USA: CPPD Releases CMT Course

The Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) has released the revised Chief’s Mess Training (CMT) course, CPPD leadership said May 28.

The CMT course is year-round training with lessons that provide additional leadership topics for the Chief Petty Officer (CPO) mess. The course took six months to revise and was piloted in the Hampton Roads area in December.

Changes to the lessons were based on fleet feedback, according to Master Chief Ship’s Serviceman Leon Hazley, CMT course manager at CPPD. After the revision was completed, CPPD conducted three course pilots to validate the curriculum, course material effectiveness and course length, he said.

“We’re really proud of the new CMT course and feel it will be a great training tool for chief petty officers across the fleet,” said CPPD Command Master Chief Ken Schmidt. “We have to continually improve our skills as leaders to be most effective as a CPO mess. CMT provides CPOs with the tools to lead with courage, respect and trust, as well as the tools to mentor our junior Sailors to become the next generation of strong Navy leaders.”

The new CMT is a library of 22 current, relevant topics that include scenarios designed to facilitate deep discussion. Each session can be taught at any time and in any sequence throughout the year, according to Hazley. “The previous CMT consisted of 10 topics designed to be delivered every month from October to July each year,” he said. “The new course provides flexibility to CPO messes to cover topics in a sequence that best fits a command’s schedule.”

The CMT course differs from the Chief Petty Officer Selectee Leadership Course (CPOSLC) in that CPOSLC is geared toward preparing chief petty officer selectees for their new roles as chiefs while CMT is designed to provide leadership sustainment training for chief petty officers through communication, teamwork and mentoring.

Hazley said the new course is designed to present the mess with an actual fleet-based scenario case study or directive to stimulate vigorous discussion among chiefs and is intended to enable the mess as a whole to learn from each other’s experiences and develop the problem-solving skills chiefs must have to succeed. Topics include command unity, ethics, operational stress control, maintaining standards, mentoring, conflict resolution, character and integrity, professionalism, suicide awareness, bystander intervention, and prevention of sexual assault, sexual harassment and hazing.

“Feedback from the course pilot was that CMT really hit the mark. Students said the topics were relevant, interesting and thought provoking. That’s exactly what we want – to prompt fierce conversations in the mess to help us become better leaders and mentors.”

Chief of Naval Operations Instruction (OPNAVINST) 5351.2A governs CMT, which is required for all active duty and reserve chiefs, senior chiefs and master chiefs. The revised CMT course will be documentable in Fleet Training Management and Planning System (FLTMPS), Hazley said.

Commands can access the new course material by logging on to Navy Knowledge Online, selecting the Leadership tab, selecting Chief Petty Officer Selectee Leadership Course (CPOSLC) /CMT and following the instructions on the screen. Commands experiencing problems accessing the material should contact the course manager at CPPD for assistance.

CPPD is responsible for providing a wide range of personal and professional development courses and materials, including General Military Training, Navy instructor training, alcohol and drug awareness program training, suicide and sexual assault prevention, bystander intervention, and personal responsibility classes. CPPD’s required leadership training is delivered multiple times throughout a Sailor’s career via command-delivered enlisted leadership training material and officer leadership courses in a schoolhouse setting. CPPD also administers the Navy’s voluntary education program, which provides Sailors with the opportunity to earn college degrees. CPPD additionally manages the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP), which offers Sailors the opportunity to earn civilian apprenticeship certifications.

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Press Release, May 29, 2013; Image: US Navy