It’s official, the Chief Petty Officer results have been released, and after only a short delay.

The great news is…

I MADE CHIEF!!!

I was selected for promotion to Chief Petty Officer! This is easily the happiest day of my naval career. I simply don’t know what to write right now… I can not explain my reaction in words, this is a dream come true.

I am not a Chief yet, I won’t be until I get pinned in September, but now I know it’s coming. Now I need to start working on my re-enlistment. This is going to be a busy period for me, but I can’t wait.

I will post more later. Thank all of you who have given me so much support over the last two years. I especially have to thank Master Chief Betterton, Master Chief Nolan, Master Chief Harlin, Sergeant Major Pyle, Sergeant Major Jetty, Lieutenant Commander Carlson, Chief Woehnker, Chief Bechthold, Senior Chief Franklin, Chief Fraser and all of the other wonderful people in my career who have mentored me each and every step of the way, my success is a testament to your hard work, and I will be eternally grateful.

Next stop… Senior Chief…

Take a look at this Tribute to Chiefs who gave their all in the service of their country…

Well, I finally got my hearing aids. I suppose I never realized how much sound I was really missing before. It’s kind of crazy because I can now hear all sorts of sounds I never heard before. They are definitely a good thing. They are also much smaller and more comfortable than I imagined they would be. The funny part is that it is almost a bit disconcerting being able to hear as much as I can now. I heard the sound of a tree rustling and it was amazing, I had forgotten just how noisy a simple tree could be.

It is certainly going to take me some time to get used to wearing these things, but I can see that overall they will improve my quality of life. Best of all, they are almost completely invisible, so I don’t feel as though I look like an old man.

Now I just have to figure out if TriCare will pay for the hearing aid batteries, or if I am going to have to take that on as an out of pocket expense.

We met with the NAVSUP Command Master Chief today, and he gave me some insight as to what was holding up the board results. Whereas it doesn’t make me any less anxious, it is good to hear from a reliable source what the hold up is all about, I will share more details later, for now I am off to the gym.

I try to review my traffic logs for this site at least once a day, or at least every other day. From some of the traffic I have been seeing, I am evidently not the only First Class eagerly awaiting the results of the FY08 Chiefs Board…

I’ve been getting a lot of hits from search engines of people looking for “chief’s board results” or “Navy Chief results” or “Navy Chiefs Board Results Posted”. Whereas I kind of feel bad for the guys who wind up here rather than being able to see the results they are seeking, it’s good to know I am not the only one who is starting to sweat it a bit…

To all my fellow First Class Petty Officers who are eagerly awaiting the results with me, good luck… Hopefully they will be out soon.

Ironically… even with the influx of traffic from people searching for the results… this post still seems to be one of my most popular… Ahhh, Fort Bragg was fun…

The latest word in the rumor mill now is that the Chief Results may not be released until mid-August. If it’s true, I can only speculate as to what the hold up could be. Typically the results are released in the last week of July or the first week of August. Could this not only be the lowest promotion rate, but also the slowest board results in eight years?

Mind you, I am not placing too much faith in the rumor mill. I have been around long enough to know the true value of rumors, but is certainly can be fun to speculate. In the mean time, I wake up every morning, and before I even sit up, I reach over and grab my laptop from the nightstand and check the Naval Personnel Command website to see if the results are out. It’s been a routine I’ve developed over the last week and a half.

In the mean time, I will keep waiting, and hope the rumors aren’t true…

If you’d like to help me keep an eye out, you can check to see if the results are out here (the Site requires Internet Explorer). When the results are released, the “FYO8 Selectees” link should be active.

I got an e-mail today from an old friend who I used to go to school with. Her name is Janae, and we went to middle school together. Apparently she has been following my blog for some time now. She wants to hook-up some time and catch up, and she said that if I make Chief she wants to take me to dinner. I guess this is one of the great parts of the internet, the ability to find and catch up with old friends. Janae is currently working in real estate. I think it’s amazing to see what has become of people you went to school with as a child, and it’s always nice to see that a friend is doing well…

Hopefully Janae will get to buy me that dinner…

She sent a picture, and gave me permission to share…

I wanted to start by thanking those of you who have written me e-mails of support, and those of you who have contacted me on MySpace. I really do appreciate all the support!

I continue to wait for the Chief results to come out, and the anticipation only builds because people are constantly asking me “are the results out yet?”. What I think is worse is when someone who knows me asks “so did you make Chief?”, don’t you think I would mention it if I had been promoted?

A couple of people have mentioned that I seem a little anxious, and sometimes I seem a little cranky, and they are fairly certain it is because I am feeling testy about awaiting the results. They are probably right, but I hadn’t realized I was showing it outwardly so much…

In the mean time I continue to try to keep busy, so in that vain, I will answer a few questions that I have been asked…

1) Yes, making Chief does mean that I will be getting a whole new “Wardrobe”. Although we call them uniforms. This is good because it is distinguishing, and it will be the source of much pride if I do make it, but it is bad because it presents a sudden, very large expense.

2) No my new uniforms are not free! Not even close. In fact they are more expensive than my current uniforms. Whereas I will have to buy all new uniforms, I believe I will be extended some sort of a credit plan by the Navy Exchange to cover them all. Who would have thought that with a promotion could come extra debt?

3) Yes I am certain that I want to Stay Navy if I make Chief. It has been a life long dream, and I cannot possibly imagine any better job. It will be my honor to train and mentor future generations of sailors.

4) Yes I do intend to go through Chief’s initiation, and I am looking forward to that “initiated & proud” T-Shirt.

More updates as they occur…