USS CHIEF MCM-14 Avenger Class

The USS CHIEF MCM-14 Avenger class is named after the former USS CHIEF AM-315, in honor of the service and tradition of all Chief Petty Officers in the United States Navy. It was christened by Mrs. Susan Bushey, the wife of Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy MCPON Duane Bushey (7th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy) on June 12, 1993. She had her first Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander Timothy Garrold on July 8, 1994 and later it was commissioned November 5, 1994.
The mine countermeasure ship is 224 feet long and 39 feet wide with a speed of 14 knots (16MPH) it is powered by 4 diesel engines (600 hp per) and is protected with two .50 cal machine guns. The total crew size is 94 sailors (21 E-7 through O-4 and 73 E-6 and below) which put nearly 20 percent of the crew in key leadership roles. Which means also that with the size crew sailors quickly become leaders and subject matter experts in their rates at an early stage. Normally running two different duty sections but during mine sweeping operations she drops to one where it is all hands on deck. When she is in Homeport she spends her time in Sasebo, Japan.
Navy blue and gold are the traditional colors of the United States Navy. The mine in the center of the shield represents the mine countermeasures mission of the Chief while the crossed Officers’ sword and Enlisted cutlass symbolize Surface Warfare excellence. The fouled Navy anchor, insignia of a Chief Petty Officer, is further symbolic of the United States Navy’s leadership and commemorates the fact that Chief was launched on 12 June 1993 during the centennial of the Chief Petty Officer Corps. The three silver stars above the fouled anchor depict the leadership and service of the Master Chief Petty Officers of the Navy (MCPON) – past, present and future and honor the ship’s