 Welcome, I'm MC108 Fabrizio. Following the release of the E7 board results, I'm here with Fleet Master Chief April Beldo and Force Master Chief CJ Mitchell. We're here to talk about the E7 board, so if you didn't make it this year or you're going up for the first time, listen up. First, Fleet, Force, thank you for joining me. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having us. Now first, what is your main message for anyone out there that didn't make it on this cycle? Well what I would like to share with our shipmates, MC1, is if you didn't make it, do not automatically think that there's something wrong with you. That's the biggest message. You didn't do anything wrong. My first message would be don't be discouraged. Accept this as a professional challenge to seek an area where you can improve. So we're here to talk about the tips that you guys can give some of the sailors because you've both sat on multiple boards, but first, what can you tell us a little bit about how the board process works? Well, I think I'd like to turn that over to my shipmate, Force Master Chief Mitchell, as he did just come back from one of the boards. Thank you, Fleet. I did recently sit the Reserve Chief Petty Officer Board. First of all, I want to tell you there are very strict rules about what can and cannot be talked about, and there's a brief on the NPC webpage which details what happens. What happens basically is each record is reviewed by a board member, they're voted on, they're ranked, and the best of the fully qualified in accordance with the precept are selected for Chief. So I think the thing that people think about first when they're going up for the board is all of their evals. What would you tell sailors? What tips would you have on evals? How to write a man? What the board is looking for when they're looking and reviewing evals? Well, one of the things that I can remember when I was a first class Petty Officer going up for Chief is I waited until November to start remembering what I did for the whole year. And what I'd like to share with as you go through the year anything that you've done that you think is relevant in your career start keeping your will book or I guess nowadays in your smartphone or on your computer and start writing down what you did do because we forget sometimes and we don't want to forget anything that you've done that is worthy being noticed on the board. In addition to that preparation, which is very sage advice, I encourage you to at your career development board or even at your midterm counseling is a chance to start working on that draft to start talking about the things that are important to your eval and to your career. Take advantage of those times to start working on that eval. And the last thing I'll add is don't leave anything out. When your chain of command asks for your brag sheet or asks for your input, there is nothing too big or too small. Put it all on there and they'll make sure they get it in those 18 lines. So for sailors that are all kind of being rock stars at their job and doing everything they're supposed to do, what are some of the extra ways that they can be looking at to stand out at the board? Well, one thing I will say and you use the perfect word, rock stars. There are a lot of you out there that are rock stars and the competition is stiff. So don't stop doing what you're doing, continue working hard, mentoring your junior sailors, sharing all that you have to have and your technical expertise and continue to work hard because just because you didn't make it again, like I said, that doesn't mean that you weren't worthy. What that means is that you are competing against a bunch of rock stars. Absolutely. Rock stars is a great term, but standing out is another great term. The sailors that stand out are rock stars. They improve their sailors. They improve their command, whether it's in their primary duty or collateral duty. They improve themselves by advanced education or advanced qualms. And they also work in advance and improve their communities. Those are the real standouts, the people that make a difference in all of those areas. And even with all that, we still don't have enough quotas to give every single rock star those anchors. Well, I think a lot of sailors have heard maybe a horror story or two about they had great evals, great write ups to do and everything they're supposed to do and they maybe got disqualified or the board kind of pushed them off to the side for some discrepancies in their record. And so you're told to review your record, review your record. What's the best way to go about doing that for the sailors that aren't really sure what to look for or are worried about those sleeper problems in their service record? Forrest Mitchell. I tell you what, after just sitting the Reserve Chief Petty Officer Board, a verified complete record is absolutely crucial. Again, Fleet Mash Chiefs have talked about it. The competition is very keen. You want to use your OMPF, the access is right there on BOL. Get with your chief or your chain of command to help you review your record. Look at your evals. It's a point and click on BOL to determine if there are any eval gaps anywhere in your record. And then submit a package. Submit that package so that your record is as complete as possible so the board has as most accurate picture as possible of the type of record you are. So when I was told to review my record, I was told to find discrepancies, make sure you submit a letter to the board. What can you tell us about those letters, how to write them or what the board looks for in those? Well, one of the things that I would like to share is NPC does a great job of giving samples on what format that that letter to the board needs to look like. If you follow that, and again, if you think something is missing or if you feel that it is worthy that you want the board members to look at that, don't let anybody else tell you not to put it in your record. Once you send us that package, and once you give us that cover letter with those enclosures, board members, and you correct me if I'm wrong, but board members are bound to look at every single piece of paper that you submit. And board members take that responsibility very seriously. They look at every single document that you submit. They want to make sure that they have the complete picture of who you are as a sailor and fleet set it earlier. Everything is important. So when in doubt, send it in. Now for final thoughts for any sailors looking at getting ready for next cycle, what would you tell them? I think, um, force Mitchell, um, you mentioned it in the beginning. Don't get discouraged. I do believe that there is a process that all of us go through when we were not selected. I wouldn't select it the first time up for every rank. So there's this grieving process. But once we get through that and we can't take it too long, we need to get back into the game, hit the deck running and start preparing for the next, um, season because it will be here before you know it. I'd like to add just a couple things. One, it's okay to be upset. It's okay to feel a little bit rejected. But again, accept that challenge professionally and not personally. The second thing I want to say is when it comes up for going up for chief to quote, build parcels, you are who your record says you are. Make sure you have a good record. It's a fact. However you represent yourself and your record is the sailor that you are. And the last thing, and I can't go much farther without mentioning this is you should be studying for that chief's test right now. We can't talk about the board or preparing a package unless you pass the chief's test on our selection board eligible. So as you're working on your package, keep working and studying for that test too. I concur 100% Force Mitchell who y'all who y'all