BREMERTON — A class of 22 chief petty selects graduated from the USS Turner Joy Chief Petty Officer Legacy Academy Friday, Aug. 26.

The graduation ceremony for class 009 was held at the Bremerton Marina, outside the USS Turner Joy.

Senior Chief Roy Brown, assistant director of Navy Band Northwest, said the class was “comprised of chief select petty officers from all around the Northwest region who were selected by their commands to attend this legacy academy.”

“It is a heritage and mentorship academy designed to strengthen the bond to our Naval heritage and to the community here in Bremerton,” Brown said.

For six days, the participants visited historic sites around Bremerton to learn about the rich naval background and the general history of the area. They also lived aboard the USS Turner Joy in that time, helping to maintain and restore the ship. Class 009, like previous classes, also painted a ceiling tile to be installed on the Turner Joy, a tradition among the legacy academy classes.

“We spent about a week here learning about Naval traditions, customs, those kinds of things,” said graduating Chief Select Petty Officer Jason Stafford. “We want to be pinned as chief petty officers so we can continue on that legacy of keeping the heritage of the Navy, keeping the junior sailors informed on the heritage of the Navy and continue that training and continue that tradition for the Navy.”

Class 009 of the USS Turner Joy Chief Petty Officer Legacy Academy graduated Friday, Aug. 26. The class consisted of 22 chief selects. Photo by Michelle Beahm

Graduating from the legacy academy is only the first step to being pinned as a CPO, though. Brown said they “still have a few weeks left” to complete phase two. Ultimately, they will be pinned as CPOs on Sept. 16, Brown said.

“It’s just another step in the process for us,” Stafford said. “We’ve got a couple more weeks to go, but this is a stepping stone, or a building stone, for us to continue to get better in our process so we’re better CPOs once we’re pinned.”

Stafford added, “We’re very grateful to the staff of the Turner Joy and everyone who let us come out here to do this. Without things like this, these programs wouldn’t be the same.”

To learn more about the USS Turner Joy CPO Legacy Academy, visit the Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ussturnerjoylegacyacademy.