Nearly 200 chiefs-select will return to the Navy’s boot camp this fall as part of a program that the sea service is resurrecting after doing away with it five years ago.
The Chief Selectee Back to Boot Camp program will see 176 chiefs-select and 30 mentors from across the fleet return to Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, Illinois, for a week of specialized leadership training from Sept. 4 to Sept. 8, according to a Navy message released last week.
It will take place during the second week of the six-week chiefs initiation process, according to officials.
Those attending will be unable to leave the base and will stay in open berthing areas, where they will “enjoy the same type of accommodations as recruits and staff,” the message states.
After a week of “leadership and heritage training,” selectees for the voluntary program will attend a recruit capping and a recruit graduation ceremony.
RELATED
The Navy halted the program in 2018 but is bringing it back because it offers chiefs selectees a fresh look at how their soon-to-be junior sailors are being trained, officials said.
The Fiscal Year 2024 chief’s selection board began June 26 and will adjourn July 21, and the Navy has not yet released E-7 quotas regarding how many sailors will make chief in this cycle, officials said.
Command master chiefs looking to nominate their chief selectees for the boot camp must do so within a week after the selection board results are announced, according to the Navy.
Mentor nominations are due by July 21.
Those looking to nominate chiefs-select or mentors should do so via their fleet or force master chiefs, according to the Navy.
See the Back to Bootcamp Fact Sheet.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
