EVERY year the US Navy recognises a first-tour Command Master Chief, Command Senior Chief or Chief of the Boat who displays excellent leadership ability and exhibits the ideal of service with sacrifice by presenting them with the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Delbert D Black Leadership Award. On August 22, it was announced that Command Master Chief Duane O Jerry of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133 would be the recipient for 2023-2024.

Jerry was born in Westmoreland, Jamaica and moved to Orlando, Florida at age 11. In May of 1997 he graduated high school and was signed up for the Navy’s delayed entry programme that same month, leaving for bootcamp March of 1998. After bootcamp he attended Utilitiesman “A” school and reported to his first command, Public Works Naval Station Rota, Spain as a utilitiesman constructionman.

Through his career he spent time at NMCB 74, Naval Construction Training Center Gulfport, Mississippi, Recruit Training Command, NMCB 1, Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202, NMCB 11, Naval Construction Group 2, and NMCB 133 as the command master chief. He completed deployments to Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yap and Guam among other locations.

“I joined the Navy to set a foundation for myself,” said Jerry. “I also wanted to travel and see the world, and it’s honestly the best decision I’ve made. I never thought I would have made it this far, but here I am multiple years later, and I’m still having fun.”

Throughout his time in the Navy, Jerry has held many different positions in many different places. He has been an operations chief, a detachment officer-in-charge, and a company chief. Ultimately, he decided to become a command master chief to be able to continue making a difference in the Navy.

“I chose to go command [master chief] because I wanted to be an influence and contribute on a larger scale,” said Jerry. “I wanted to be the one that could contribute to a command culture by serving humbly in a bigger and broader way.”

One of the biggest ways Jerry accomplishes this is through his leadership philosophy which he has summed up in the acronym DOMINATE: decisive, open, motivated, inspiring, nurturing, agile, trusted and energetic.

“I use those traits as my leadership philosophy and guiding principles,” said Jerry. “I believe if you have those traits as a leader and exhibit those traits on a daily basis, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish when you dominate the deck plates every single day.”

Jerry has also made significant efforts with command programmes such as Sailor 360 and warrior toughness in an effort to better lead his sailors and embody the word “DOMINATE.” He even organised a command wide volunteer event across multiple locations along the Mississippi Gulf Coast named “Dominating the Coast” as a Sailor 360 function to give back to the community. Jerry has emphasised community engagement because he says it allows them to hone their skills, forge partnerships, and create a lasting legacy of service and commitment.

Jerry attributes much of his success as a command master chief and for winning this award to the NMCB 133 team.

“I didn’t get here by myself,” said Jerry. “I owe all of this to my family, my NMCB 133 family and the sailors and the triad for putting me in this position to be able to lead. I am honuored and humbled to be the recipient of the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Delbert D Black Leadership Award, and I am looking forward to paying it forward.”