The Mission of the USNSCC Chief Petty Officer Academy is to further develop, through education and training, the leadership capabilities of Sea Cadet Chief Petty Officers (CPO’s) so they can effectively develop their unit League and Sea Cadets, effectively staff Advanced Trainings, provide sound advice to unit leadership, and maintain an effective CPO Mess in the Sea Cadet program.

1. OVERVIEW

1.1. Overview - The USNSCC CPOA course of instruction is developed and designed to challenge and educate senior Cadets in the areas of communication skills, leadership, organizational behavior, influencing others, and CPO professionalism.

1.2. What CPO Academy IS NOT - The CPO Academy is NOT to be construed in any way as an ‘initiation’ or hazing. It is a opportunity to learn and train under the guidance of experience Chiefs and learn how to become an effective Chief Petty Officer.

2. COURSE FRAMEWORK & OBJECTIVES

2.1. The course is geared to prepare PO1’s and new CPO’s on how to fulfill their role of a Chief Petty Officer. An effective Chief needs to know how to lead down, up, and sideways and understand the best ways to influence positive change in their organization. An important objective is developing an understanding of the rich history of the Chief rank and a healthy Chiefs Mess.

2.2. There are TWO phases of the course. Phase I is three virtual/remote days taking place over a few weeks. Phase II is in-person and number of days vary on the training course.

2.3. Phase I will consist of one LARGE cohort of Cadets consisting of divisions that promote engagement, team building, collaboration, networking, and fostering self-confidence. Phase I is virtual and takes place over a period of weeks giving Cadets the opportunity to work on assignments, build their network experience, and invest personal time in understanding the role of a Chief.

2.3.1. Phase I courses are scheduled and managed by USNSCC National Headquarters and experienced program commanding officers. Staff is supplemented by national volunteers, Senior Cadets, and active/reserve Chiefs who will provide subject matter expertise to augment the training.

2.3.2. Phase I should not be scheduled to conflict with most normal school days.

2.3.3. Quotas per Phase I cohort is approximately 50-75 Cadets.

2.4. Phase II will consist of regional training events at a time each site could coordinate. Cadets who attended a Phase I together would really benefit if they could attend a Phase II together, however, Cadets may attend any Phase II site they prefer. Phase II is staffed by Senior Cadets, Escort Officers, and active/reserve senior military non-commissioned officers and Chiefs.

2.5. This CPOA course is leadership centric and focuses on the organization. The curriculum specifically addresses the following areas: communication skills, leadership, organizational behavior, influencing others, and CPO professionalism. Students are required to complete book reading, write an essay, self-study, work on a project as a group, and public speaking. The course is delivered using both “instruction” and “facilitation”, meaning some material is taught by an instructor, and some lessons are led by students working together to achieve the module objective. Guest speakers on various subjects of interest will enhance the student learning experience.

3. PREREQUITES

3.1. To establish a common baseline for discussion, attending CPOA Phase I and II requires the following:

3.1.1. 15yrs old

3.1.2. Rank of PO1 or CPO

3.1.3. Phase II applicants must have at least 6 months remaining in the program

3.1.4. Completion of online/Polaris “Military Requirements for CPO”

3.1.5. Satisfactory PRT completion within 6 months of course start

3.1.6. Recommendation from CO

4. GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

4.1. In order to graduate, students must complete all phases of the CPOA course and achieve the minimum grades required at each phase.

5. ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS

5.1. Student Responsibilities. The CPOA student is expected to fully prepare for each course lesson and read all required assignments. Learning requires participation and interaction within the group rooms and the class as a whole. The emphasis of the CPOA learning environment stems the experiences of the other students, as well as the facilitated lessons.

5.2. Workload. The workload at the CPOA is aggressive and challenging for most students. The student will be required to balance their workload between written assignments, oral presentations, physical conditioning, reading assignments, and a group project. Virtual training days are approximately 8hrs per session, homework is self-paced and approximately 8hrs of work between scheduled training dates.

5.3. Suggested Reading (read according to assigned chapters throughout the course). Subject to change per course

5.3.1. Atomic Habits, James Clear

5.3.2. Chief Petty Officer Guide, 2^nd Edition, CMDCM Paul Kingsbury (USN, Ret)

5.4. Supplemental Reference (to help with writing assignments)

5.4.1. Guide to Naval Writing, by Naval Institute Press.

5.5. Graded Activities

5.5.1. Polaris online courses (future TBD)

5.5.2. Written assignment (15% of grade)

5.5.3. Oral presentations (15% of grade)

5.5.4. Participation (50% of grade)

5.5.5. Completion of all phases successfully (20%)

6. GENERAL SCHEDULE (subject to change)

6.1. Phase I

6.1.1. Day 1: Seminars on CPO mission, values, and guiding principles (MVGP); responsibility, accountability, and authority (RAA); power bases; effective communications; and student led problem solving.

6.1.2. Day 2: Seminars on Deckplate leadership; good order and discipline; delegation and empowerment; CO/SEL relationship; case study; effective communications; USNSCC Standards.

6.1.3. Day 3: CPO Mess mentoring; diversity; effective communications; USNSCC priorities; problem solving/project.

6.2. Phase II

6.2.1. May be 2-5 days, topics may include: Host command welcome, mission, and tour; CPO Mess mentoring; team building; leading down, up, and sideways, CPO Mess, counseling, heritage, ethical decision making, PT; communication, leading with humility, motivating others, organization, and other critical leadership concepts prepared locally.

7. ACADEMIC HONOR CODE

7.1. All work submitted to the CPO Academy should be the student’s original work or properly crediting other’s original work. Grounds for course dismissal are as follows:

7.1.1. Using material submitted from another cadet, substantially relying on another cadet’s research, writing, or final product.

7.1.2. Submitting content from published material (books, online article, magazines, etc) without properly referencing or giving the source credit – otherwise, this is plagiarism.

8. STAFF REQUIREMENTS

8.1. Staffing and Seminar Speaker preferences are current or former senior enlisted leaders, Navy/Coast Guard Chiefs, and experienced current or former Cadet Chiefs.

9. COTC & MAGELLAN INSTRUCTIONS

9.1. Eligible PO1s and CPO’s can apply to a Phase I course available in Magellan.

9.2. Cadets who complete a Phase I may apply to a Phase II course around the country. (NOTE: Students may complete phase I & II out of order in 2023)

10. KEY PERSONNEL CONTACTS

10.1.1. Barry Crawford, MCPO (USN, Ret), bcrawford@squadron7zulu.org, 617-240-6361

11. GENERAL STUDENT INFORMATION

11.1. Website for course schedule cpoa.seacadets.org