By U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Henry E. Mooberry Division Public Affairs

WASHINGTON – Three area youth, members of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) Henry E. Mooberry Division, based at the Washington Navy Yard, made history aboard USS Barry (DD 933), a Navy destroyer berthed at the Navy Yard.

Sea Cadets Kristine A. Plata, Kathryn G. Plata and Kyle W. Herbert became the first sea cadets ever to be promoted to the rank of Chief Petty Officer (CPO) aboard the ship. The Plata sisters also became the first female sea cadets to become CPOs in the unit’s decades-long history.

The Sea Cadet Chief Petty Officer Anchor that was pinned on all three cadets. (USNSCC Photo by Inst. Peter Gaydos/Released)

Chief Petty Officer is the highest rank that a sea cadet under the age of 18 can earn. It is an accomplishment equivalent to attaining the designation of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scout and is reached only after completing a series of training courses, exams, years of dedicated service and advanced training.

The unit’s Commanding Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Joseph P. Cirone said, “This is a historic occasion. In addition to the first time the unit has ever had females attain the CPO designation; it is also the first time we have promoted three CPOs at the same time; the first time anyone in the unit has made it all the way to CPO in the last five years and the first time we have held our awards ceremony aboard ship.”

Lt. Cmdr. Joseph P. Cirone, USNSCC, is all smiles during the CPO Pinning Ceremony aboard USS Barry (DD 933) (USNSCC Photo by Inst. Tye Mullikin/Released)

Cirone continued, “”Becoming a CPO in the NSCC is not easy. The new Chiefs worked long and hard to get to this. They proved themselves as dedicated and reliable. They attended nearly all unit Drills and activities for more than four years. They took the same correspondence training courses and closed book advancement exams that the active-duty Navy personnel take. They went to numerous advanced training, throughout the country, each year and attended the Petty Officer Leadership Academy, among other criteria that had to be met. They earned this – no one gave it to them for just showing up.”

In addition to the courses, training and exams, the cadets developed and displayed leadership and other character traits. They demonstrated dedication, self-reliance, commitment and courage as they attended local training and events an average of two weekends per month. During breaks from school in the summer, winter or spring, they attended a shortened version of the Navy’s boot camp and served as a staff cadet (leader) at another Sea Cadet boot camp.

The Platas experiences also included training in aviation, law enforcement, sailing, culinary services, field medical training with the Marines, among others and took them to Navy and Army bases and ships in the District of Columbia, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington state among others.

Chief Petty Officers Kristine Plata, background, and Kathryn Plata, foreground, during their CPO Pinning ceremony aboard USS Barry (DD 933) (USNSCC Photo by Inst. Tye Mullikin/Released)

Herbert’s experiences also included training in aviation, search and rescue, port operations, legal (JAG), naval intelligence, submarine, small boat seamanship and operation and others. He traveled throughout the summers to Navy, Coast Guard and Army bases and ships in the District of Columbia, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida and other locations.

In 2008, Herbert was selected as the Regional Cadet of the Year, from among many candidates in the National Capital Region and Virginia. He was among one of the 11 nationwide finalists competing for the designation as the NSCC’s Cadet of the Year in that same year.

All three cadets have earned multiple awards for their outstanding performance and are members of the unit’s distinguished and award-winning Honor Guard, performing ceremonial honors for top military and governmental officials and defense industry executives. They have served as leaders in the unit, increasing their responsibilities from squad leaders to leading petty officers and company commanders, before assuming their roles as CPOs, mentoring and overseeing the welfare of less senior cadets, among other duties.

During the official ceremony, attended by some 100 people, Gas Turbine Senior Chief Manny Soogrim, senior enlisted advisor of the Naval Support Activity Washington, the Sea Cadet’s host command, Sea Cadet Ens. Marylou Plata and Mr. Donald Plata, pinned the CPO anchors on the collars of the Plata sisters.

Sea Cadet Inst. Lola Herbert and Ens. Joshua Maye pinned the CPO anchors on cadet Herbert’s collar.

Chief Petty Officer Kyle Herbert, center, has his CPO anchors pinned on by Ens. Joshua Maye, left, and Herbert’s mother, Lola Herbert,right. (USNSCC Photo by Inst. Peter Gaydos/Released)

“I am so happy to see this day. We have been waiting for it for more than two years, once we identified these three cadets and three others as potential candidates to earn CPO status in our unit. They worked hard to see this day. They earned and deserve it,” Cirone concluded.

Giving the new CPOs increased responsibility, Kristine Plata has been reassigned to the unit’s Public Affairs Group as its senior cadet; Kathryn Plata has been reassigned to the Training Department, as its senior cadet and Herbert, as the unit’s most senior cadet, serves as the unit’s Leading Chief Petty Officer.

Based at the historic Washington Navy Yard, the Sea Cadet unit is one of the oldest, largest, most capable and most respected Sea Cadet units in the country. Its focus includes community service and public affairs, ceremonial operations, surface (boat and ship) and special operations.

The unit supports Navy, Coast Guard, Army, Air Force and Navy League of the United States events and programs. It exposes youth, age 10 to 17 and adults age 18 and up, to all military branches of service, numerous occupational fields and encourages enrollment in college, by providing college scholarship and military academy opportunities.

In the unit’s 48 year history, more than 6,500 male and female youth have experienced “The Adventure of a Lifetime,” while increasing their self-confidence, self-discipline, courage and independence; learning leadership, self-reliance, new skills and building their moral, patriotic and personal values and character in a safe, drug-, alcohol-, tobacco- and gang-free environment, while having fun.

Many former Sea Cadets have been accepted into the nation’s military academies and other prestigious educational institutions; have entered the military services at advanced pay grades; and have become top military and business leaders and even astronauts, as well as model citizens.

The unit’s Sea Cadets form lifelong bonds and make new friends from around the world through its monthly training program as well as travel and training opportunities during school breaks in winter, spring and summer and participation in the International Exchange Program, which the unit helped develop in the 1970s.

By participating in the year-round Sea Cadet program, there is no obligation whatsoever to join the military. College scholarships are available for cadets seeking opportunities for higher education. The unit welcomes all interested personnel to seek more information at www.seacadetsdc.org.