By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan Hill, Commander, Navy Reserve Force Public Affairs

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) — The master chief petty officer of the Navy (MCPON) visited Commander, Navy Reserve Forces Command (CNRFC) Dec. 14 to tour the facility and speak to the Sailors and staff.

During his visit, MCPON (SS/SW) Rick D. West addressed the assembled Sailors and staff about the importance of the Reserve force and how integral they are to the success of the Navy’s mission.

“The Reserves are completely involved, and we couldn’t do it without you,” West said to the command enlisted personnel. “This is truly one team, one fight. It’s essential to have a Reserve force able and ready to help complete the mission.”

This marked the first time a MCPON has visited the Reserve force headquarters since it moved from New Orleans, La., to Norfolk, Va., earlier this year.

“You’ve got a very good place to work,” said West. “The people that I engaged with here were fantastic. They knew their jobs, they knew their people, and they were proud of their spaces. That’s great to see.”

West addressed a number of topics during the afternoon session. Topics included new uniforms, social media in the Navy, advancement opportunities, continuation boards and how many Sailors the Navy will have to account for to fill the increased deployment of military personnel to Afghanistan.

“We don’t know what our portion of that will be yet,” said West. “I can tell you though that our individual augmentees (IA) are doing a fantastic job. We actually have more Sailors on the ground in the 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility than we do afloat over there. That is pretty amazing to me. I don’t know how long we’re going to do this as IAs -I don’t think anybody can determine that- but I will tell you we won’t be doing it to this degree forever.”

For more information on the MCPON, go to http://www.navy.mil/mcpon/index.asp.

For more news from Commander, Navy Reserve Force, visit www.navy.mil/local/nrf/.