Story and photos by PA3 Mark Jones
CHINCOTEAGUE, VA. — The sun was brightly shining over a white tent, and a cool, Eastern Shore breeze created an air of optimism while crewmembers of Coast Guard Station Chincoteague prepared to send the chief of their enlisted ranks into the realm of commissioned officers on Chincoteague Island, Va., Monday, June 8.
Chief Petty Officer Richard Ball II became Chief Warrant Officer Richard Ball II – from boatswain’s mate to boatswain.
This represents the latest step in a family tradition of sea service. His father, Richard Ball Sr., and his grandfather, Melvin Simms, put the insignia of his new rank on his shoulders, signifying the crossing of the bridge between enlisted and officer after Chief Petty Officer Herman Hause and Master Chief Petty Officer James Labarre removed the Chief’s anchor insignia from his collar.
Simms joined the Navy in 1942 and served in World War II and the Korean War as a Seabee. He was a personnel officer stationed at the Naval Ammunitition Storage Depot in Clatskanie, Ore., along the Columbia River. He also served at Pearl Harbor and the Norfolk Naval Amphibious Base.
“When I was in Oregon at the ammunition loading depot, the Coast Guard was in charge of the pier, the Marines rode on the train that brought the ammunition, and the whole thing was on an Army base,” Simms recalled.
Ball chose Simms to take part in his ceremony in honor of his past service.
“My grandfather is the ranking military member in my family,” Ball explained. “I couldn’t think of a better way to honor him and the other World War II veterans who paved the way for my freedom than to have him there to advance me.”
“I’m excited,” said Simms. “I’m proud and excited to see him in the Coast Guard. I’m also very proud that he’s decided to make a career of it.”
Not only is Simms aiding Ball in his next step in the Coast Guard, but it could be said that he provided Ball with his first introduction to the water.
“I taught Richard how to swim in Albemarle Sound,” Sims explained. “He must have been 5 or 6 years old.”
Ball chose his father to join not only because he is his father, but also because he has been with him throughout his military career. The two joined the Coast Guard together in 1986.
“My dad took me to the recruiting station when I decided to become a man and earn my keep in the world,” Ball said. “Then he liked what the recruiter had to say so much that he said, ‘Hey, can I join too?'”
Ball Sr. served at Group Hampton Roads and Air Station Elizabeth City, where he retired as a petty officer 1st class.
“We joined together, but now he’s passing me by,” the older Ball said of his son becoming an officer.
The difference between being an enlisted Coast Guardsman and a warrant officer is not as clear as the difference between most officers and enlisted. A warrant officer is expected to be the expert in his field, providing advice and insight to both the officers and the enlisted personnel with whom they work.
“Warrant officers are like the translators between officers and enlisted,” Ball explained. “I’m doing it for the challenge and to learn new things.”
Ball went on to explain that this is a jump from being an operator in the field, driving boats, manning stations and other units, to being a technical expert teaching others how to do their jobs and taking greater responsibility for the process of getting work done wherever he is stationed.
After passing the command of Station Chincoteague to his successor, Ball will travel to Lockport, La., to Bollinger Shipyard, where he will work directly with contractors to make sure the new 154-foot Sentinel-class cutters are built to specification, within cost, and that they comply with the contract. The Sentinel-class cutters will be the Coast Guard’s newest fast-response cutters. They are planned to replace the service’s fleet of aging 110-foot cutters.
“I watched the 110’s roll off the assembly line and I served on three of them throughout my career,” Ball said. “So it’s been 22 years and now I’m working on their replacements. It’s like my career has come back around again.”
As the officer in charge of Station Chincoteague, Ball was responsible for the testing of a prototype of the Special Purpose Craft – Shallow Water, a 24-foot rescue boat intended for use in low-draft areas such as Virginia’s Eastern Shore and its abundance of salt marshes.
“Hopefully, my experience with the shallow water boat will help me to make sure that the Coast Guard can get the most bang for its buck with the Sentinel class,” Ball added.
He’s also got his mind on what he will do after he retires.
“I’d be remiss if I said I’m not doing this at least partially for the money,” he explained. “I’m trying to look out for my family, so when this gig is up in eight years, I need to make sure that I’ve got the most to offer them.”
“I’m definitely proud of him,” said Ball Sr. “And I know his mother would be proud, too, if she could be here.
PHOTO CAPTIONS
Chief Warrant Officer Richard Ball recites the oath of service as read by Capt. Mark Ogle, Commander of Sector Hampton Roads, at his commissioning ceremony at Station Chincoteague, Va., Monday, June 8, 2009.
Chief Petty officer Herman Hause and Master Chief Petty Officer James Labarre remove the Chief Petty Officer’s anchors from Chief Petty Officer Richard Ball II’s collar during his commissioning ceremony at Station Chincoteague, Va., Monday, June 8, 2009. The anchors will be passed on to a chief candidate in the future.
Retired Petty Officer 1st Class Richard Ball Sr. and former Navy Lt. Melvin Simms place Chief Warrant Officer Richard Ball’s rank insignia on his shoulders at his commissioning ceremony at Station Chincoteague, Va., Monday, June 8, 2009
Retired Petty Officer 1st Class Richard Ball, Chief Warrant Officer Richard Ball II, and Melvin Simms, Ball’s grandfather and a former Navy lieutenant who served through World War II and the Korean War, stand together after Ball’s commissioning ceremony at Station Chincoteague, Va., Monday, June 8, 2009.
