Naval Sea Cadets, Battleship NJ Division BB-62

01/10/2026

04/12/2025

Weekend Drill Recap – March 2025

Rain didn’t stop Sea Cadet Unit BB62 this weekend! Cadets stayed focused and driven with a full schedule of training and teamwork aboard the USS New Jersey. Highlights included:
• Field First Aid Training with three active-duty service members – a big thank you to them for sharing their time and experience!
• Drill practice, knot-tying, and a mock inspection
• Color Guard training and indoor PT
• Cadets also completed their PT test—great job to all who pushed themselves!

We also celebrated promotions, awards, and advancements—well-earned recognition for the hard work our cadets put in every month.

05/19/2024

More photos from BB-62 and Dempster division cadets had a great time.

04/20/2024

The Battleship Division visits the US Naval Academy.

01/01/2023

12/09/2022

04/11/2022

We had the pleasure of having our sister division with us this drill weekend. We welcomed the Dante Mattioni Division from Maritime Charter school in Philadelphia. They were escorted by their commanding officer Chief Hentnick…

04/11/2022

Drill also included search and inspection procedures related to weapons and improvised explosive devices…ALL PROP ITEMS WERE HIDDEN BY OFFICERS and cadets had to demonstrate proper search tactics and reporting procedures when an item is found

04/11/2022

Drill in the Battleship NJ this month consisted of ALL HANDS ON TRAINING…these demonstrated room clearing and close quarters combat drills

04/01/2022

Who was the first Chief Petty Officer? NO ONE.
The earliest known use of the term “chief petty officer” dates back to 1776, during the Revolutionary War, onboard Continental Navy Ship Alfred, when the title “chief cook” was conferred upon cook’s mate Jacob Wasbie. The title was largely informal and was used to denote him as the foremost cook aboard the ship.

The chief petty officer, as recognized today, was officially established 1 April 1893. On this date, most ratings carried as “Petty Officer First Class” were automatically shifted to “Chief Petty Officer.” Subsequently, these newly named Chiefs moved up a pay grade and rank. Not every first class was promoted to Chief. This is because at that time, the Navy was considering doing away with those rates. These rating included Schoolmasters, Ship’s Writers, and Carpenter’s Mates.

Prior to the establishment of the Chief Petty Officer grade, and for many years thereafter, commanding officers could promote petty officers to acting appointments in order to fill vacancies. Men served various lengths of time under acting appointments, generally six months to a year. If service was satisfactory, the captain recommended to the Bureau of Navigation that an individual be given a permanent appointment for the rate in which he served. Otherwise the commanding officer could reduce an individual to the grade or rate held prior to promotion if he served under an acting appointment.

The letters "PA" and "AA" were written alongside rate titles and their abbreviations. Those letters stood for permanent appointment and acting appointment, and were used to signify a Chief Petty Officer's status.

04/01/2022

Happy Birthday to the US Navy Chiefs