Michael D. Stevens is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

sailor who served as Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON). He became the 13th MCPON on September 28, 2012, when he accepted the passing of the ceremonial

cutlass A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of S ...

from outgoing MCPON

Rick D. West Rick D. West (born 1963) is a retired United States Navy sailor who served as the 12th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy. Early life and education West was born in 1963 in Rising Fawn, Georgia, and graduated from Northwest Georgia High Sc ...

. He was succeeded by Steven S. Giordano on September 2, 2016.

Early life and education

Stevens grew up in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

. He graduated from Arlee High School in May 1983. Stevens holds a Bachelor of Science degree from

Excelsior College Excelsior University is a private online university in Albany, New York. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and comprises three schools: the School of Undergraduate Studies, the School of Graduate Studies, and the School of Nursing. I ...

and has completed:

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

"Leadership in Crisis"; Senior Enlisted Professional Military Education; Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education; and the National Defense University Keystone course. Stevens is an Honor Graduate and the recipient of the prestigious Peter Tomich Award for exceptional military excellence from the Senior Enlisted Academy.

Naval career

150902-N-OT964-204 Mike Stevens takes photo with sailors

Stevens shipped to Basic Training in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

in June 1983. He attended Aviation Structural Mechanic "A" School in

Millington, Tennessee Millington is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and is a part of the Memphis metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 10,176. Millington was granted the title "Flag City Tennessee" by the Tennessee Stat ...

and his first duty assignment was VQ-2 Rota, Spain. Stevens's other assignments have included: Navy Recruiting District (Minneapolis); HM-14 ( Norfolk, Virginia); HM-18 (Norfolk, Virginia); Aviation Schools Command ( Pensacola, Florida), HS-4 (San Diego); VC-8

Roosevelt Roads Naval Station Roosevelt Roads Naval Station is a former United States Navy base in the town of Ceiba, Puerto Rico. The site operates today as José Aponte de la Torre Airport, a public use airport. History In 1919, future US President Franklin D. Roosev ...

(

Ceiba, Puerto Rico Ceiba () is both a small town and a municipality in northeast Puerto Rico. It is named after the famous Ceiba tree. Ceiba is located in the north-east coast of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, south of Fajardo, north of Naguabo and sou ...

); Naval Air Station (Pensacola); Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic and

United States Second Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view o ...

(both Norfolk, Virginia). In October 2002, Stevens was advanced to master chief petty officer and assigned to VC-8, (Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico) as the Maintenance Master Chief and Command Master Chief. In October 2003, Stevens reported to Naval Air Station (Pensacola) and assumed the duties as the base Command Master Chief. In August 2006, Stevens reported to HM-14 as the Command Master Chief. After a brief but successful tour, in September 2007, he was selected by Commander, Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic to serve as the Wing Command Master Chief for the largest Helicopter Wing in the United States Navy. In January 2009, Stevens was selected as the Command Master Chief for United States Second Fleet, and then in July 2010 as the 16th Fleet Master Chief for

United States Fleet Forces Command The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Sta ...

, before being selected as the 13th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy in June 2012. On March 16, 2016, Stevens announced that he would retire on September 2 after 33 years of naval service. The Chief of Naval Operations announced the selection of the 14th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy on June 9, 2016. Steven S. Giordano took charge from Stevens on 2 September 2016 during a change of office ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard.

Post-navy career

Six days after his retirement, on September 8, 2016,

Victory Media The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a ...

announced Stevens as its

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the " C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if ...

. In January 2018, Stevens was promoted to CEO of Viqtory, formerly Victory Media. In January 2019, Stevens left Viqtory to become national executive director of the Navy League of the United States, a nonprofit military service organization that supports the United States Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Michael D. 1964 births Living people Master Chief Petty Officers of the United States Navy People from Hamilton, Montana Recipients of the Legion of Merit