Fleet Master Chief John Perryman, who has served as the top enlisted leader for Fleet Forces Command since 2021, will become the 17th master chief petty officer of the Navy in September. (U.S. Navy)
Fleet Master Chief John Perryman will become the next top enlisted sailor in the Navy next month, the sea service announced Friday.
Perryman, who has served as the top enlisted leader for Fleet Forces Command since 2021, will become the 17th master chief petty officer of the Navy in September, replacing MCPON James Honea who has held the job since 2022, according to a Navy statement. Honea is slated to retire after some 38 years of service.
“With decades of operational experience across the fleet, Perryman will play a vital role in advising Navy leadership, shaping enlisted policy, and maintaining warfighting readiness in an era of strategic competition,” the statement reads.
Perryman, a San Antonio native, enlisted in the Navy in 1994 and spent his early years as an electronics technician submariner, according to his biography. He deployed aboard the USS Bremerton and USS Cheyenne nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarines and the USS Dolphin, a deep-diving research and development submarine.
He later served as the command master chief aboard the USS Hawaii, another nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine.
More recently, he has served as the top enlisted adviser to the commanders of Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet, Submarine Group Seven and at Submarine Force Atlantic.
Before joining U.S. Fleet Forces Command, he served as the top enlisted service member for U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees all of the U.S. nuclear weapons and forces.
At Fleet Forces Command, the Navy’s largest organization, Perryman was responsible for overseeing issues and polices the enlisted force faces for some 100,000 active-duty and Reserve sailors, more than 120 ships and submarines and nearly 80 shore activities within the command’s purview.
As the top enlisted sailor in the Navy, he will rejoin Adm. Daryl Caudle, who relinquished control of Fleet Forces Command last week after he was confirmed to become the chief of naval operations. Caudle, also a career submariner, had led the command since 2021.
Caudle is expected to be sworn in soon as the Navy’s top officer. Adm. James Kilby has served as acting CNO since February when President Donald Trump removed Adm. Lisa Franchetti from the job.
Perryman is expected to take his new role next month in a ceremony at the Navy Memorial in Washington, the Navy said.
