https://www.charliefoxtrot671.com/cef daily 1.0 2026-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/ff524316-3022-46a3-a013-aaf6c815881b/c2.jpg https://www.charliefoxtrot671.com/cef/visitors-dwbf6 monthly 0.5 2026-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/f93f1a12-030a-424f-8f98-699ed2572e78/5060685.jpg CEF - Distinguished Visitors Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Russell Smith speaks with Rear Adm. Mike Bernacchi, commander, Naval Service Training Command, inside Freedom Hall at Recruit Training Command (RTC). The MCPON is visiting RTC, the Navy's only boot camp, to observe changes in training that are improving basic warfighting skills and toughness in the Navy's newest Sailors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/5e06f21d-6af5-491d-baf1-adcbdedeaa2a/5296884.jpg CEF - Distinguished Visitors Vice Adm. Robert Burke, Chief of Naval Personnel, calls on a Sailor to ask a question during an all-hands call at Recruit Training Command. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/ca98fb02-eea7-4d98-8cef-7081123f71a8/joecourtney.jpeg CEF - Distinguished Visitors Congressman Joe Courtney, Connecticut 2nd District, and Capt. Erik Thors, commanding officer, Recruit Training Command (RTC) receive salutes from the graduating divisions during a pass-in-review graduation ceremony at RTC. Courtney served as the reviewing officer for the ceremony. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/a22c11ca-c258-43cd-a4a8-388cc3bfd627/5445123.jpg CEF - Distinguished Visitors Relatives of a recruit award winner attend a post-graduation reception, at Midway Ceremonial Drill Hall at Recruit Training Command. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/055888d2-2934-4458-8b42-3a82539dadd8/5663470.jpg CEF - Distinguished Visitors Sen. Tammy Duckworth, of Illinois, is interviewed by Command Master Chief David Twiford, command master chief of Recruit Training Command (RTC), about her experiences during an RTC Sailor 360 training. https://www.charliefoxtrot671.com/cef/portraits-gpkgw monthly 0.5 2026-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/382caee9-2a6e-4914-a912-f1be905c2eab/7063929.jpg CEF - Portraits Meet AO2 Nelanie Marien Anderson! She is currently an #Instructor at the #Navy ‘s only #BootCamp . At 15, Anderson came to the United States from Honduras to finish school and get an American college degree. “I was raised to think about my options, and make educated decisions. … I wanted to get a track scholarship to do college, and I felt a degree from the states was more than likely going to count anywhere else.” While in the states, and before joining the Navy, she began a non-profit community building organization. Her effort was toward Honduras, Nicaragua, and later, Haiti; building housing and community opportunities for the less fortunate. Helping others has been a lifelong passion. “My parents are missionaries. I grew up in places like Honduras, and we were brought up building homes and hospitals for people who are in need.” While working on her humanitarian projects, she wanted to have a reliable profession until the organization was ready to grow. She chose to join the Navy. “I started [the organization] before I joined the Navy, but I needed a way to not worry about certain things … When I started it was just Honduras, now it’s Nicaragua. It’s helped me expand, it’s helped me be able to focus on that without having to worry about a job and money, or whatever the basics are.” AO2 currently serves is as an instructor at #RecruitTrainingCommand ‘s Freedom Hall, facilitating recruit training at the large gym and track. Anderson enjoys training new people, and noted that there is some challenge when teaching to many people with different backgrounds. She looks forward to finishing her master’s degree in architecture, and continuing to grow her charity after her military service. “It’s my passion to help people. I think the happiest and most humble people on Earth are those without, and I’m fortunate to have grown up around them. I never want to forget that ‘giving, is the blessing,’ so I chose to serve others the best way I can.” She currently has one community running in Belize, and wants to build more. “The goal is Haiti, I’ve already started doing homes. You have a population that lives on the street, and the people that do have homes, those measure out to like, a one car garage in the states. It’s a family of five living in there. … The walls are cardboard, or plastic bags.” Anderson also hopes to establish community systems, so that people can work toward improving their neighborhoods. We wish her the best of luck for her humanitarian work! #Hooyah AO2 Anderson! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/fc772ac3-2c0e-49dc-a4a7-4264f5a246ea/Jazmin+1.jpg CEF - Portraits Prom https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/4018bd6d-e853-4518-8c65-531d20c89bbc/BM1+Vermeesch_10.jpg CEF - Portraits A standard RTC roster photo of base staff. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/2d6908d2-3ec8-4a04-8d22-77ad1909efc0/6753758.jpg CEF - Portraits Meet HM2 Edward Sembrano! He is currently serving as a #RecruitDivisionCommander at the #Navy’s only #BootCamp “I think that I’ve always believed in paying it forward. I believe that joining is something that we should do, as part of a nation that’s given us the opportunity to do what we want. I believe in civil service that way.” Sembrano’s parents migrated from the #Philippines to #America , and he decided that becoming a #HospitalCorpsman was the way he wanted to give back to them. HM2’s family is full of #Marines , and he waited until HM was available to enlist as a #Sailor “I believe that being a corpsman is earning your caduceus and your shield with the Marines. So, coming out of ‘A’ School, I tried to find every opportunity to come out and join them.” Sembrano’s first tour sent him to a Navy Hospital in #Bremerton #Washington , but he eventually found his way to the #1stMarineDivision . He considers it the highlight of his career so far. “They’re the ones who fought at Guadalcanal. I learned more about them [while stationed there]. Earning the FMF pin there, it was more than just putting something on my chest. That pin represents the history, and everyone who got that pin before me. That’s my favorite duty station, because I learned so much at a young age that it’s not just about… it’s not just about the job.” “There’s lineage there. There’s that unit cohesion between the Navy and Marine Corps, and I feel that very strongly, I’ve very proud of it.” His next station was a hospital in #Naples . After #Italy , he credits one of his old master chiefs as influencing him to become an RDC. “My goal was to give the people trying to eat at the same table as me the stuff I wish I knew when I went through it. Folding a shirt, folding your skivvies, or marching in place. Those represent doing something, like taking an order, doing it to the best of your ability and taking pride in it.” Sembrano likes to spend his free time completing Navy E-Learning courses. He is also an avid golfer, but what he looks forward to most is Navy stuff. “I want to be force master chief of the corpsman rate. As crazy as that sounds, that’s written on a post-it note for me. I want to stick it out. I want to go as long as I can, the Navy has done nothing but take care of me the past nine years. If they want me here, I want to stay.” #Hooyah HM2 Sembrano! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/8bf08de8-8897-4e00-8310-95870e978473/6921183.jpg CEF - Portraits Meet AO1 Micah Smith! She is currently a #RecruitDivisionCommander at the #Navy ‘s only #Bootcamp . Smith is from #EastStLouis #Illinois , and came aboard as an undesignated airman. She needed a career path, wanted to travel, and college was financially out of reach. Initially, she wanted to become a culinary artist. “I can’t even cook, but I wanted to come in as a CS. I came in right out of high school at 18.” She did not become a CS, or Culinary Specialist, but instead became an #AviationOrdnanceman When asked how she could sum up her rate, Smith responded with something many Sailors will hear in their memory, long after they leave the Navy. “IYAOYAS.” It wasn’t part of her plans, but she found something she needed in her new community. “What really surprised me was the kind of brotherhood and sisterhood, the camaraderie, it’s just so grunt-like. AO’s, we stick together. I know even if I get out of the Navy, that will be there, and that’s what I enjoyed about it the most… It’s absolutely so fun, I do love it.” Her first assignment was with VAQ-135, the #BlackRavens , out of #WhidbeyIsland #Washington . “I hadn’t been anywhere. Washington was the farthest I’d ever been from home in my life. I was absolutely terrified going there. I hated it for the first few months, it’s just like the movie Twilight. Oh, it was so rainy and gloomy. I came to enjoy it. Seattle was an amazing city.” Smith’s new career helped get her travelling, and see the world outside of her hometown. “The Navy has definitely opened up my mind, from boot camp on. It’s opening my mind to different cultures, and to tell you the truth, to being friends with people outside my own race. I love it, getting immersed in different cultures, trying different food, understanding what other people do. You see [from your shipmates] the love they have for their culture and for the country that we serve.” Now Smith prepares recruits with all that she’s learned, as an RDC. “I want my recruits to look out for each other. I always tell them, ‘You’re not friends, you’re brothers and sisters.’ No matter what you do, being in the Navy, it’s rough. So you and everyone else is going to deal with something that’s emotional or mental health related. You won’t realize it, but you will need your Navy family to help push you through. My recruits will have each other’s back.” Smith also feels that growing confidence in her recruits is important. “[In the Navy], you realize that you really did just step into a career and you can’t leave it. That kept me optimistic… You recognize that you are the one that makes the culture and climate of a command. It made me become more independent, more assertive, and more in charge of myself. It made me take accountability for my career and myself.” At home, Smith loves reading and taking care of her kids. And when she says her kids, she means her two snakes, Donut and Rambo. #Hooyah AO1 Smith! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/912a9226-3799-4568-96b1-7951554ebc65/211017-Dina-0494.jpg CEF - Portraits Two wonderful dogs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/f7788532-40a9-4b9d-b58c-cb05ddae5a5e/29133778540_b0032110a0_k.jpg CEF - Portraits Denton https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/112927c3-e566-45b0-9aa5-5cd375260dae/IMG_5124.JPG CEF - Portraits My cat through a Mamiya RB67. https://www.charliefoxtrot671.com/cef/recruit-gyzgk monthly 0.5 2026-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/ed52b8fa-f04b-45eb-9b75-1e49a7922e62/5732454.jpg CEF - Recruit Life Guests observe a pass-in-review graduation ceremony inside Midway Ceremonial Drill Hall at Recruit Training Command. More than 35,000 recruits train annually at the Navy's only boot camp. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/b54380d2-a6f3-421d-9902-5d78a86fb4cf/5670465.jpg CEF - Recruit Life Recruits perform fire fighting and damage control techniques inside the USS Chief Fire Fighter Trainer as part of the hands-on learning at Recruit Training Command. More than 35,000 recruits train annually at the Navy's only boot camp. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/07af872f-43bf-4da2-8492-0192d3816321/6042037.jpg CEF - Recruit Life A recruit dons her Navy ballcap during a capping ceremony inside USS Trayer at Recruit Training Command. Trayer, more commonly referred to as "Battle Stations," is the crucible event that recruits must pass prior to graduation, testing their knowledge and skills in basic seamanship, damage control, firefighting and emergency response procedures. More than 35,000 recruits train annually at the Navy's only boot camp. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/f3633f5b-f537-48d8-a94a-b59c6246633e/6465842.jpg CEF - Recruit Life A recruit participates in a dynamic material inspection at Recruit Training Command. Regular practice and inspection of proper bunk make-up procedures, and fold-and-stow procedures emphasizes attention to detail into recruits throughout their training. Recruits learn that a standard of excellence and discipline must be demonstrated for their journey to become a Sailor in the world’s finest Navy. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at the Navy's only boot camp. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/a3f5b8e5-a35b-4aa1-9aec-b008d6a98faf/6660377.jpg CEF - Recruit Life Seaman Recruit Anisia Yang, a graduating recruit chief petty officer, stands before her assembled division at Recruit Training Command. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at the Navy's only boot camp. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/48226736-e222-40f4-8c57-538a19d57227/gradflags.jpeg CEF - Recruit Life A graduating Sailor performs during a pass-in-review graduation ceremony at Recruit Training Command. More than 35,000 recruits train annually at the Navy's only boot camp. https://www.charliefoxtrot671.com/cef/birds monthly 0.5 2026-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/1233d146-8e03-4815-bb33-7f78c4c6cdef/26680003156_132ce0922a_k.jpg CEF - Birds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/89fa3ada-7e25-4c1a-9af8-d6c05b230329/26846788612_0c832dc870_k.jpg CEF - Birds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/6c73562f-fd24-4a08-b3e6-bbbf5cc5c9a7/26335449374_0dee6fb2ca_k.jpg CEF - Birds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/c65275d5-52f5-4023-8c96-b84ca53732c7/26679981156_b20582b797_k.jpg CEF - Birds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69aca85906b8ab2b97541154/8096e410-267d-4f44-b8e9-912d3ff02f73/26102601953_9c246bcda2_o.jpg CEF - Birds