts are underway to address just how our enlisted workforce should be trained and able to perform. I’m excited by the fact that we’ve been able to take advantage of "front burner" items like the Commandant’s "Stroke of the Pen" actions and RADM Fred Ames’ "Future Force 21" initiative to move these action items to the forefront. There’s still more to be done, but I feel that we’ve got the throttles pointing forward.

In all of your travels, what is the most positive thing happening in the Coast Guard today?

We as an organization have the unique gifted talent to make things happen, regardless of the situation or lack of resources. While I see this as a positive thing being done, at the same time, I weather some concern. Going back to the Commandant’s "curse of Semper Paratus" speech he had done over 18 months ago, we are a high performing organization that quite simply will not fail under any circumstances. We will do what it takes to get the job done despite limited resources.

The lack of readiness has been talked about a lot this year within the Coast Guard. What’s being done to turn this around?

Through the efforts of the Leadership Council which consists of the Commandant, Vice Commandant, Chief of Staff, the Area Commanders and myself, a Readiness team was chartered and is working very diligently under the guidance of VADM John Shkor to take a proactive approach in gathering all of the information on readiness issues and needs throughout the Coast Guard. There is also an initiative of using information technology to build an electronic status board, which would be capable of seeing just how well prepared we are Coast Guard-wide at the touch of a button. Several units are taking part in the pilot testing. In addition, the "Future Force 21" initiative I mentioned earlier is taking a look at better ways that the Coast Guard’s human resource management system can respond to a variety of personnel actions.

You seem to be big on our Coast Guard traditions, more so than your predecessors were. Why?

I’ve always considered the best way to truly understand the definition of what leadership really is, is by embracing our history, heritage, and traditions of our service. There are probably hundreds of books written by some of the most prolific and well-known authors in the field of leadership and management. However, I believe that through looking back on our past, there are some amazing and inspiring stories which in my mind provide the best example of what true leadership is all about. The traditions of our service represents what our conditions of employment are all about. I often refer to defining our core values of Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty, not from the group in 1993, which I was a part of that came up with these words — but rather going back almost 70 years ago when then-Commandant, VADM Harry G. Hamlet penned the words to "The Creed of the Coast Guardsman" (see back cover). In the second paragraph or phrase of the creed, you’ll clearly find the words, "honor, respect, and devotion to duty," spelled out with the same emphasis as it is used today. I believe that embracing our history, heritage and traditions of the Coast Guard is all about having a passion and sense of belonging to such a high-performing organization that has played an integral and important part of our country’s history and a principal armed force. I see it clearly exhibited today by way of the tremendous work our people are doing day in and day out, such as the recent recipients of this year’s Coast Guard Foundation Awards, and the number of sensational efforts our members from Atlantic City to Long Beach, from Kodiak to San Juan are doing.

There is a perception in the field that the Chief’s Mess is not nearly as healthy or strong as it once was. What do you think of this and what can we do to make it stronger?

First of all, I think the contrary. Examples like the chiefs who rallied together to raise money for a new flag pole and monument for Douglas Munro at Cle Elum, and the recently completed Munro Hall exhibit at Cape May are what I would consider outstanding examples that our chiefs are healthy and strong. There is a need to continue to build on the strength of the Chiefs’ Mess, as well as to concentrate on the continual development of all chiefs. Right now, I have convened a team of master chiefs, consisting of gold badge command master chiefs, and chiefs of the mess from several units to take a very hard look at the current "Chiefs Call to Initiation" or CCTI process. My intent here is that we need to continually enhance the value of the CCTIs not for the newly selected CPOs, but also to ensure that we are truly meeting the need of all of chiefs in validating the need and importance of conducting this time honored tradition. It’s all about continual improvement of our chiefs’ messes throughout the Coast Guard.

We seem to say that personnel is our number one priority but don’t put the money into it evident by the fact that we fall further and further behind the other services (education, bonuses, etc.). When are we going to make it a priority and get the funding to provide the incentives that the other services provide to their members?

I’m not sure how to effectively answer this question, as there’s no cookbook way to try to respond to every single need for our personnel without having adequate funding. This of course is an issue with all branches of the armed services as well as other government agencies. There is no question that money drives many of our personnel management decisions. With that said, we have taken as much of a proactive approach to responding to budgetary needs with trying to keep with Department of Defense (DOD) parity. Just recently, our Coast Guard tuition assistance program has risen (ALCOAST 433/00). This I might add is a continual improvement over the past two years. We’re not there yet in keeping up with DOD, but we are devoting more funding to close the gap. On the question of bonuses, it is not fair to make the comprehensive comparison of DOD bonus programs with the Coast Guard, as these decisions are based on legislative requirements of which in most cases the Coast Guard does not meet the criteria to offer such a bonus.

"...we are a high performing organization that quite simply will not fail under any circumstances."

"...of seeing just how well prepared we are Coast Guard-wide at the touch of a button."

"...the Coast Guard is all about having a passion and sense of belonging..."

"Awards in my view are something that should be considered as instant recognition,..."

"...after seeing MCPOCG Charles Calhoun’s picture hanging on a wall, that I wanted to have his job someday."

"We have to all remember and understand that the future of our organization rests with our newest Coast Guardsmen."

First of all, I would suggest that reservists who feel this way should echo these thoughts through their chain of command. Interestingly enough, I hear this question brought up on the active duty side, when comparisons are made of different units, specifically ashore versus afloat. Awards in my view are something that should be considered as instant recognition, regardless of what status you are, or where you are stationed. Personally I dislike the term, "end of tour award," as I believe it degrades one of the reasons why we have an award system. When people do superlative work over a period of time, why shouldn’t they be recognized for their efforts right away? On the enlisted side of the house, holding off such an award actually hurts, not helps, a member on his or her advancement. I believe most award recipients would have truly loved to have proudly received their award while still assigned to their unit, instead of when they leave or retire. The real answer to this question lies in the chain of command of the award recipient. At the policy level we can put out all kinds of directives telling commands to treat people equally and present timely awards. However, the action has to be done at the unit level. At best, I can and will continue to do is address this matter to the various commands where such a problem like this exists.

What has been your favorite thing about being MCPOCG? The most challenging?

Clearly the most favorite thing about being the MCPOCG is I am truly living my dream. Just 28 years ago, I told my company commander in recruit training after seeing MCPOCG Charles Calhoun’s picture hanging on a wall, that I wanted to have his job someday. Many, including my company commander, thought I was joking. In fact, it cost me 50 pushups, as punishment for being a smart aleck (he used a bit stronger words than that). I was serious. After getting an understanding of what the job entailed, I felt that I really wanted and could do this job someday. I became a "student" of the position, watching closely and eventually having the third through the seventh MCPOCG serve as my mentors. What’s made the job fun is all about the people. After traveling thousands of miles over the past two-and-one-half years throughout the Coast Guard, from the newest E-2 to the most seasoned master chief, I have truly witnessed by example what living our Coast Guard core values are all about. I challenge anyone to show me an organization which has people who are more than willing to do their very best, regardless of the obstacles presented — and they do it very well. All of our members of the Coast Guard family, active, reserve, retired, civilian, auxiliary, and family members take a sincere and dedicated interest in giving it their absolute best, holding true to the words from our service song that "Semper Paratus is our guide, our fame, our glory too."

The very same things I’m most excited about, our people, are also my most important challenges over the next several months. I can’t help but bring up the "Three R’s" — Recruiting, Retention, and Readiness. They are elements that we must continue to successfully achieve. We can’t do one without the other two if we intend to remain "Semper Paratus," through the 21st century. There are some tremendous efforts being placed on line to ensure that we keep in step with the "Three R’s" through the Future Force 21 initiative. This project will require everyone in our organization to pay close attention to what we do, how we’ve done it before, and how we may have to change to accommodate the "Three R’s." There will no doubt be some sweeping changes awaiting our service over the next several years, well into the next Commandant’s tenure. If we want to remain healthy and "Semper Paratus," full interest and the assistance of everyone in the Coast Guard family to fully support the Future Force 21 initiative is paramount.

What do you really want to accomplish in your last two years? And, what would you like people to remember 20 years from now when they talk about MCPOCG Vince Patton?

After responding to the last question on my greatest challenges, I would say that working with the Future Force 21 initiatives are the most important things that I feel are necessary to accomplish during the remaining part of my tenure. In addition, I also want to emphasize a greater interest in Cape May as our recruit training center. This is where it all starts. I believe that we, particularly the senior enlisted workforce, should pay more attention to supporting Cape May’s recruit company mentoring program, as well as doing as much as we can to help ensure that the over 4,000 or so hard-charging men and women who graduate from Cape May every year are given the opportunity to excel once they reach their first unit. We have to all remember and understand that the future of our organization rests with our newest Coast Guardsmen. Every senior enlisted member out there should have the attitude and take the approach that our reliefs are coming through Cape May, whether we’re ready for them or not. We must have the attitude and recognize that our newest members will have the ability to continue and even build on our service’s legacy — if they are given the right leadership and opportunities to excel. I see it in their eyes every time I visit Cape May, and shake the hands of the newest graduates. If there’s anything I would like people to remember me for 20 years from now — it’s my sincere interest in promoting the importance of our enlisted personnel’s "alma mater" — Training Center Cape May, N.J.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to the many readers of The Reservist as we enter 2001?