FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Eight Sailors attached to Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) Miami were pinned to the rank of chief petty officer (CPO) during a chief petty officer pinning ceremony held inside the Mary N. Porter Sea Cadet Training Center, September 27, 2024.
NTAG Miami Sailors and members from the community gathered in support of the following new chief petty officers:
Chief Fire Controlman (Aegis) Eric Dan
Chief Navy Counselor (Recruiting) Craig Prazak
Chief Navy Counselor (Recruiting) Christopher Pedroza
Chief Cryptologic Technician (Collection) Paul Rojas
Chief Utilitiesman Ramon Santiago
Chief Navy Counselor (Recruiting) Jonathan Thompson
Chief Interior Communications Electrician Edgardo Trocherivera
Chief Quartermaster Roberto Vazquezdiaz
The ceremony kicked off with the new chief petty officers singing the Navy’s anthem, “Anchors Aweigh,” as the group marched around an audience of family, friends, mentors and peers. Afterward, students from the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program at G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School paraded the colors reverentially.
The chief petty officer selectees then stood at parade as guest speaker, retired Senior Chief Radioman Christine “Chris” Kennedy, a 22-year Navy veteran and member of Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) addressed them. Kennedy enlisted in 1971 and under WAVES program. The term WAVES continued in usage for Navy women until 1978 with the passage of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, when the WAVES became a permanent component of the U.S. Navy and women’s units of the armed forces were integrated with formerly all-male units.
She spoke with the new chief petty officers of her experience and about her slogan for inspiring others.
![NTAG Miami Chief Pinning Ceremony]()
