Emcee Mandie Cool, center, does a comic critique of Leanne Mathews at the Chief Petty Officer Spouse TransitionConference Fashion Show on Thursday at Yokosuka Naval Base. Mathews and Tonja Thomas provided examples of how not to dress and act when attending functions as the spouse of a chief petty officer. About 60 spouses of CPO selectees attended the event. (Allison Batdorff / S&S)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — When your spouse leaps from line worker to management, forget the fishnet hose at official functions. Go easy on the booze too, lest you want to be a “soused spouse.”
The format was comic relief at the Chief Petty Officer Spouse Transition Conference Fashion Show on Thursday at Yokosuka Naval Base.
“We’re going to tell you if it’s really OK to be fashionably late,” said emcee Mandie Cool. But organizers went one better.
Enter Tonja Thomas, cracking gum in a skin-tight red dress. Leanne Mathews tottered in, martini in hand. Both were unfashionably late, disruptive and living examples of “What Doesn’t Fly” at a CPO function. They also were both acting.
A fashion show, etiquette quiz and “Ask the Chief” panel discussion rounded out the second evening of events for the spouses of Yokosuka’s new CPO selectees.
Although the evening was peppered with helpful information, such as where to put your fork after you finish a fancy dinner, the main point was “fun,” Cool said.
The Navy — unlike other military branches — considers the change from E-6 to E-7 to be extremely important in terms of leadership and responsibility. Enlisted ranks change the color of the uniform from blue to khaki and all E-7 selectees must complete a six-week transition course before getting their anchors Sept. 16.
“You go from worker bee to management in one day,” said CPO transition organizer Matt Skaggs.
But it also means changes for CPO spouses, said Command Master Chief spouse Paula Steadley. She used to field a lot of phone calls, which inspired her to start the spouse transition program a few years ago, she said.
“We wanted to put some information out there to make the transition easier on the whole family,” Steadley said. “Plus we wanted the spouses to get to know each other and feel included. If the spouses have a close relationship, it makes the whole group stronger.”
Besides Thursday’s events, this year’s organizers had speakers from Personnel Support Detachment and Fleet and Family Services talk to the spouses. Attendance was overwhelmingly female — about 60 women to one man.
Usually, a few men turn out to support their wives’ promotion, said Command Master Chief spouse Lesia Howard.
First Class Petty Officer Ernest Cutler was glad to be a part of it, he said. His wife, Teresita, is a selectee from the USS Cowpens.
“I’m here because I want to support my wife any way I can,” Cutler said. “I want to do whatever it takes to make her transition a success, and I know she would do the same thing for me.”
