MCPON Hagan - Change or Be Eliminated Master Chief Electrician’s Mate (ETCM (SS)) John Hagan relieved MCPON Bushey in the fall of 1992. Hagan served as MCPON for over five years. MCPON Hagan continued the work of previous MCPONs in reforming and improving the quality CPO initiations. During his tenure, Hagan introduced a renewed emphasis on naval history and heritage in the CPO Indoctrination Course. CPO selectees were also expected to participate in physical fitness training and be involved in civic and community events. It was during Hagan’s tenure that “CPO Season” began to be used to describe the activities that took place between the time CPO selection results were released and the day of initiation. Hagan also stressed that charge books were to reflect CPO pride in appearance and by the written entries made by chief petty officers. During this time CPO selectees were required to learn and sing “Anchors Aweigh” and to be able to recite the “Sailor’s Creed”. Hagan stressed the importance of naval history and heritage. He pushed to end meaningless, demeaning, and unprofessional practices associated with CPO initiations. He recognized that
challenge and face adversity.” The sentence “you have joined an exclusive fraternity, and as in all fraternities, you have a responsibility to your brothers, even as they have a responsibility to you” was changed to “you have joined an exclusive fellowship and, as in all fellowships, you have a special responsibility to your comrades, even as they have a special responsibility to you.” The changes to the CPO Creed resulted in predictable reactions from some chief petty officers. Many of the older chiefs and retired chiefs saw it as a break with tradition while others viewed it as a long overdue improvement. By the turn-of-the 20th century the role of the chief petty officer had evolved. More was expected. It was no longer satisfactory for a chief petty officer to simply be a technical expert. Long gone were the days where superior technical ability would allow personal flaws and unprofessional behavior to be ignored. Chief petty officers were expected to be leaders by example. The senior enlisted leadership structure of the Navy had matured and was providing oversight on all matters relating to CPO initiations.
“traditions are not values and should be discarded when they no longer served a meaningful purpose. 51” By the mid-1990s the CPO Season was quickly becoming more than a simple rite of passage. The season was transitioning to a team-building and professional training activity while still retaining the fun and mystique. By 1996, alcohol had been banned at all CPO initiation events for both the selectees and the initiates. For the first time CPO initiations were being held while everyone was sober. The CPO season changed pre-initiation activities from individual activities to team-building events. CPO Associations made up of chiefs from various messes within a command or station had come into being. It became common practice to merge CPO selectees into groups in the weeks prior to initiation day. CPO selectees learned to work as a team instead of individuals. In the past, there was often little interaction between selectees from different commands. By the late 1990s, CPO selectees were learning to work with others to accomplish the mission. During Hagan’s term, the CPO Creed was updated to reflect the changes in demographics that had occurred within the Navy over the previous 20 years. Navy chiefs had become more diverse. The CPO creed was changed to remove references to gender and humiliation. Some of the changes included modifying the original opening sentence from: “During the course of this day, you have been caused to suffer indignities, to experience humiliations” to “During the course of this day you have been caused to humbly accept 78
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John Hagan served as MCPON from 1992-1998. During his tenure he continued to implement reforms to CPO initiations in order to save them from being eliminated by the Chief of Naval Operations.