Michael D. Stevens is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

sailor who served as

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy The master chief petty officer of the Navy (MCPON ) is a unique Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned rank and position of office of the United States Navy, which is designated as a special U.S. uniformed services pay grades, paygrade a ...

(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 ...

from outgoing MCPON Rick D. West. He was succeeded by Steven S. Giordano on September 2, 2016.

Early life and education

Stevens grew up in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. 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 ...

and has completed:

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

"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 coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

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 St ...

and his first duty assignment was VQ-2 Rota, Spain. Stevens's other assignments have included: Navy Recruiting District (Minneapolis); HM-14 (

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

); HM-18 (Norfolk, Virginia); Aviation Schools Command (

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

), HS-4 (San Diego); VC-8

Roosevelt Roads Naval Station Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, nicknamed Rosy Roads, 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 Preside ...

(

Ceiba, Puerto Rico Ceiba () is both a small Ceiba barrio-pueblo, town and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, 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 ...

); 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 operations in the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. Established after World War II, Second Fleet was deactivated in 2011, when the United States gov ...

(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 (USFFC) 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

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 The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...

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 ) 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 strategic victory, ...

announced Stevens as its

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

. 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 The Navy League of the United States, commonly referred to as the Navy League, is a national association with nearly 50,000 members who advocate for a strong, credible United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard and ...

, 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