What It Means to be a First-class Petty Officer

Being a First-class Petty Officer means a lot of things to a lot of people.

To your junior guys, it means you’re a subject matter expert. It means you’re the barrier between the command and them. They rely on your experience, your knowledge, and your spine to back them up when they need it, and to stop the BS as it’s coming down the pipe. They rely on you to know what to do, because you’ve done it before. They rely on you to empathize, because you’ve been there.

To your Chief, it means you’re the rock he can rely on for the heavy lifting. Let’s face it: some chiefs are not strong leaders. They might need you to be the bad guy, to make the division stay late some nights when work’s gotta get done. Some chiefs are strong leaders, and they look to you to enforce the law of the land to the junior guys. If they’re running amok, the command is going to look to you to do something about it.

When something has to get done, they don’t send the Chief or the Officer first. They send the First-class Petty Officer.

If you need guidance, a good resource comes from our good ol’ pals the USMC, with the 11 Principles of Leadership. Commit these to memory.

11 Principles of Naval Leadership

1. Be technically and tactically proficient.
   • Know your shit. No excuses.
2. Know yourself and seek self-improvement.
   • If you don’t know your shit, get better.
3. Know your sailors and look out for their welfare.
   • Your guys might not be much more than kids. They need someone to look up to. Be that person.
4. Keep your sailors informed.
   • Last-minute drive-by tasking is a morale killer. Run interference, let your guys know as soon as you know.
5. Set the example.
   • Don’t be the guy that has his gut spilling over his belt line, talking about making sure everyone passes the PRT.
6. Ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished.
   • “Trust, but verify.” Don’t micromanage, but priority one is making sure the job got done right.
7. Train your sailors as a team.
   • This is obvious. A division has to be cohesive.
8. Make sound and timely decisions.
   • No decision is still a decision.
9. Develop a sense of reliability in your subordinates.
   • Make sure your guys are aware that if their job doesn’t get done right, somebody still has to do it. Fear the blue falcon.
10. Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities.
    • Know your guys’ limits. If they haven’t slept in three days, don’t sign them up for gun quals.
11. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions.
    • Never, ever pawn responsibility on your junior guys. It doesn’t matter if it’s their fault. Their mistakes are your mistakes.

As we celebrate the anniversary of the First Class Petty Officer in August, remember what it means to be a First Class with the array of challenge coins and t-shirts available at NavyCrow.com. All memorabilia are made in the USA from high-quality materials. The shirts make fantastic gifts, to yourself or others. Do you have an LPO that needs to know how much you appreciate him sticking his neck out for you? Get him the First Class Crow coin.

I once had a third class give me a challenge coin and a hand-written note when I was departing my first ship, telling me how much he valued me as a shipmate, how my being there helped him get through a tough deployment and a tougher workup. I still have that coin, sitting right on top of that note, in my office.

This stuff matters. More than you know.