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According to one reader of the
Chief Petty Officer's Guide, “The Chief Petty Officer is the backbone of the Navy. The
officers provide overall direction, and the sailors make the ships go. In between is the CPO who takes the commands from the
officers and converts it into something that the individual sailors can do. As such, the CPO is in a leadership position without
which nothing would happen. It is no surprise then that the sections of this book deal with leadership: Leading, Communication,
Developing, and Supporting. The
Navy approach is different. In industry you wouldn't find foremen in a factory with a specific responsibility for developing
young executives. But in the Navy the CPO had a direct responsibility for developing the junior officers who are above him.
This is a low price book that I'd recommend to the recent MBA graduate, just as I would to the new CPO learning his job.”
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In 1964, Master Chief Petty Officer
of the Navy John Hagan, USN (ret.), enlisted. He then attended Electronics Technician School and completed a short assignment
at Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River, Maryland. After he completed Ground Control Approach Radar Technician School he reported
to Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island, Washington, as the Leading Petty Officer for the Maintenance Division. During his tour
there, he earned an Associate of Arts degree. Hagan's next assignment was aboard USS Lester (DE-1022). During a subsequent tour of sea duty as a maintenance
technician at Underwater Demolition Team 21 in Little Creek, Virginia, he was advanced to Chief Petty Officer and qualified
as a naval parachutist. While assigned to a shore tour at Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center in Louisville, Kentucky, he
was advanced to Senior Chief Petty Officer. While there, he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from McKendree
University.
In September 1980, he reported
aboard USS Richmond K. Turner (CG-20). While there, he qualified as an Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist and was advanced
to Master Chief Petty Officer. Shortly after reporting to his next assignment at the Naval Air Technical Training Center at
Memphis, Tennessee, he was selected as the Force Master Chief for the Chief of Naval Technical Training. In April 1988 Master Chief Hagan reported to Norfolk, Virginia,
as the first Command Master Chief of PCU Philippine Sea (CG-58). After the vessel's commissioning the following year,
she reported to her homeport in Mayport, Florida, and subsequently deployed to the Red and Mediterranean Seas in support of
Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. During this tour of duty, he qualified as Officer of the Deck (Underway),
a qualification normally reserved for commissioned officers.
Soon after reporting to Helicopter
Anti-Submarine Warfare Squadron (Light) 48 at Mayport, Florida, as the Command Master Chief, Hagan was selected as the eighth
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy. He assumed his position as MCPON on 28 August 1992. MCPON John Hagan is the co-author
of the Chief Petty Officer's Guide.
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